Free full-moon tour planned

As a special post-Irene experience for the Hatteras Island communities, the National Park Service will be offering free Full Moon Tours of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse the evening of Monday, September 12 from 7- 9:30 p.m. Tour groups of thirty people each will climb the lighthouse every 10 minutes.

As there are no lights inside the lighthouse, climbers will navigate the 257-stair staircase using their own handheld flashlights. From the watch room, climbers will be able to view the light up close and in motion and hear of the operation of the beacon, past and present – a truly unique experience. Outside on the lighthouse balcony (weather permitting) climbers will get a glimpse of what the lighthouse keepers of old were able to experience – seeing that beam of light reaching out to sea and the startling reflection of the newly risen moon on the ocean.