Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
2021 Lighthouse Challenge►
Cape May National Wildlife Refuge was an extra stop for us during the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey. Every October the NJ Lighthouse Society runs the challenge in order to raise funds for the state’s historic lighthouses and maritime sites. In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was mostly virtual. In 2021, it was back on. My friend and I decided to spend the full weekend, stopping at every site on the list and collecting the souvenir piece. In previous years, I’d only finished sections of the course.
Patty and I had lived through some tough times in 2021 and were ready for the brief respite afforded by Lighthouse Challenge weekend. I would also be reporting on our odyssey for my week-long takeover of the Jersey Collective. After visiting Cape May Point, we continued on our trek. We stopped at the Cape May Wildlife Refuge, even though it wasn’t an official challenge site, because it was on the way to our hotel.
Cape May NWR►
Cape May National Wildlife Refuge provides critical habitat to a wide variety of migratory birds and has three separate areas on the peninsula. It supports hundreds of species of birds, serving as a resting place before they continue their southbound migration across the open waters of Delaware Bay.
Before they cross the 12-mile bay, birds stop here They feed on crabs and wait for favorable wind conditions to make the crossing. We walked along the beach for a bit before getting back on the road.
Lighthouse Challenge posts►
- Tinicum Light
- Finn’s Point
- Fort Mott
- East Point Light
- Cape May Point
- Cape May NWR
- Tatham
- Ocean City
- Absecon Lighthouse
- Tuckerton Seaport
- Barnegat Museum
- Barnegat Lighthouse
- Squan
- Sea Girt Lighthouse
- Navesink Twin Lights
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse
Location: 12001 Pacific Ave, Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260
Designation: National Wildlife Refuge
Date designated/established: November 1989
Date of my visit: October 16, 2021
