A Southeastern North Carolina Run

Ok, So I have been lazy the past few weeks...but hey. Two weekends ago, I took a roadtrip with Joe Babyak around Southeastern NC. I picked up a few new miles on highways and also crossed the Cape Fear via the Fort Fisher/Southport Ferry for the first time.

The Trip route: River Road in Wilmington, US 421, NC 211, I-95, NC 20, NC 87, NC 11, NC 53,US 117, NC 210, I-40.

The entire Flickr set with over 154 photos is here.

Now some have commented that I don't take sign photos anymore. So lets get this out of the way first.

It's the national southern end of US 421 at Fort Fisher State Park. That sure is a long way from Michigan City, Indiana isn't it.

The Fort Fisher/Southport ferry is a nice trip over the Cape Fear. The southern most route of the NC Ferry System, the cost to cross is $5 for most vehicles. The ride is certainly not uneventful as on many days you will pass numerous sailboats, pleasure craft, and freighters along the Cape Fear.

Near the Southport landing is an abandoned lighthouse.

This is the former Price's Creek Front Range Light. It was in operation from 1849 to the Civil War; however, it's been dark ever since.

Next up, was a stop at Southport. Southport is a great coastal town and boasts to being the home of the North Carolina July 4th Festival.

Also from Southport a few unique signs:

It's kinda hard to see this NC 211 shield from the road...and

how's that for a street name.

The next stop was the abandoned Super 6 Gas Station and Food Mart in Bolton. You may have seen a feature about this store in Carolina Lost.

NC 211 is a Scenic Byway and early November the fields are lined with cotton.

At NC 410's East End at NC 87 in Dublin, it appears that folks from Michigan installed the sign.

Finally, we stopped at a small Pender County town of Atkinson. Just off of NC 11/53 is the former Atkinson High School, and with a late afternoon setting sun, it made for some great photos.

Comments

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley. To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker. Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa. The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language. The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246. CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County. CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward. South of CA 127 ...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog