The Island
At about 37 miles long, the
island and parks (state and national) straddle the states of Virginia and
Maryland with a topography that ranges from the scrub flats and salt marshes on
the northern end of the island to a maritime forest on the other end. There are
2 campgrounds on the Maryland end of the island…one is National Park and the
other is State park. The island is also owned/operated in partnership with the
US Fish and Wildlife Service. A triumvirate focused on protecting the natural
resources of the island and its varied inhabitants. Bravo to them.
Our campsite within the beachfront
Assateague State Park was pointed to us by the ranger as one where there was a
break in the dunes that would give us the sound of the waves even so there was
no sight of them. As it turned out that break was also Pony Lane. Though we
neither saw nor heard the ponies during the night, evidence of their passing
was fresh each morning…some of it quite fragrantly so.
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| Pony Lane |
None of the campsites are
directly on the oceanfront, which in my view, is as it should be. The dune system is a natural resource that
protects the island, horses, birds and the fragile bayside eco-system from
incoming storms. (Although October’s Hurricane Sandy did extensive damage on
both ocean and bay side of the island…thanks to many paid and volunteer
man-hours much of the damage is being mitigated and the parks are open again.)
It is my personal view that the need to protect this special environment
outweighs the popularity of beach front camping. I’m glad there are others out
there who work exactly toward that end.
This is not a fancy resort
campground. The draw is the beautiful, soft sand beaches and the island ponies.
You can catch eye popping sunrises on the beach or meander over to the bayside
for spectacular sunsets across the salt marsh (unfortunately the weather did
not co-operate for the latter…oh, well…there’s always next time). The breeze
from the ocean teases the nose with the marvelous tang of salt air. The brilliant
sea sun warms both body and soul.
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| Assateague Sunrise |
Plain Jane thought it is I love
this place and the site we chose to reside for an all too short time. The chilled
dark night provided a tapestry of stars so full one could actually see the dim
arms of the Milky Way in the ebon sky. There is little light noise to cancel
out the wealth of starlight in the cold air. The rhythmic echo of the waves
through the dune break was as if sleeping to a personal lullaby. (Yes….even so
it was chilly I cracked the window enough to hear the sea’s tattoo upon the
shore.)
While we had a neighbor to one
side, our next was several campsites away. Each site is relatively large, with
the exception being those on the single loop that provides electricity and
on-site water hook-ups. That loop was rather crowded and we were happy to be
boondocking away from what we dubbed “Tin Can City” using our own on-board battery
power. The bath house was large and very clean providing a hot shower that was
quite welcome after a day of adventuring. Wi-fi is even available at the camp
store where you can bask in the warmth of the sun on a cool day or under
canopied shade in the heat of summer whilst surfing the net. We are grateful
that a portion of the park fee aided in providing this service free of charge
such that we could keep up with family fairly regularly via the internet (cuz
donchano the youngsters they do worry when us old geezers are out madventuring
in the wilds).
The Horses
The island is also home to the
feral Assateague Ponies brought to fame by author Marguerite Henry in her book Misty of Chincoteague (a small island
between Assateague and the mainland). There are no less than 2 lines of
thinking regarding the history of the ponies of the island. For details see
these:
Their interactions with humans is
not entirely without consequence making them both at ease as well as endangered
by our desire to see them up close and personal. The Maryland Ponies are owned
by the National Park service and roam their end of the island at will with
little interference except for contraception to keep the herd at an
ecologically balanced level. The Chincoteague Ponies are owned by the
Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company which sponsors the yearly channel crossing
and Pony penning to raise money for their continued care. These ponies receive
regular veterinary care and only the most healthy are pulled for the round-up,
swim and sale.
While on the Maryland end, we
were as delighted as anyone by our brief encounters. Yet as much as the desire
was there to reach out and touch them…we did not…choosing instead to respect
the sanctity of their freedom to roam. The Chincoteague ponies roaming the
Virginia end of the island are fenced and kept to areas in which the numbers of
humans can be monitored. They are not as truly wild as the Maryland ponies, but
their lives are more stable. Whatever the truth is regarding their heritage,
these beautiful animals hark back to a time in history when animals freely
roamed this country and awaken a certain sense of freedom in the soul.
The Lighthouse
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| Assateague Light |
Indulging our penchant for
lighthouses we negotiated the roadways back across the mainland, south to
Virginia, across the bridge to Chincoteague and another leading into
Assateague’s southern end. Ironically, the land here is part of the
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. A short hike up a hill and through the
woods ends at Assateague Light. This lighthouse, built in 1867, replaced the
much shorter 1833 light. The top of the light is open to the public June
through September, but visitors are welcome to view the exterior grounds any
time of year. Needing a paint job, the red and white vertical stripe is
unassuming in appearance with its only grand view from ground level being that
of the Assateague Channel and Chincoteague Island across it. Hopefully next
trip will be during climbing season and the expansive views documented here
will be available:
Our time on Assateague was too
short…short enough to plan another stay on our next journey north.
Up next…Cape May and Hereford
Inlet
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