Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 14/15

Monday: Our campground was only a few minutes from the Cape May ferry across Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware. The morning was cool and clear, with a strong wind from the SW which made for a bouncy 15-mile ride, even for the relatively large ferry. Once ashore in Delaware, we took the shoreside highway and passed through numerous beach towns but continuous beach development. Passing into Maryland we continued south until after Ocean City an inlet forced us across the bay to the Eastern Shore mainland, then back out to Assateague Island, a National Seashore. We stopped at the visitor center and asked about camping. The woman replied, "There are two parks. For the Assateague State Park Campground you make reservations one year ahead. At the National Seashore campground you make reservations six months ahead". "But ma'am, the sign outside says both parks have vacancy." "Well, yes, they do, you can camp there, but not with reservations". "Huh?" Anyway, we got a good campsite, not on the beach but overlooking the inland bay. Assateague is a 37-mile barrier island famous for its wild horses. We thought we might be lucky and see one, but it turns out they are pretty much everywhere. The horses have been wild on the island for about 300 years, and have reverted to the social system of 'aboriginal' wild horses everywhere: small bands consisting of a harem of mares, one dominant stallion which protects and defends them, and a dominant mare which makes all the decisions about where they go and what they do. The horses are small and stocky, and pay little attention to people unless they are bothered. There are about 90 horses, and they keep the population in check by birth-control darts. There are also lots of white tail deer and a population of introduced Sitka deer. After setting up camp we took a nature walk on a marsh nearby, which was full of life: crabs, fish, birds, even a couple of deer and a horse. We drove into town for dinner, mediocre. During the evening we heard a whinney and found there was a lone horse wandering past our trailer. We'll stay here an extra day.

Tuesday: In the morning we took a leisurely bike ride around the park and back to the visitor center. On the way we could see a group of wild horses grazing on the marsh grass near the bay shore.  After lunch we took two more nature trail walks, one through a pine forest and another along the dunes.

It almost happended that Assateague was developed like barrier islands farther north. In the 1950's a paved road was built the length of the island and the land was subdivided into thousands of building sites, with a master plan that would have included hotels, marinas, everything. A storm in 1962 wiped the island clean- houses and all- and the National Park Service turned it into a park in 1965. We saw traces of the old road on the dunes walk this afternoon. Most of the island can now be reached only by boat, except that in the winter ATV's are allowed on the beach. A beautiful place. Said to be many mosquitos, no-see-ums, and horseflies, but we haven't been bothered by them at all.