Basically, get out and do something this weekend. No options is not an option.
Coast
Since moving to the state 22 years ago, we’ve been especially intrigued by the opportunities for adventure in Eastern North Carolina. Unfortunately, our curiosity has not been matched by action.
Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video or slide show of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb.
After a week of cold and snow throughout much of the state, the swing continues, with unseasonably warm temperatures returning to North Carolina. Get out and warm your bones with a nice hike.
Coast
After a week of snow and cold, doesn’t it sound appealing to spend some time in a warm, muggy swamp? Sure it does, and you can, Saturday, at Goose Creek State Park near Washington (our Washington). As the event notice explains, on the Palmetto Boardwalk Hike, you’ll get to, “See the Palmetto swamp as it transitions to a saltwater marsh without getting your feet wet.” (The later in reference to the “boardwalk” portion of the clinic name.)
The statewide forecast for the weekend: Sunny with highs in the low 60s, which makes this an ideal weekend for just about every outdoor adventure. We offer three options especially well-suited to the forecast.
Coast
Right now is about the time it’s comfortable — and sane — to start venturing into a coastal forest. (Between April and November, exploring coastal forests is tantamount to offering room service to any bug that sucks blood for a livelihood.) That makes it the ideal time for “The Forest of Goose Creek: Past, Present and Future” at Goose Creek State Park near Washington (North Carolina’s Washington, the pleasant one). A ranger leads you on a hike of the Ivy Gut Trail and fills you in on the natural and cultural history of this park, located along the mighty Pamlico River just before it becomes the mighty Pamlico Sound.
In addition to this weekend being the Great Backyard Bird Count, there are other reasons to look up.
Coast
Winter is an especially good time to check out the night sky. Skies tend to be clearer (the cold zaps the moisture from the air) and when the clouds have scattered there’s so much to see. Even more so if you happen to be stargazing at the coast, where interference from light pollution is less of an issue.