Mystic Wind OBX

06/15/2024

06/15/2024

Today's Ocean Report!

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06/12/2024

Beach Report

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06/12/2024

FYI, available tomorrow, June 11 (in the middle of Sea Turtle Week): new Sea Turtle stamps from the US Postal Service!
https://store.usps.com/store/product/protect-sea-turtles-stamps-S_581304

06/08/2024

Join and help support the park ❤️

Become a member of Friends of Jockey's Ridge and join them in their mission to support, enhance, and promote Jockey's Ridge State Park as a significant geologic feature of the Outer Banks!
** This is a paid advertisment. For rates and opportunities, contact Melissa Cox. (252) 441-8144 **

06/08/2024

If you try it let us know how it is

Now Available at Conner's! Locally Made Hot Sauce From Our Friend 🔥🔥🔥🔥

06/08/2024

Something upcoming up to do!

Mark Your Calendars For The 42nd Annual Rogallo Kite Festival!

https://www.kittyhawk.com/events/

** This is a paid advertisement. For rates and opportunities, contact Donna Barnett at the Island Free Press (252) 305-1639**

06/08/2024

HAPPY WORLD OCEAN DAY! 🌎🌊Did you know... Sea turtles travel throughout the world’s oceans and can be found in every ocean except the Arctic! Today also officially kicks off our favorite week of the year ! 🐢

Artwork by Lina Alicia M.

06/04/2024

Not in OBX but this looks fun!

North Carolina's Sliding Rock is a summer rite of passage for those who enjoy some good fun in the great outdoors. This natural water slide in Pisgah National Forest is fueled by more than 11,000 gallons of cool, clear water flowing down the rock face per minute and splashing you gently into a pool of water below.

Credit: keiterskabin / Instagram

06/04/2024

Another amazing place for breakfast, and within walking distance!

06/04/2024

Looks great!

06/04/2024

They are open for delicious breakfast items as well!

06/04/2024

Avon Farmers Market has some great vendors

The Avon Farmers Market is returning for the 2024 season on Tuesday, June 11, at their new-in-2023 location next to the Vacasa office along N.C. Highway 12. The market is sponsored by the Avon Property Owners Association, and will feature a variety of local artists, craftsmen, regional farmers, and....

06/04/2024

Things to remember...

Now that nesting season for endangered sea turtles has begun, if you visit the beach, please remember, when you leave,
KEEP THE BEACH:
-CLEAN
(remove all beach toys, chairs, tents, etc. & pick up trash on beach - yours and any other);
-FLAT
(take down sandcastles and fill holes before you leave for the evening); and
-DARK
(turn off Oceanfront lights at night)!
And don’t forget:
If you’re in the northern Outer Banks and accidentally hook a sea turtle, or see a sea turtle on the beach or crawl tracks in the sand, please immediately call the NEST hotline: 252-441-8622!
This conservation work for protected sea turtles in the northern Outer Banks is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 24ST10).

05/29/2024

Sometimes we just need a little makeover 🙂 We’ll take this back to the beach this fall.

05/29/2024

Always check the ocean reports...

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05/29/2024

Free and open to the public, the Currituck County Library System is set to host their annual summer reading program that encourages children, adults, and [Read More]

05/29/2024

More interesting details about Leatherback Sea Turtles:

The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle in the world, and regularly occurs off the coast of North Carolina. The greatest number of observations of this species off the coast of North Carolina occurs in the spring and early summer months, when they are migrating north to foraging grounds off of New England and Atlantic Canada. The leatherback is named for its dorsal shell (or carapace) that is covered with a layer of dark or black leathery skin. Unlike other sea turtles, the leatherback carapace is a mosaic of small bones called osteoderms, and is characterized by seven prominent ridges or keels. The front flippers are long and smooth, with no protruding claws.

Adult leatherbacks are huge, with carapace lengths ranging from 145-165 cm (57-65 inches), and weights between 350-450 kg (770-990 lbs). They have pronounced pointed cusps on their jaws that help them bite and hold their preferred food: jellyfish. Leatherbacks usually have a pronounced pink spot on the top of their heads, above their pineal gland. These pink spots are unique and can be used to identify individuals using photo identification techniques.

Leatherbacks are known to migrate great distances, often crossing entire ocean basins several times a year. Leatherbacks prefer wide sandy beaches that are close to deep water, and thus most leatherback nests in North Carolina have occurred near Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, or Cape Fear (Bald Head Island). Starting about 30 days after mating, reproductively active leatherback females will emerge from the ocean at night to lay their eggs deep in the sand above the high tide line. An individual female will lay between 4-8 clutches of eggs in a single season, nesting every 10 days or so. The average clutch size for leatherbacks is about 80 eggs, although in addition leatherback nests usually contain several dozen misshapen “yolkless” eggs. Incubation is temperature dependent, but is usually about 60 days in the middle of the summer. Hatchlings will emerge from the nest cavity under the cover of darkness, and scramble for the ocean, where they will remain for 15-30 years until they reach maturity. One mystery about this species is the location of their developmental habitat. Juvenile leatherbacks are rarely observed in the wild.

This photo was not taken on Sunset Beach, but we wanted you to see how much larger the Leatherback sea turtle is...

05/29/2024

This is amazing. Leatherback can be HUGE

05/29/2024

Gather on the Station Porch to meet George Butcher, world traveler, fly fisherman and once an Eagle Scout to

05/27/2024

When staying at Mystic Wind...expect a knock on the door Sunday morning as Muffins and Scones delivers fresh baked muffins from us every Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m.!

05/26/2024

Please join the HICF for their Annual Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation Pop Up BBQ Benefit on June 11 from 5:30 p.m. until they run out of BBQ. The event will be held between the Hatteras Post Office and the Hatteras Library. The BBQ will be provided by Crazy Johnny’s BBQ. BBQ pork sandwiches, bak...

05/26/2024

Neat find!

Along the southern shores of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, the massive (yet only partial) skull of a humpback whale made an appearance on Wednesday.

05/26/2024

Wednesday May 29th from 4pm until 6pm at the Frisco Native American Museum’s newly redesigned Natural History Center, meet Dr. Michael Oberg, author of The Head in Edward Nugent’s Hand, Roanoke’s F…

05/26/2024

Don't miss a Ranger led program!

An expanded schedule of ranger-led educational programs begins Memorial Day Weekend at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The additional programs run from Memorial Day through much of the summer, and there is no cost to attend any of the ranger-led programs....

05/26/2024

The weekly Old Trent Market has returned to the Frisco Woods Campground for the 2024 season, and the market will be held every Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. through October… and possibly even longer. Now celebrating its third year, 2024’s Old Trent Market is bigger and better than ever...

05/26/2024

Thank you Chilly Hank and Kelley for helping us put the banner up this morning.

We just want to remind everyone that we are still in the same location. We have not moved 2 doors down the street. We are the same locally owned ice cream shop that has been scooping your favorite ice cream since 2008. And our Disney movies will be hitting the screen in a few days.

05/23/2024

12/16/2023

Volunteers play a huge role in National and State Parks. Thank you for your service!

Today and every day we are proud to highlight the stellar volunteers that give their time to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

In today’s we want to shine a light on volunteer Mike Gould! Mike has spent three years volunteering with the Interpretation and Natural Resources teams here at the seashore, amassing over 2,700 volunteer hours! Mike is a former air traffic controller, retiring after 31 years. He has three children and two grandchildren.

We’ve reached out to Mike to ask him some questions about his time spent here at the seashore. Read below for his answers!

Why do you love volunteering for the National Park Service?

"Working with the permanent staff and the summer seasonal rangers is the best. They are, without exception, fantastic people." (Awwwww….thanks, Mike! We think you’re pretty fantastic too!)

What is your fondest memory made while volunteering?

"Having my five-year-old grandson visit me at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and then deciding that he is going to be a Park Ranger for Halloween!"

If you had the park all to yourself for just one day, what would you do?

"Honestly, I’d probably sit on the porch of the Museum of the Sea, gaze at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and eat a sandwich and some Fig Newtons." (That sounds pretty great to us too, Mike!)

We are so thankful to have Mike as a part of our stellar volunteer team and want to send a big thank you to him for his dedicated service!



[Image Description: Man wearing glasses stands in NPS volunteer uniform with radio clipped at center.]

12/16/2023

Know before you go...