Stewards of the White Oak River Basin: April 2006

2006-04-24

2006-04-21 Hammocks Beach to Swansboro

Click on this to get the story and pictures of this very enjoyable paddle.

http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060421hawkinscreek/index.html

# posted by Elmer @ 16:06 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-21 Hammocks Beach to Swansboro

Click on this to get the story and pictures of this very enjoyable paddle.

http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060421hawkinscreek/index.html

A difference of opinion has developed over the method of launching canoes and kayaks at the floating dock at Hammocks Beach State Park.

We have written the following to the powers that be. Please express your opinion to them with copy to us of both or either method if you have used them. We have also written the Town of Swansboro about the possibility of an access to Hawkins Creek at the corner of Rte 24, West Corbett Avenue and West Shore Drive.

This was sent to Paul Donnelly, ,paul.donnelly@ncmail.net of Hammocks Beach State Park and
Frank Rush, frush@emeraldisle-nc.org , County Manager of Emerald Isle, as they are now building similar launching devise at Emerald Woods Park.

" Four of us talked with Ranger Bland Friday after our paddle from Hammocks to Swansboro.

We will send you our report of this trip as soon as it is compiled with pictures. This will go out to all on our paddle list and we will be asking them to let us know if they have used the new launching facilities and what their opinion is about them.

We will also ask them it they have used Yak-A-Launcher and their opinion on them. We will ask them to e-mail you directly with copy to us to save at lot of paper work or if you want we can we can collect the results and send them to you as you prefer.

We are hoping two of these of the commercial variety may be the answer to the objections voiced by some. These could simply be a low cost addition to what you presently have.

Mr. Privette of Paddle Pamlico, returned our call to him as we were writing this.
> www.paddlepamlico.com
You can see the story on the Yak-A-Launcher at: http://www.paddlepamlico.com/YAL.htm

e-mail: al@paddlepamlico.com or: info@paddlepamlico.com

We will leave it up to the three of you to get together. If you want us to come to try out a Yak-A-Launcher, let us know.

Elmer Eddy

Elmer, The White Oak River Trashman
Stewards of The White Oak River Basin
Please visit our web site: www.whiteoakstewards.org Cell phone: 910-389-4588"
.
(Type "wild horse" on Google and see what you get. We got #1 out of 48 million! Come paddle over to Shackleford and see them for yourself. We were picking up trash when we got this one. We have more fun when we paddle and pick up trash. Elmer)

# posted by Elmer @ 09:10 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-21 Hammocks Beach to Swansboro

Click on this url for the story and picutres. Our thanks to Ed Gruca of Emerald Isle for developing this presentation for us. The launch area at Hammocks Beach State Park stirred up quite a controversy. Do you have any suggestions for improvement to make it more user freindly? Elmer

http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060421hawkinscreek/index.html

# posted by Elmer @ 08:43 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-22

Wild Horse

We were pickjing up trash in 2004 on Shackleford Banks. Our piles of trash did not get much attention.

But this picture came out to be #1 on Google out of 48 plus million!

Just go to Google and type in "wild horse".

Isn't it nice to be #1 on the internet. Picking up trash made this so!

Elmer Eddy

# posted by Elmer @ 10:14 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-20

2006-04-11 Little Northeast Creek

[http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060415littlenortheastcreek/index.html]

The above url prepared by Ed Gruca will give you the whole story of this adventure. We all had a fine time and are pleased to be able to declare this section of Little Northeast Creek free of all litter. How long will it stay that way?

We are asking NCDOT to erect the $1000 "Don't Litter" signs here at this bridge. Some people are obviously using it as their own personal disposal area. We are also asking NCDOT to count this as part of our contribution to Adopt-A-Highway Clean Sweep which is in full swing right now as declared by our Governor.

Please take a road or a bridge area near you and make it litter free. Leave the trash by the road as we did and call Pam Watkins at NCDOT, 910-455-3777 or e-mail , and they will pick it up.

We are also sending this to our County Commissioners and County Manager and to Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Division and asking them to make this a Blue Way or Blue Trail, i.e., A Canoe Trail for all to enjoy as we did. It is an exceptionally nice trail right here and so easy to get to.

If this url will not open for any of you we will be glad to resend it by the old method. Elmer

# posted by Elmer @ 08:38 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-14

Northeast Creek, Piney Green Road Bridge


	Piney Green Bridge


	Approaching the bridge at Piney Green. On on the other side one hundred yards on the left is where we urge the City and/or County to acquire the land and make a permanent public access to the river for a Canoe and Kayak Trail. Nothing has to be done to it. We use it as it is. But, it needs to become publicly owned land to preserve it for all . It is a lovely trail year round when other streams are dry or too low to paddle. This is a natural place to put in and paddle downs to Northeast Creek Park. It ought to be a Northeast Creek Park Satellite! Please let's all work together an make it so.


	Upstream


	Venus de Jacksonville


	Alligators

# posted by Elmer @ 10:22 0 Comments Links to this post

Northeast Creek Park, Alligators and trash


	Alligators


	This is a big specimen. One of several that we saw. When this one dove under, his tail curled over like the Loch Ness monster and it powered downstream at a high speed. All of the gators were seen in the first mile.


	Close enough!!


	Upstream


	Venus de Jacksonville


	Piney Green Bridge

# posted by Elmer @ 10:15 0 Comments Links to this post

Northeast Creek Park, look at what we found


	Venus de Jacksonville


	This is our Stone Lady of The Woods on Northeast creek. This ought to take the prize for the oddest, most unusual litter ever found.


	Brian transforms litter into art. She will stand as a greeting to all who venture up Northeast Creek like the mermaid in Copenhagen harbor. Brian took a fancy to her! But she would not fit in his kayak!


	Upstream


	Piney Green Bridge


	Alligators

# posted by Elmer @ 10:07 0 Comments Links to this post

Northeast Creek Park going up stream


	Northeast Creek


	April 11, 2006


	Northeast Park to Piney Green Bridge


	We had a lovely five mile roundtrip on this beautiful creek. One area was solid with gorgeous palmettos. Wisteria hung from trees over the river. Violets showed up all along. We saw ospreys, ducks, squirrels, and an owl being chased by small birds. A lady made out of stone was an unusual find. We saw alligators going both ways. The weather was excellent and it was a very nice paddle indeed. We are planning a return trip to get about 12 logs out that are blocking the river. We did not have a chain saw on this trip.


	This is Elmer on the way up stream carrying his canoe over the one and only beaver dam on this section of Northeast Creek. A few years ago, before JR Batchelor of Onlsow County, Mosquito Control, removed it, this dam was four or five feet high. On the way back down Elmer opened a hole in the top of the dam and made a chute or flume and all shot through it and got a little thrill of white water paddling.


	Jim limbos under a blowdown.


	Elmer has to go over the top!


	Venus de Jacksonville


	Piney Green Bridge


	Alligators

# posted by Elmer @ 10:02 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-11, Northeast Creek,

# posted by Elmer @ 09:49 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-11, Northeast Creek,

http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060411Anortheastcreek/index.html

# posted by Elmer @ 09:49 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-11, Northeast Creek

This was sent to our Onslow County Commissioners, and Mac Sligh, County Parks and Recreation, and Jacksonville City Parks and Recreation, David Llynch and Mona Padrick, Onslow County Tourism.

Here are the pictures and story of our paddle on Tuesday, 4-11-06. We need to make this lovely creek a Canoe Trail. It will take Jacksonville City and Onslow County working together to make this a reality.

We go back tomorrow, Saturday, 2006-04-15 at 9:00 AM to get out those logs blocking the creek if we can. Elmer Eddy

http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060411Anortheastcreek/index.html

# posted by Elmer @ 09:21 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-08

2006-04-06, White Oak River

Take a picture trip with us down the beautiful White Oak River from Gibson Bridge to Maysville, NC. Pictures courtesy of Ed Gruca of Emerald Isle. Others on this trip were Dale Weston of Jacksonville and his friend George, Jim Morris of Morehead City and Elmer Eddy of Swansboro.

http://home.earthlink.net/~paddlingineasternnorthcarolina/060404gibsonbridge/index.html

You are welcome to join us anytime. E-mail us if you want to get on our list for advance notices of our paddle trips.

Next paddle, Tuesday on Northeast Creek in Jacksonville. Elmer

# posted by Elmer @ 15:48 0 Comments Links to this post

2006-04-01

2006-03-29, Starkys Creek, upstream from Belgrade-Swansboro Road

#12 We could canoe under this log. At high water it will be an obstruction
#11 First snake of the season. Never saw this color before. Maybe a bleached out hibernating black snake getting his first sunning.
# 10 Two Canadian Geese on the Big Beaver Dam Lake.
# 9 Beaver Lodge on the big lake.
# 8 The lake is clogged with this weed. One cannot paddle through it. Thick yellow algae too.
# 7 Jim Morris below a beaver dam. There were three before the Big Lake.
# 6 Violets are blooming.
# 5 More violets.
# 4 More violets.
# 3 A yellow wild flower.

We were disappointed in the big lake being clogged with that weed with oval shaped leaves and dense growth. The main creek stream remains open.

On the way back down Dale Weston opened the creek by cutting through logs and vines so you can paddle upstream to the big beaver dam lake if you want to. It is three dams upstream. Someone is trapping the beavers.

Did not include all of the above pictures in this blog. Elmer