Day trip: Assateague Island National Seashore
Assateague Island has been on my to do list for years, especially driving on the beach part. However when I lived in Maryland I did not have a 4x4 that I trusted to safely navigate the sand, and when I moved out west I was too far from Assateague. Now I finally had a chance to visit the beach and drive it's entirety in 2wd.
Assateague Island has three sections: MD side state park, MD side National Park and VA side National Park. We explored MD side National Park portion.
Ponies swam to shore when a Colonial exploration ship was wrecked on a sand bar or reef just off shore. Ponies have lived on the island since then.
We made it to the gate but not without an adventure. I run aluminum valve stems which are perfect for west coast sand and do not dry rot like the rubber ones out in the desert. However New England salt corroded the aluminum so much that I snapped one of the valve stems while taking the cap off and had to change the tire, no big deal other than the fact that I also had to do a rotation because I have a 35" donut spare and need two same size tires in the rear for the Detroit locker to keep me on the road.
If you look close you can see that the valvestem is still in the cap, yep it sheered right off. I have 2 spare valve stems in my tool box and can break the bead, pop the new one in and re-seat the tire, however it was a better choice to drive 10 minutes to a nearest tire shop that changed all 4 valve stems to rubber in less time than I would have changed one.
Just like all my other adventures we drove to the end of the beach to this lovely MD/VA border fence and marked all areas of interest to explore on the way back.
Always like the new updated look of the Sub, and it's still growing on me.
Spotted an abandoned building near state line.
Walked to the building but did not go inside. It would be great to find some history about this building. Could not ask the rangers on the way out because we left after the visitor center closed.
Pink pile entrance is very classy.
Sub just hanging out on the beach.
Definitely need to finish the Zebra and make it all one color soon.
Boys found a couple horseshoe crabs.
All the campgrounds are hike in or paddle in only and are not vehicle accessible.
Found a Sand Tiger Shark that some fisherman caught, tried to release but it died and washed ashore. It's about 5-6ft long.
Patagonia MT imprint in the sand. Patagonia MTs are at 18psi and despite soft and deep sand in spots I never had to use 4x4. So pretty. Only the Dune Grappler looks better.
Found a turtle also.
It's not a common sight to see a turtle this large wash op on shore.
Shell is approximately 2ft wide and 3ft long. Looks like it took some abuse.
One of the two Bay Access roads on which traverse the island.
This is the designated overnight vehicle parking area, too bad my Sub is not considered self contained by the NPS rules.
Overall a great trip especially when I get a chance to practice winching down my spare tire and and fixing broken valve stems. Sub is overbuilt for this. There were some areas where sand was very soft and fluffy, 10-12" deep. However I drove the entire beach in 2wd with absolutely no problems. 4x4 was a great backup to have. Kids had a blast as usual. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to do a timelapse video for the drive because I left the camera at home, will try to make up next time.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!