Wright Brothers National Monument - Big Kill Devil Hill, NC

Wright Brothers National Monument - Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

(Please click on any photo in this blog entry to enlarge the photo and be taken to a slideshow of them)

The Wright Brothers National Monument recognizes and honors the Wright brothers for their achievements and relentless pursuit to invent and fly an aircraft that was controllable and travel under it's own power.

If you went to grade school you've no doubt read or studied about the achievement of the Wright Brothers. The two brothers from Ohio that ran a bicycle shop while they dreamed of mastering the still just-out-of-reach achievement of flight. For years, the Wright Brothers designed intricate plans and blueprints out of the their small bicycle shop before heading to the town of Kitty Hawk in 1900. This coastal town, they determined, had the ideal conditions for testing their 

     gliders,with towering sand dunes and consistent winds to assist with the initial launching 

They conducted tests with a state of the art hanger, shop and living quarters at Big Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina. The "Hill" was a massive sand dune and was the place they chose to conduct experiments in a machine that was built to achieve manned flight. Library of Congress

The Brothers made hundreds of test flights using their model as a kite to test control surface warping which was the precursor to controlled flight.  They used Big Kill Devil Hill and the consistent higher winds to perfect wing lift and the control surfaces necessary to make manned flight achievable.. 

On December 17 1903 Wilbur and Orville make the first free, controlled, and sustained flights in a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine. Three men from the Kill Devil Life Saving Station and two from Nags Head witness the four trial flights. First trial is made by Orville at 10:35 A.M., stays twelve seconds in the air, and flies 120 feet. John T. Daniels photographs the first flight with Orville’s camera. Wilbur makes the longest flight in the fourth trial, fifty-nine seconds in the air and 852 feet. Source: Wright Brothers National Monument

At the National Monument there is a stainless steel statue that is an approximation of the Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer. It was built by sculpter Stephen H. Smith

Wilbur Wright was the first man to fly a heavier than air machine under it's own power

Orville wrote in his diary: "When we got up, a wind of between 20 and 25 miles was blowing from the north.

We got the machine out early and put out the signal for the men at the station. Before we were quite ready, John T. Daniels, W. S. Dough, A. D. Etheridge, W. C. Brinkley of Manteo, and Johnny Moore of Nags Head arrived."

Source: Eyewitness to History.com

Watching History in the making

After running the engine and propellers a few minutes to get them in working order, I got on the machine at 10:35 for the first trial. The wind, according to our anemometers at this time, was blowing a little over 20 miles (corrected) 27 miles according to the Government anemometer at Kitty Hawk. On slipping the rope the machine started off increasing in speed to probably 7 or 8 miles. The machine lifted from the truck just as it was entering on the fourth rail. Mr. Daniels took a picture just as it left the tracks. Daniels had never used a camera before.   Source: McFarland, Marvin, The Papers of Wilbur & Orville Wright

The distance of the first flight distance was less than the wing span of a modern 747 Jumbo Jet. But they had done it. 

The monument to the Wright Brothers achievements was begun in 1929 with the stabilization of the large dune known as Big Kill Devil Hill. Native grasses were planted in preparation for the erection of the Monument. 

Orville, Wilbur and Amelia Earhart at the Commemoration ceremony 

12 Seconds That Changed the World Forever

Get off the Ground They Did!

This was a trip worth making. Even though the Visitors Center is closed for remodeling right now there is just something about being at the very place where controlled and powered flight began. It is an awesome place.

The twelve seconds that changed the world forever

Imagine the exhilaration and sense of achievement that the Wrights must have had during those first flights.

They knew it was the first time in history of mankind that anyone had ever flown in a heavier than air machine under it's own power making the machine go where they steered it.

Big Kill Devil Hill with the Wright Monument on Top

I hope we've inspired you to visit the Wright Brothers National Monument. For me, standing in the very place that modern powered flight started was one of those goose pimple moments. 

Things I've Learned On The Way To The Sewage Dump

RV'ing with a sense of humor and persistence is key to successful "glamping"
The ubiquitous "Blue Boy" Sewage tote. The key to boondocking

As gratifying as it is to aimlessly wander North America, we've come to know that "stuff" (insert your own four letter word) happens.

1. When you are retired cash flow can be an issue. My wife is a master at shuffling bills. When you're between Eagle defecations and running low on green stuff she keeps us afloat. Somehow?  Humor doesn't often enter into the equation though.

2. We have had eighteen different electrical problems (no, really) since beginning this adventure. Our coach is a 2005 Newmar Northern Star.  I believe that all of these problems are systemic from a single power surge at the very beginning of our journey.  We were "practicing" full timing when this happened.  To endure stuff like this you need to have a "positive" attitude and keep yourself "grounded" (pun intended) when making electrical repairs.

In my case, being severely color blind I always take photos of things before I disassemble and reassemble equipment, switches and receptacles. Or, I have Martha confirm colors of wiring before attempting replacements or repairs. I really hate asking because I know she is mulling the virtues of a color blind old man wiring stuff in her house.

3. When dealing with minor but intermittent fresh water leaks always look at all the possibilities no matter how small they may be. Maybe eliminate one suspect at a time. I have threatened to put food dye in my freshwater tank to see if its coming from the fresh water tank or the city water side. Martha thinks this is a stupid idea...wonder why?

4. Get used to buying things twice or more. We have purchased and fried a coffee maker, a rice cooker and two ceramic disc heaters due to our electrical problems. Now I am seriously considering those "extended warranties" for appliances . I know they're supposed to be a gimmic to make money for the store but....

5. Be sure to stock fuses for your 12 volt system. Have at least one of each size fuse on hand. They will be needed. Ask me how I know.

6. Tire pressures and tires are really important when you drive a 38,000 pound vehicle. Make sure your on-board air brake compressor is optimal and tap into it so that you can use an air hose to air up tires. Having a tire pressure monitor is very helpful so you can watch pressure and temperatures while in motion. But nothing compares to checking the pressures manually. Now, I need to order one of those weeding cushions to kneel on while I check them. I hate getting old.

7. Keep a "Blue Boy tank" aboard for when you boondock. It is a convenient means to transport grey and black water to the sewage dump. If you don't know what this is google it. Oh, and after you dump into the blue boy you have the envious task of toting the thing around the campground. Hey, it's a crappy job.

8. Disposable gloves are your friend. They keep the nasties off your hands. If you tote your waste to the dump (see #7) make sure you have a spare pair with you when finally get to the dump. It's an enigma really. You need a pair to dump into the tank, you need to remove them to drive or manually pull the cart to the dump and then you need another pair when you get there so you can dump without exposing yourself to the sludge.

I actually saw a guy take his gloves off stuff em in his pocket then put the same pair back on at the dump. Ummm, dude you reversed them when you pulled em off. The nastiness is now on the inside of your gloves co-mingling with your fingers. Just sayin

9. Boondocking is a "Thing". This simply means no service hookups. No water, sewer or external power. When boondocking fresh water, battery power and sewage management are your friends. You quickly learn to take "Navy Shower" , Yes, there is actually a written procedure, who knew? When I offered to send that procedure to Martha's email she declined.  I guess I will still make frequent trips to the dump.

If you are a newbie to boondocking you will find that "grey" water will always fill up first. Sewage takes a while. We have thirty seven gallons of black tank and the same for the grey water tank. The stick point is that when you flush the toilet into the black tank, the more water you use the better it is for your black tank to keep waste from sticking to the tank when you dump. So in a nutshell you have to balance how much water you use to flush. So, among all of the other hats you wear when RV'ing, you get to become a "wastewater engineer."  I'll stop on this subject for now because no matter how you sugar coat it, its still a "crappy" subject.

10. Generator runs and battery management is another course you have to take. It'll take some time before you are adept at learning how much generator time is enough. Of course it all depends on the loads you put on the coaches twelve volt system and how many things you are running. Now you are a consulting "electrical engineer."

We like a movie in the evening so we try to time our generator runs with our TV viewing. So far, we've managed our boondocking to occur at enroute locations like Walmart or National Parks. At Walmart your generator won't bother anyone because your noise is competing with rap music blaring from cars in the parking lot and kids running through the parking lot with loud exhaust.

National parks are quite different. All of them have specific generator run times. Usually from 9am until 10 pm. This means that you can run the generator to top off batteries anytime during this time frame. Even though generators can be run during these times you still get some folks that just don't like generator noise.

Thankfully, these people are readily identifiable because they will be the ones that walk their dogs on 90' leashes and let their dogs take a crap in front of your entry door while they stand safely 90' away.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Point Campground

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Point Campground

Martha and I moved from Assateague Island National Seashore to Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the 25th.  The new campground is one hundred and ninety sites strong. None of them have water, sewer or electric. They do however, have paved pads.  Our 40' Coach, tow dolly (tucked under the front)  and our car parked sideways across the the front all fits but just barely.

Our Campground Review

Cape Hatteras National Seashore - Cape Point Campground - RATING - 5.5

WIFI - No
AT&T - Yes
VERIZON - Yes
SERVICES - No Electrical Service National Park Generator Rules, No Sewer Hook Up, No Water Hook up. Sites are almost level so setting up is easy.

COST - $10 Nightly with my Access Pass  -

DISCOUNTS - 1/2 price with "Access Pass", "America the Beautiful Senior Pass" and the "America the Beautiful Pass" provides free access into the park.

REVIEW - 190 sites with picnic tables and fire pits (you can only cook in the fire pit and extinguish upon completion. Not open fires for any other purpose). Dump and fresh water are about a mile North of Cape Point Campground. Dump and fill water on your way into Cape Point. Do not attempt to fill up at the bath house spigots, the Camper Host will immediately intervene (He's a crabby old bastard). Also, be aware that your car, RV and trailer (if any) must all fit on your RV pad.


The beach is spectacular and if you pick the right spot (Off season) you will have it to yourself. Kitty Hawk, The Wright Brothers Museum are nearby,

There is fresh water in the campground but all spigots have the screw end cut off them to keep people from connecting a hose taking water from them (nothing in the park rules state you cannot take water from these spigots). I was about to use my water bandit to fill our water tank and an over zealous park host volunteer came over to insure that I had to go out to the sewage dump where I could use the fresh water spigot there to fill our tank. The dump and fresh water are nearly a mile from the campsite...ugh. Oh well, we turned around and got water and then came back.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it and to be taken to a slide show of the photos in this blog entry)

All around us is vegetation that anchor the nearby dunes. There is abronia, red verbena, beach bur, salt bush and sea oats.

We have seen deer and have seen the tracks of some very large deer. I saw a couple of rabbits this afternoon but other than that the place is inhabited by crabs and sea birds.

Yesterday we visited the Cape Hatteras Visitors Center and saw the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse then went to the Graveyard of The Atlantic Museum in Hatteras.  The museum is a very interesting place. I pride myself on know a lot more than most people about WWII, but I learned at the museum that battles that took place just offshore from Hatteras.

World War II was fought off the coast of the OBX (Outer banks) Islands.  A German U-boat  torpedoed the 337-foot-long U.S. freighter, City of Atlanta, sinking the ship and killing all but three of the 47 men aboard. 

The same U-boat attacked two more ships just hours later. Less than six weeks after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the hostilities of the Second World War had arrived on America’s East Coast and North Carolina’s beaches. This was not the first time that German U-boats had come to United States waters. During World War I, three U-boats sank ten ships off the Tar Heel coast in what primarily was considered a demonstration of German naval power. But by 1942, U-boats had become bigger, faster, and more deadly. Their presence in American waters was not intended for “show” but to help win World War II for Germany.

German U-boats also plied the waters off the Cape during WWI sinking at least ten ships.

You can see a listing of the ships that have sunk off the coast by by nature and war by clicking this link: List of ships sunk off the North Carolina Coast.

The Windswept and Beautiful Shores of the Atlantic.

We continue to like this place and this campground even though we are boondocking. We have no power, no water or sewer hookups. We came here four days ago with 105 gallons of water on board and we are getting so good at military showers and scant water usage that we still have three quarters of a tank of fresh water. I will eventually have to take grey water to the dump site but I think fresh water will hold out for the full seven days and black water will be close but doable.

Sunsets here are rather spectacular even a half mile inland.

                  

                    (click on any photo for a larger image) 

There is a quiet about this place that sort of rattles you. It is desolate and unoccupied at this time of year. 

There are over 190 campsites at Cape Point Campground and there have only been 6 or 7 other campers here on and off the entire time we've been here. 

It is interesting to feel this kind of isolation knowing that only 4 miles away is a thriving tourist mecca.

The dunes make this place special. We are situated on a thin thread of land that defends the North Carolina mainland from total destruction during a hurricane. It puts conservation of the dunes out there in full frontal view for you to ponder. It makes you understand how this complex eco-system works. It drives home the threat of global warming and the threat that sea poses on the land and its occupants. 

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Here on Hatteras they call the lighthouse "The Sentinel." It protects mariners from the treacherous shifting sands of Cape Hatteras and marks the way back to civilization for the landlubbers. 

This the second location for the same Hatteras Lighthouse.  The brick structure was moved 2900 feet from it's former location due to the sea encroaching on it's foundations. The US Coast Guard decided it was more fiscally feasible to move the lighthouse than to build a new one. In Hatteras they say that it was "rescued from the edge."  Indeed it was on the edge of collapse if it hadn't been moved. The lighthouse was built in 1878 from more than one million bricks.  In 1999 engineers and contractors moved it to it's present location to take it away from the edge of the sea.  

It is the tallest lighthouse in North America and stands an impressive  208' and weighing 5,000 tons.

To gain perspective on how they moved a brick lighthouse check out the video in this link.  Visit the National Park Publication on the move by clicking this link.

The Day we Arrived at Cape Point the ocean seemed angry but it was still quite beautiful

The sea is always there. It is relentless, restless, beautiful, bountiful and dangerous 

We are insignificant in comparison

We are at the edge of it's vastness  

"Graveyard of the Atlantic" Museum in Hatteras. 

This museum is about the shipwrecks that are just offshore of the barrier Islands. Many famous ships were sunk here because of running aground on the shifting sands off Hatteras and through the actions of warfare during the Civil War, WWI and WWII.

Among those stories and exhibits  were historic tales such as the sinking of the Monitor (nicknamed "cheesecake on a raft") during the civil war. It was found in 2000.  Two years later its gun turret was brought to the surface and is undergoing conservation.  It's a lengthy process and is still in progress.  You can learn about it and the rest of the Monitor here.

The Battle of "Hampton Roads"

The battle of "Hampton Roads" was significant because it was the first time the Monitor and the Merrimac had met in battle. Both Ironclads fought a valiant battle but neither vessel had the advantage and they pounded each other for about three hours before nightfall and low tide intervened. They would never meet again in battle but the confrontation had worldwide impact. The worlds Navies knew that the Monitor's turret and heavy guns allowed them to fire in all directions. This allowed a better offense and defense This innovation affected how war ships were built for a hundred years.

The confederacy called the monitor "Cheesecake on a Raft"

Sources  NCPedia, "Graveyard of the Atlantic Outer Banks"

The museum had other artifacts  and information to view as well.

Life Saving Service were  used by the US Coast Guard Life Saving Stations from 1878 to roughly 1900. These brave men would row to the aid of sinking ships and pick up survivors.

If you ever get near Cape Hatteras do yourself a favor and just go. It is too beautiful to describe, it's towns are tourist traps that most will willfully give into, yet the national park is isolated and disconnected from the touristy part of Hatteras.  The island is too interesting to ignore, it is worth every ounce of the energy, money and time that it takes to come here. 

A few random thoughts as November approaches

1.  We have done a fantastic job of following the weather.  Other than a few days over 80 and a few nights under 50, we've managed to stay in that perfect zone with highs in the 70's and lows in the 60's for five months running.

2.  This month we started experimenting with National Parks that don't have any hookups.  That leaves us with our water tank, our generator, and our black and gray water tanks to rely on.  This is our second week, and I've noticed a few things already:
a)  It isn't that hard, as long as Chuck is willing to take the wastewater to the dump station every few days.
b)  I'm learning to skip showers (thanks to that perfect weather so I don't sweat until I need a shower to survive)...and am glad I kept my hair short so it only sticks up a little.  I'm also learning to wear hats to cover up the bad hair....which is kinda funny because I think hats make me look goofy...so you know how bad my hair must be some days.

c)  It's interesting to push your own limits.  How long can I go without a shower (so far, no more than 48 hours), how little water can I get by with when I do shower (still sucks to leave soap in your hair), how few lights can we put on to save batteries, can I stand a bathroom with a "yellow, let it mellow" rule (sometimes I just have to flush anyway).
d)  I fantasize about an hour long super hot shower, but other than that, it's not that bad.

3.  It's weird to stay at an RV park where most of the sites are seasonal....especially when the residents only come on weekends....so you are basically in a ghost town of empty RV's all week.  I much prefer the empty parks during the week...it's not nearly as creepy.

4.  We can still spend as much money as we make...and often more....we've been praying to the RV gods to let our electrical system work.  I have learned WAY MORE than I ever wanted to about how inverters, transfer switches, AC, DC, and all things RV power distribution related.  I vote it just WORKS and I can ignore the technicalities and go to the beach.

5.  The beach is awesome.  We have been near a beach or at a beach for the past 2 months.  I am not interested in going inland, yet inland we are heading in a week or so.  Beaches change personality as you go from one to the other, or sometimes the same one is different because of lighting or weather.  I am calmed by the ocean, no matter the weather.  I'm happy to be at the beach in sunshine and warmth or cloudy and cool.  Still pretty skittish if there's tropical weather approaching, though.  That's when it's nice to know that your house is on wheels and you can easily escape.  By the way, it's also nice to say....let's stay here at the beach for another week! :)

6.  I spend most of my life in my pajamas.  I rarely get dressed until I'm ready to go somewhere (which is usually after noon) and I usually am back in my PJ's by 7 or 8 pm.  All the work I do is online, so my clients don't care.

7.  The one thing I miss the most so far is interacting in a meaningful way with other people.  I have mentioned this before, but I take a long time to warm up to people and decide if I like them.  I hear voices and immediately have opinions about a person....(rarely positive)....I am trying to not be judgmental....but...I also know that people take energy, so I want to spend my energy on something worthwhile.  When I was doing massage, it was easy.  Every person I touched, talked to, or was near...was there for a specific reason that resonated with my soul.  I am still trying to figure out how to find those people in my current world.

8.  Patience.  I thought I had it.  I'm still working on it.

9.  The problem we're having is, despite having lots of time in most places, we really want to go back and do more.  We've already said we'd go back to Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Maryland and here at the Outer Banks.  And we haven't even started on the rest of the USA, or Canada and Mexico.  I'm hoping we stay healthy enough to do it all....at least twice!!!

10.  Well, crap...there has to be a 10.  A list of nine things just will not do.  Oh...I've got it!  10.  I'm finding that no matter how retired I am, I still have the same bad habits.  I sleep late, spend too much time on Facebook, and don't prioritize well.  I am, though, finding that if I stay in one place long enough....and if I get a little rain or cold weather thrown in....I get bored enough to address one of my long-term projects and actually enjoy the process....now if I could get myself to do that when the sun is out and I'm at the beach....nah...probably won't happen.