Where The Wild Horses Are

Some come for the peaceful beaches, other individuals for the pristine landscapes, but what most people today recall most from visiting Assateague are the wild horses — sitting correct next to you on the beach.

By Elaine Casarella

It was ironic that I was visiting Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge when Ken Burns’ six-element series, “The National Parks: America’s Ideal Idea,” occurred to be airing on PBS. As I was watched, I couldn’t help to marvel at how he was once once more opening our minds and hearts to a portion of American that quite a few of us take for granted. Just as he did with the Civil War and baseball, Burns was generating an usually overlooked feature of American heritage come alive by focusing not just on incredible visual photos, but by breathing true life into the folks who created it all happen.

Assateague, exactly where I started my trip, is a barrier island that stretches 37 miles along the Maryland/Virginia shore, and was pretty close to not getting a national park at all. In 1962, after being pounded by days by the infamous “Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962,” the island was a full loss for the scores of developers hoping to turn the pristine coastline into useful vacations estates. The federal government quickly took the land over from the bankrupt speculators and designated the whole location a national park. Right now, sitting on an undeveloped beach exactly where wild horses and deer roam freely, a visitor can look north into the distance beyond the park’s borders and make out the towering hulks of hotels and resorts in nearby towns, grateful that someone had the foresight to safeguard the space.

Following Labor Day, the ocean waters are still warm but the summer time crowds have lengthy departed. Camping is allowed on the Maryland component of the island, and it is probably 1 of the handful of locations in the globe exactly where travelers have the opportunity to be woken up by a single of the wild horses that roam freely, scratching themselves — and usually relieving themselves — against your shelter. The island is famously household to a feral population of horses. Descendants of 17th-century domesticated stocks, the National Park Service manages the Maryland herd even though, curiously enough, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Corporation owns and manages the Virginia herd.

Those who don't forget reading Marguerite Henry’s, “Misty of Chincoteague,” throughout childhood — a telling of the annual swimming of the of Virginia herd from Assateague to Chincoteague Island where the young foals are auctioned off in an work to keep the size of the herd — will be glad to know the well-known swim still requires place on the last Wednesday of each July. It is a raucous event, with crowds and parades taking portion for days.

For the curious, the park service maintains a visitor center crammed with details about the area and the wildlife. There are several trails for independent hikers and bikers and, though tougher to come by right after the summer season months, eager guides who will lead nature walks and instructional sessions all through the park.

On 1 of our hikes near the beach, a beneficial — and perhaps bored — Park Ranger spent a excellent 20 minutes describing the habits of shellfish and crustaceans, patiently explaining what fish should really not be put in a holding tank with which other people. He also gave us suggestions on how to stay clear of getting bitten by the starving mosquitoes: “Don’t smell like a person.” A lot easier for some of us than for other people, but his point was that there are some good organic bug repellents, most of which contain lemongrass that mask our human odors and hold the nasty critters away.

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55 miles south, in the easternmost portion of Virginia, is Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the lower half of the Assateague National Seashore. The road to Chincoteague passes through NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility, a center for aeronautic investigation that operates a modest visitor center. The island of Chincoteague itself is household to a touristy village, but since there is no camping permitted in the refuge, it is tiny extra than a helpful stopping spot for meals and rest. Regardless of this, it’s still pretty an abomination that the final meals service in town, ideal at the entrance gate to the preserve, is a McDonald’s.

The park service’s stated mission for the refuge is “to guard native and migratory species of wildlife and their habitat,” and does it ever. Wherever you go the bird viewing is merely awesome, with blue heron, snowy egrets, hawks, eagles and a prodigious assortment of ducks swiftly becoming commonplace sights.

The visitor center is complete of exhibits, interpretive sessions, films and valuable park rangers. One long trail permits autos only from 3 p.m. till dusk, the best mosquito-free of charge alternative so extended as you keep in mind not to roll down the car or truck window for that best photo.

Despite the fact that I ordinarily keep away from guided tours of any kind, we did meet up with a local boatman, a fourth-generation islander with a rich regional accent — a thing like a cross between the deep south and Old English — who took us about the island and peppered his speak with references to what “used to be right here,” or “burned down there,” or “went bankrupt more than there.” He showed us close-up how shellfish are collected and held in watery tubs until time for harvesting, and he suggested some good places to eat fresh seafood.

The lower Assateague beach area in Virginia is even extra pristine than its Maryland neighbor. The horses on this side are fenced in and not permitted to roam freely (read, poop-absolutely free sand), and state-of-the-art porta-potties are the only touches of civilization. Off-road cars are permitted on the southernmost finish of the island, but they do not interfere with the views of the pelicans and porpoises cavorting in the surf. It is a terrific beach for reading, nature watching, and specially napping.

These days communing with nature and watching the Ken Burns series produced me curious, so I Googled “National Parks,” and was shocked to come across that within a 500-mile radius of my home, there are 140 distinctive parks, monuments, battlefields and historic internet sites. I have my operate cut out for me, but I’d love to explore them all. Who knows what sort of wild animals I’ll run into subsequent time?