Jockey's Ridge

I took a trip to Jockey's Ridge State park Monday to enjoy a beautiful sunny day with temperatures that couldn't have been over 80 degrees (the forecast called for a high of 75). I don't think the summer will be offering up many more days with temperatures this pleasant.

I've been to the park several times, but always as part of a larger trip with my family, and there was never enough time to explore the whole park.

So armed with my camera gear I wandered around the park, climbing 50 foot high dunes and traipsing through the small wooded areas in the park (it's not all sand). The weather was fantastic and people were playing in the sand, hand gliding, and flying model airplanes and kites all over the dunes.

(Note to self: bring a kite on next trip to Jockey's Ridge).

The trip wasn't productive for photography, but that's OK, since it was mostly a scouting / exploring trip anyway. Any good pictures I got would just be gravy.

The shot above was taken in the afternoon, but I returned to a similar vantage point near sunset, hoping to get a similar composition, except with hundreds of people on the ridge line instead of a few dozen, all silhouetted against a dramatic sky.

The hundreds of sunset watchers showed up on cue, but the dramatic sunset never happened, obscured by low clouds that rolled in. I guess I'll just have to go back again. Soon.