Pettigrew State Park
When I started writing this post, it was about 8:30 Saturday night, I was sitting in front of a campfire, a screech owl was whinnying very close by, the katydids were chirping, and I was kinda drunk off a beer and two hard seltzers. My belly was pleasantly full from the dinner I had cooked over the fire. And I was tired, in the good kinda way, because I had been doing the good kinda stuff that makes me happy, all day long.
I had come down to Pettigrew State Park (NC) on Friday night, after picking up my kayak from Joey at Turning Point Boatworks in New Kent County. He replaced the handles that had ripped off and the rigging that had gotten all stretched out. As a bonus, he cleaned her up, too. She looks all shiny and new after years of abuse!
I woke up Saturday morning to the little jolt of a little bird landing on the suspension strap of my hammock. It was a Carolina wren, who mussed around with my fly, then perched on my cooler, on top of the picnic table, and belted out its song. I continued to lie in the hammock for awhile, listening to the choppy song of the cuckoo and the percussive chips of the cardinals. I guess I drifted off again.
After extracting myself from the hammock cocoon, I did my yoga routine before breakfast. I chatted with Holly, my campground neighbor whom I'd met the night before, who somehow manages to camp in her Prius. I showed off my hammock setup, which I've decided I like a whole lot, and which she was interested to see.
Holly has been traveling wherever the urge takes her, with no particular plan. She said Covid had disrupted her business, and she just started traveling. She used to live in Alaska, but is based in Arizona now. She said seeing all the climate-related changes in Alaska was too depressing: tundra drying out, glaciers disappearing. Living in Arizona let her breathe a little better.
I went for a little stroll, on bike for a few minutes till I got to a boardwalk where bikes were not allowed. I followed the boardwalk and found the swimming area, which is not at a beach but accessed by a dock. A woman there pointed out a turtle in the water, which I saw immediately was a snapper. "Makes me think twice about swimming," she said. After wandering around the old Somerset plantation, I suited up and went for a swim in the cool, clear, placid, shallow water, figuring I wouldn't look too tasty to a snapping turtle. I had the whole swimming area to myself. A bunch of terns and gulls were arranged on the PVC piping marking the perimeter for swimmers. I swam the whole way around, getting within a yard or two of each bird before it flew off.
After lunch I explored the area in my car. Other than park and wildlife refuge areas, it's pretty much all farmland as far as the eye can see.
A crop duster swooped overhead like an outlandish swallow. I checked out the nearest town, Creswell, and found nothing going on, whatsoever. Soooo sleepy. I came across a put-in for the Scuppernong River, but did not feel like paddling there at the moment.
I headed back to the park and kept on driving, all the way to the far side of the lake, which is huge. It is the second largest natural lake in North Carolina, at 16,600 acres.
I contemplated going for a paddle, but by this time the water had turned quite choppy so I went for a bike ride instead.
Miraculously, I had a cellular signal at my campsite so was able to read up on hammock camping. I discovered I had been hanging it too tight, and that's why I was getting cocooned. I loosened the tension and found it to be much more comfortable. I slept really well Saturday night. I am now totally sold on this approach to camping!
I was determined to paddle on Sunday, and went after breakfast even though it was still as choppy as before. I didn't last long. I actually started getting seasick about 20 minutes in, and had to take a shore break before heading back to the dock. It was a solid workout, in any case.
I got in another quick swim, and a bike ride. Had some chill time at my campsite, lounging in my beach chair, watching a curious wren check out the items I had hanging on a line to dry. It actually slipped into my bikini bottom for a second! Wrens will nest in anything, and I'm guessing it was considering possible nest sites.
I left reluctantly a little before 2. I stopped about half way home at the Dismal Swamp Canal, and paddled for about 45 minutes. The water was glassy calm. You could paddle for miles and miles there, but I didn't have that kind of time, nor energy. I did however have enough time to avoid highways on the way home, and to swing into a restaurant/ brewery that caught my eye. I went in to get a bite to eat, and found a couple of friends from Richmond, Kris and Anika. They were about to pay their tab and leave, but stayed for another drink with me. They too had been camping and were heading home, avoiding highways, and happened to see this newly opened place. Like me, they had passed it and then turned around in the subdivision up the road to come back. What are the odds that we'd run into each other like that?
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