It's no secret, I love sand dunes. I often dream of taking an epic American sand dune tour. Oh man, it would be sandy. Sand in my shoes. Sand in my ears. And, despite my best efforts to keep it out, no matter what - sand in the car...lots of sand in the car. There's more dunes in the ol' US-of-A than you think. Luckily for us, we don't have to travel too far to start the trip (or at least pretend we're starting the trip).

    Welcome to Jockey's Ridge State Park, a group of dunes located in North Carolina's Outer Banks. The constant wind here has, over many years, blown all of these little grains of sand together for your hiking, kiting, sand boarding, and flying enjoyment. Wait a second, flying? It's a great little state park with a big bonus - you can fly here. Or, at least, learn how to glide, or maybe fall gracefully, or just plain crash a big glider off a giant sand dune.   

   The park includes over 400 acres of dunes and woods and is located in North Carolina's Outer Banks in Nags Head, just minutes from the amazing (and soon to be blogged about here on ETC) Wright Brothers National Memorial. The Outer Banks are one of the many groups of barrier islands that dot up and down the Atlantic coast. The wind here is good and the sand makes for a softer landing - especially if you happen to trial-and-error-crash your glider hundreds of times, just like the Wright brothers did back in the early 1900s.

   We didn't take a gliding lesson on our visit, but we hiked (and took a few toy pics). When you arrive there's a visitor's center and a short boardwalk trail out to an overlook. After that, there's lots of sand to explore. It turns out that Jockey's Ridge is the tallest natural dune system in the Eastern US. You get a great view from the top of the big dune - it's between 80 and 100 feet tall! ​

   So, with just a few paragraphs and pictures, I hope we've established that Jockey's Ridge State Park is worthy of being included in our (or your) future great American sand dune tour. Until that officially begins, we can always head out to Jockey's Ridge to practice our hiking/sand-boarding/kiting/& flying. And maybe, just maybe, with a little practice clicking our heels together, we'll keep at least some of the sand out of the car!

   ~Paul, Amber, Sis, Dad, Susan        ETC

Fun Facts!
*If needed, call the park ahead to arrange a handicap accessible ride to the top of the dunes.
*While hiking, imagine you're walking over a buried mini-golf course.
​*Eat nearby at the best Mexican restaurant on the planet.
*Make sure to wear shoes - this sand is hot like fire in the summer.

Links!
Book some gliding lessons at the park {Bam!}
Check out a PDF map of the park {Pow!}
Check for events at the park {Boom!}
​

   In ourlast post, we took you on a quick paddle in Brock Mill Pond, located just inside Trenton, NC. Today we take you inside the current mill house on the property.

   Brock's Mill Pond goes way back and has historically been used by locals as a gristmill, a sawmill, and even as an electricity generator in the early 1900s. It's had a lot of names too - Hatch's Mill, McDaniel's Mill, and now Brock's Mill. The building (pictured above) that currently sits on the property was built in the 1940s.
   To romanticize about this time is to look back to the 1800s when the mill was used to produce cornmeal and grits. These were very important to the local diet of the day. Mr. Brock, however, was a man looking to the future. It was a gristmill when he bought the place back in 1899. By 1917, he installed a turbine generator to provide electricity to the residents of Trenton. Everyone's favorite story of this time is how every night at 10 pm the electricity in the town would blink two times, letting everyone know that the power would be shut off in 15 minutes.

   There's a catch to going inside the mill house on the property - it's NOT regularly open to the public. The property is though, the paddling is great, and you're free to explore the outside (and even peek in the windows) of the mill house. We were lucky enough to tour the inside during  Jones County's annual Heritage Festival. Restoration of the property by the Friends of Brock's Mill is ongoing. If you're close to the area, check out the upcoming Brock's Mill Music Jamboree this September. Also, be sure to check out our last post as we paddle Brock Mill Pond and beyond!

​   ~Paul & Amber    ETC

   Since we've been shipwrecked on the rural coastal plain of North Carolina, we've gotten a chance to paddle on waterways near and far. The sense of community is strong here - we love that - and it turns out we have quite a few adventures really close to us, actually in our community. 

   Welcome to Brock's Mill Pond {Brock Pond, Mill Pond, Brock Mill Pond}, located in our beloved Jones County. It's an easily accessible paddle with a historic mill on the property. In this post we'll share a few photos from the water, in our next post we'll take you inside the actual historic mill. Pack up your snake repellent and let's hit the water! 

   Full disclosure here, we saw no snakes on our paddle. Lots of birds, a few fish, and no sign of snakes or alligators (although it is very possible they are here, just keep your eyes open and you'll be fine!). Paddling up the creek (called Crooked Run) from Brock Pond takes you into the wilds just a touch - it can sometimes be tricky to navigate submerged trees, so best to paddle slow. We paddled our amazing Innova inflatable kayak with no worries.

   All & all, a great place to explore via kayak. Parking is limited but free, there isn't an actual dock to launch from but there are worn areas on the shore near the mill where it's easy to put in. There's a gas station and Subway just around the bend in Trenton if you need a bite. You could spend an hour or more on the water, we didn't make it too far upstream before the way became too thick to pass. Make sure to check out our next post where we really step back in time and venture into the actual Brock Mill on the property!

~Paul & Amber   ETC