NC: Alligator Creek Marina

Day 342
NM Today: 43
NM To Date: 5489

We said farewell to the folks at Dowry Creek Marina and left the docks shortly after 9:00 this morning.

Last view of Dowry Creek Marina

As we made our way along the ICW, we got a call on the VHF radio from another boater requesting a "slow pass" which means that we slowed down so that he could pass us at a slower speed to reduce the wake effect. As we watched him pass, we both noticed his "root beer" / "strong tea" colored splash. I noticed this morning that our boat has changed color recently due to the stain from the tannin. We had a bit of a stain, but now it is much more pronounced -- our badge of honor as a looper on the ICW!

Tea!  No, Tannin! 

To pass some time on the trip and learn about the area, I read sections of the cruise guide to Clark related to the current area specifically the Pungo River Canal and the Alligator River portions of the ICW waters. In doing so, we learned a bit about nature. First of all we learned that alligators have not been seen in Alligator River since the 1930s as they moved south to warmer waters. We also learned how to tell if a bald eagle is lurking in the local area - look for agitated crows and ospreys. The eagles like to hang out on dead trees to get a good view of the area.

No bald eagles here - we'll have to keep looking.
(We did see one lone hawk circling above us.)

We also read about the "belted kingfisher" that populates this area with a full description of its colors and overall appearance.

Last, but certainly not least we read about the red wolves that live here. Red wolves were extinct in the wild until 1987 when a pair of red wolves from a zoo were reintroduced near the Alligator River due to its remoteness. Over 60 pups have been born in the wild since then. We listened to a recording of the haunting sound of red wolves  in case we get to hear one at night. It sounded just like the noises I hear when I visit haunted houses at Halloween.

So far we have seen none of the described birds or beasts. I gather chances are rather slim that we will but one can always hope.

Clark told me that two phrases summed up today's travel ...

a "straight and narrow canal" (Using the binoculars Clark said the canal was so straight that he could see all the way back the 20 miles to the beginning of the canal.)

Pungo River Canal - straight and narrow

and a "wide open river".

Swing Bridge on the Alligator River

Just over five very boring and extremely hot hours (I truly thought I might melt), we arrived at the Alligator Creek Marina. We had been sweltering in the heat with no breeze (we were traveling the same direction as the wind) for what felt like forever. We turned after exiting the bridge and got the most wonderful breeze. It was short-lived, however, as we only had a few hundred feet to go to get to our marina where again we had little to no breeze. I suggested to Clark that we hang out in the open for a while to catch the breeze, but he ignored my suggestion and pulled into the marina instead.

Coming into Alligator River Marina
near Columbia, NC

Just as we were tying our lines and connecting our electric, we noticed a strange cloud formation in the sky. The cloud was swirling and moving across the sky rather rapidly towards us. As we watched it slowly disappeared.

Swirling "Water Spot" over
Alligator River Marina

Video of water spot ...

Although there was not much to see here, we did walk around the area. A service station with a mini-mart services both cars and trucks on the highway and boats at the marina. We went into the market to explore, and Clark bought himself an ice cream cone.

Afterwards we walked over to the boater's lounge building where we watched some television while I did a load of wash. I would have been better off if I had passed on this opportunity. All my white clothes, including some favorite t-shirts and a lot of my socks, came out stained orange. It looks like the high heat from the dryer reacted with sunscreen that had gotten onto the fabric and cooked it in. I am hoping that the staining is not permanent and that I can redo the affected clothes. I did not want to tackle it here, however, using the same machine that ruined my clothes. I decided to save that "fun" for another day.

I called my son in Boise today to talk with him about the fire out there near his house. We were on the phone together for well over an hour. How scary it must be to wake up to the smell of smoke, look out your window, and see a bright red and orange horizon!