A friend and I took a road trip down to Assateague a couple days ago which is right on the border between Maryland and Virginia. This was the first time I'd been anywhere around there and it really impressed me. It's a barrier island somewhat similar to Island Beach State Park in NJ, but with a little different feeling. There are some interesting pine barrens there which have a very rugged look to them.
The park is huge; we got off to a late start - and it was really cold and windy - so I didn't get in as much exploration as I would have liked. Most of the island is in a wild condition with road access at either end. To get from the northern (Maryland) end of the island to the southern (Virginia) end you need to jog way inland around some vast wetlands, about a 45 mile drive. It was getting pretty late by the time we did that, but on my next visit I'm going to concentrate on the Southern end which (from our quick visit) seems more wild and interesting. It includes 10 miles of beach that which only allows access by foot; I didn't think there was anything like that within a few hours of my house!
One of the novelties there are the wild horses that roam the island: http://www.nps.gov/asis/horses.htm, and in fact that was our excuse for going. We wanted to shoot some video of them in the wild for a project we're working on. That aspect was sort of a bust since we didn't have enough time to really explore the back country. We saw a lot of horses (really ponies) at the northern end, but they are very tame and come up to you to beg for food (which you are strictly prohibited to give them, but obviously people do or they wouldn't be such beggars). Down at the southern end we did see a few of them wandering in the wild however.
Does anyone here have any insights on this area? Especially tips on good places in the wild to film the ponies? If you haven't ever been there then it's definitely worth a trip sometime; that whole area is very interesting and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it isn't so over-built like our beloved NJ
I timed the trip home from the park entrance at the southern end in Virginia, and it took a little under 4 hours until I dropped my friend off in South Philly.
The park is huge; we got off to a late start - and it was really cold and windy - so I didn't get in as much exploration as I would have liked. Most of the island is in a wild condition with road access at either end. To get from the northern (Maryland) end of the island to the southern (Virginia) end you need to jog way inland around some vast wetlands, about a 45 mile drive. It was getting pretty late by the time we did that, but on my next visit I'm going to concentrate on the Southern end which (from our quick visit) seems more wild and interesting. It includes 10 miles of beach that which only allows access by foot; I didn't think there was anything like that within a few hours of my house!
One of the novelties there are the wild horses that roam the island: http://www.nps.gov/asis/horses.htm, and in fact that was our excuse for going. We wanted to shoot some video of them in the wild for a project we're working on. That aspect was sort of a bust since we didn't have enough time to really explore the back country. We saw a lot of horses (really ponies) at the northern end, but they are very tame and come up to you to beg for food (which you are strictly prohibited to give them, but obviously people do or they wouldn't be such beggars). Down at the southern end we did see a few of them wandering in the wild however.
Does anyone here have any insights on this area? Especially tips on good places in the wild to film the ponies? If you haven't ever been there then it's definitely worth a trip sometime; that whole area is very interesting and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it isn't so over-built like our beloved NJ
I timed the trip home from the park entrance at the southern end in Virginia, and it took a little under 4 hours until I dropped my friend off in South Philly.
