Sign Up  /  Login

OBX - Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo LbNA #21667 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Scout
Plant date:Apr 17, 2006
Location:
City:Salvo
County:Dare
State:North Carolina
Boxes:3
Found by: girlguides (3)
Last found:Aug 6, 2009
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFar
Last edited:Apr 17, 2006
Description:

Here you will find letterboxes commemorating three little fishing towns along the Outer Banks. Enjoy your 1 mile loop walk on an abandoned, paved road.

Directions:
Go to the Salvo Day Use Area just south of the town of Salvo on the sound side of the island. Just after you pull off of Highway 12, park your car in the 6 car lot on the left. You will be walking on the old camp road where motor vehicles are no longer allowed. The trail is paved and good for bikes and strollers.

Clues:

Box #1: OBX - Rodanthe

Rodanthe used to be called Chicamacomico, which is an Algonquin word for “sinking down sand.” As is common for the Outer Banks, once the post office came the name was changed to Rodanthe, presumably because Chicamacomico was too hard to pronounce or spell. Rodanthe is the easternmost point of North Carolina, sticking the out the furthest east on the Outer Banks and is known for a history of flooding.

As you entered Rodanthe on the north side you probably saw a lot of cars pulled off to the side of the road. These are surfers, hitting one of the most popular surfing spots on the Outer Banks.

Walk toward the now closed campground area just a few yards to the west. Take the southerly camp road to the left and follow this road in the opposite directions as the arrows indicate a driver would go. Find campsite C51. The fun here will be trying to make out the now faded campsite numbers. At the back of the parking pad for site C51 is a tree. Go to the back of the tree and look at eye level in the tree, wedged in between branches, for the letterbox. Re-wedge it tightly so that it will outlast the hurricanes that are sure to come through here.

Box#2: OBX - Waves

Waves was part of the Chicamacomico Banks and was named South Rodanthe until the postal service came and renamed it Waves, for obvious reasons. Waves is a nice quiet beach town.

Continue going in a southerly direction along the camp road from the Rodanthe letterbox. Turn left on the next camp road on the left, going through the wooden posts. You will see a pull out on the right and two pullouts on the left. In between the pullouts on the left is a large tree. Work your way to the base of this tree and look under the branch starting out low to the ground and heading west for the letterbox. Be sure to wedge it back under the branch when you are done stamping in and cover it well.

Box #3: OBX - Salvo:

Salvo was named Clarksville until the post office came to town in 1901. “There’s a legend as to how the name Salvo came about. It’s said that a Union ship proceeding north from Fort Hatteras sailed by this village during the Civil War and that the commander of the ship inquired about its name. He was informed that the village had no name on the Union charts. The commander told the assistant to “give it a salvo anyway” (a firing of the cannon) and the name Salvo was marked on the Union charts. The name was apparently perpetuated on other maps as well so that when the postal service was looking for a name other that South Rodanthe it chose Salvo.

The Salvo Day Use Area is one of the two best soundside beaches for families on Hatteras Isalnd (the other is Canadian Hole/The Haulover just south of Avon). When the ocean is too rough, this is a great place to bring the kids.

From the Waves letterbox return to the main camp road you just came from. Make a left on this road and continue against the arrows. In between campsites B7 and B5 is a tall tree. Look at the base of this tree for the Salvo letterbox. Be sure to put the sticks back on top of it to keep it weighed down.