First Tracks OBX

03/29/2024

Good Morning!

03/26/2024

As many of our followers know we had a big investment in dune management this year, but either way the house needed an upgrade. Movie nights here we come

03/23/2024

It’s a puzzle kind of day in OBX. We are gearing up for rental season to begin next week. Cleaning is done and sand removal begins once the rain stops, until then….

02/13/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/YS77eiRSaMvy9pwq/?mibextid=WC7FNe

02/11/2024

And the work wrapped up today! Next up getting the pool ready later this spring. Thanks to Mark Thompson for his expert work!

02/10/2024

Ever wonder what really happens in the off season when the house is not available. Well this year we’ve got some serious dune maintenance going on. How many knew that part of beach ownership included dune maintenance 🤩

But rest assured the house and pool will be ready to go by Opening Day in April!

01/28/2024

It’s amazing what we can do today. Not exactly what we have going on instead of ocean we have a dune eating our pool (for those of you that saw this summer)…but no worries plans are coming together to nourish the frontal dunes and give the pool a break from the sand.

11/29/2023

You may have noticed the nets we put on the large bales of hay that we feed the horses at the rescue farm. They serve a few very important functions. First and foremost, they slow down consumption since the horses have to work a bit harder to get the hay through the holes in the net. This helps us manage their weight. The nets also keep the hay contained and prevent the horses from walking through it and pooping in it. By making the bale last longer and preventing lots of waste the nets also end up saving us quite a bit of money in the long run.

We get these nets from Official Big Bale Buddy & Slow Bale Buddy, who are big supporters of rescues like ours. The nets are incredibly well made and last for years, and the fact that this company is so great to work with is just icing on the cake. We really appreciate everything they do to make these nets affordable for us!

On this , please consider making a donation to CWHF to help cover our hay costs for the winter. Your support makes a huge difference in the lives of these horses and you can rest assured that your donation will go directly towards their care.

Hay For a Day: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/hay-for-a-day/

Make a one-time donation: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/one-time-donations/

Sponsor a rescued horse: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/horse-sponsorships/

10/19/2023

Sounds about right for the road trip to OBX 😂

1. 👀🛞🚦5️⃣5️⃣

2. 🔊📱🌡🌎

3. 🥨😴🤷

10/04/2023

Get it while you can! Our 4th of July Guest Hold was released and the week is currently available for 4th of July 2024! 2024 has only a few weeks available for next year at this point, so this week won't last long!

10/01/2023

Some fun history to the south of us :)

The Inn at Rodanthe as it was named in the movie based on Nicholas Sparks popular novel, “Nights In Rodanthe,” starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, is the most famous home on Hatteras Island, North Carolina.
"Nights in Rodanthe” embraced the majestic natural beauty of Hatteras Island and the focal point of the story, the Inn at Rodanthe, was depicted as a unique seaside inn overlooking the great Atlantic Ocean. In reality, the Inn at Rodanthe was threatened by coastal storms, erosion and repetitive ocean over wash and in danger of falling into the ocean.

This oceanfront Hatteras Island retreat was originally built in the 1980’s with pilings driven 14 feet into the sand and set in concrete. At the time the Inn in Rodanthe was built, there was 400 feet of beach in front of the house.

In the spring of 2009, the current owners from Newton, NC and extreme fans of the movie, heard about the current state of the Inn at Rodanthe and made the decision to purchase the home and save a piece of movie history. On January 4, 2010, the Inn at Rodanthe and an alternate oceanfront lot, only a short distance from the original site, was purchased in an effort to preserve and protect the home from future storms.

The home was moved from its original site by Expert House Movers (the same company that moved the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse). The Inn at Rodanthe weighing in at 83,000 pounds was jacked up, shored with cribbing underneath, loaded up onto beams and four pair of huge wheels, and readied for its move in a matter of just two days. The electric crews and other utility companies temporarily took down power lines and the police stopped traffic while the Inn at Rodanthe took a 30 minute journey on Highway 12 to its new location.

•Learn more at: https://hookedonhouses.net/2011/07/25/the-inn-from-nights-in-rodanthe-rescued-and-renovated/

08/31/2023

This is relevant to our house! Let’s keep the lights out and get a double win! Beautiful starry nights where the Milky Way is visible and turtles making their way to their new life.

We have a favor to ask…

Now that our local sea turtle nests are starting to hatch, we would like to ask everyone staying in oceanfront properties to turn off any indoor or outdoor lights that may be visible from the beach. We are asking this favor because when the hatchlings emerge from their nests, they are very sensitive to light and can become disoriented and follow these residential lights up into the dunes, rather than head down into the ocean. So could you please help us ensure that all our local hatchlings safely make it into the ocean and turn off all outdoor lights on decks and pools, and close the blinds or drapes on all levels of your house after dark ?

Thank you very much for your help.

08/29/2023

Rough waves cause beach erosion and may leave steep escarpments and sand ledges that can drop off a foot or more. A vehicle can be damaged or roll over if the driver isn’t cautious. Be alert when driving, especially at night.

Thank you to Catherine for this picture near Laughing Gull.

08/13/2023

PRO TIP: Departure day, stop at the park for a picnic, clean bathrooms and fun just past the bridge after the long trek to get off the island. It’s a great place to recover from the 2-3Hrs it can take to get from the 4x4 to the bridge if you leave at 10am from the house. (Want to miss the traffic, don’t leave later the 9am)

If you are traveling in from the North to OBX, this park is about 2 hrs from the house and 45 mins to the bridge. Good place to stop for a break and cleaning bathrooms.

Currituck Community Park

08/08/2023

There is more to setting up in the middle of the beach then just basic traffic flow.

Giving emergency vehicles a driving lane on the hard packed sand at the waterline helps us respond faster to emergencies with less wear and tear on our apparatus. Please setup in the middle of the beach.

06/29/2023

Ready to shake it up! How about learning to make sushi? Take a trip to the pavement, learn a fun and yummy skill! OBX Sushi/Hampton Roads

Personalized Culinary Classes & Made-to-order Meals Specifically for You. Classes in your home, our place, or private venue with our Personal Chef!

06/10/2023

05/03/2023

03/30/2023

We were so excited to announce the first foal of the 2023 season on Monday, a beautiful filly named Dove (pictured here). With fewer than 100 individuals left in the wild herd, every single birth is critically important to the long-term health and sustainability of the horses.

In 2020, recognizing the need to better understand the genetic makeup of the herd, we undertook an ambitious project to collect DNA from each and every Corolla Banker - wild and domestic. As of today, we have collected samples from around 120 horses and have been working diligently to construct a family tree that identifies foundation family lines. This information also allows us to test for genetic diseases, identify areas where genetic diversity is low, and even track horse movement and behavior. This research has also proven once and for all that these horses can indeed trace their ancestry back to the horses the Spanish brought here in the 1500s, and then continued to breed and trade up and down the East Coast for centuries after that. The Bankers are a historically significant breed, and an important part of our culture and landscape here in North Carolina.

By combining the DNA with anecdotal and archival information collected by CWHF staff and volunteers over the years, we’ve been able to reconstruct certain family trees going all the way back to the 1970s. Our Dews Island mares are direct descendants of the famous Star, who was hit and killed in the 1990s and became the catalyst for the creation of the Fund. Conservation for a breed like this goes beyond science. They are considered a landrace breed (a local variety of a species of plant or animal that has distinctive characteristics arising from development and adaptation over time to conditions of a localized geographic region and that typically displays greater genetic diversity than types subjected to formal breeding practices), which places great importance on their regional cultural significance. The connections, the memories, the emotions…that’s all part of this too! The DNA is helping us tell the whole story.

Dove’s grandfather was Amadeo, who lived wild and free on the beach for most of his life until he was blinded and nearly drowned in 2013 and was rescued by CWHF and Corolla Ocean Rescue. He went on to become one of our best outreach horses, and was loved dearly by people all over the world. Amadeo died of old age in 2020. As far as we know Amadeo has three offspring still living - Rainbow who lives at Island Farm on Roanoke Island, Junior, who lives at the CWHF rescue farm, and Dove’s mother who is still wild. And of course now he has a beautiful granddaughter who will hopefully live out her days in the wild and produce many foals that will carry on his bloodlines. Her grandmother Hazel lived her entire life in the wild, and died of old age in 2021. She was well known for her love of foals, and would go from harem to harem being a “grandma” to all of them. These stories are so important, and the work we’re doing with the DNA will forever immortalize these special horses.

There is, of course, a cost associated with this project and your support means that we can continue to collect and analyze DNA samples from every single horse. Becoming a member is one of the best ways to get involved: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/memberships/

You can also make a one-time donation: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/one-time-donations/ or mail a check to PO Box 361, Corolla NC, 27927.

Because we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all donations made through Facebook come directly to us with no fees taken out.

Thank you for your continued support of this important work!

03/23/2023

😍❤️

03/13/2023

🥹❤️

This morning we are sad to announce the death of 11-year-old wild stallion Finn, who we humanely euthanized yesterday due to an irreparably broken hind leg.

Finn had been observed fighting with other stallions on Friday, and then unable/unwilling to move Friday night and into Saturday. Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that his leg was badly broken and under the direction of our veterinarian we captured him so that we could help end his suffering. Finn’s injuries were completely in line with those commonly sustained from fighting, and there is no reason to believe he was injured by human means (hit by a vehicle, etc).

While it is a devastating loss for those of us who cared for Finn and who will miss him dearly, what happened to him is nature in its most basic, wild, and unforgiving form. Finn died as wild as he was born; he lived a truly free life and that is something we should take comfort in.

As we go into spring and summer, Finn’s death should serve as a reminder of how wild and dangerous these horses are. It’s breeding season and stallions absolutely do not care if you are in the way when they are fighting. You will get trampled, kicked, bit, or worse. Stay at least 50 feet away from them at all times and always be aware of your surroundings. Fights can break out in a split second, and their movements can be unpredictable and quick. Please give these horses the respect they deserve - for their own safety and yours.

www.corollawildhorses.org

02/25/2023

😜😂

02/25/2023

Hey there, what you doing? Can I come in 😂😂😂

02/23/2023

Last Chance to Save Money on your 2023 Beach Setup! - https://mailchi.mp/42f001a4fcb0/last-chance-to-save-money-on-your-2023-beach-setup

02/18/2023

The visual when you arrive after hours and need to air down before heading down the beach! Just 6 short weeks until first guests arrive for the season 🤩

02/11/2023

Who is ready for the rental season to start just 7 weeks left until the first guest arrives!

01/18/2023

This is good to know and keep handy if you are in OBX this month.

https://m.facebook.com/NCAquariumRI/photos/a.219886450378/10159988885135379/?type=3&mibextid=qC1gEa

Over the last two days, 37 new cold-stunned sea turtles have arrived at STAR Center! 31 green, 5 Kemp's ridley, and 1 loggerhead sea turtle were found by N.E.S.T. (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) volunteers and Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff.

We're certainly happy to have been able to release 30 turtles prior to this event!

If you spot a sea turtle on land this time of year, please call one of the stranding hotlines with your location.
On Hatteras Island: 252-216-6892 (National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
North of Oregon Inlet: 252-441-8622 N.E.S.T. (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) (N.E.S.T.)

Sea turtles in North Carolina are protected by the Endangered Species Act and managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.
NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island operates under NCWRC Sea Turtle Permit .

12/23/2022

Yup. These winds are crazy.

The Dare County Sheriff's Department has now closed NC 12 in Salvo and Colington Road in KDH due to soundside flooding. Additional flooding is occurring on the Nags Head-Manteo causeway (pictured) and in Manteo itself. The best bet is to stay put until these winds subside.

12/23/2022

The fun continues as we make our way south to get off the island.

12/23/2022

We went live from First Tracks today as they call for Gale Force Winds and we needed to baton down the hatches in prep for holiday activities. As I type this we can feel the house swaying in the wind.

Despite all of this it is a great beautiful day at the beach. Beautiful views, warm fire and a great book type of day.