With the tourist season over and the Oregon Inlet Campground closing in a few weeks, I decided to try get in at least one more trip before fall. I headed down Friday afternoon in time to do a little sunset paddling around Pea Island NWR (about 7 miles south of Oregon Inlet). It was also a excuse to play with a new camera – a Nikon P5000 – and maybe capture a few sunset photos. Drifting around in a kayak may not be the most effective place to try to figure out the features of a new camera – but it sure beats sitting in front of the television.

I arrived back at the campground about 8PM, fixed dinner, and crashed under a beautiful star-filled sky. I even managed to get up early enough to catch a pretty nice Hatteras sunrise. Tropical storm Gabrielle was somewhat uncertain so I decided to break camp and head to Alligator River NWR where the wind would be a bit lighter.

[Not a valid template]