#4: [20-Feb-05]

#3: [19-Feb-05] (incomplete)

#2: [15-Jul-99] (incomplete)

08-Aug-2001 -- My friend, Kristin Morgan, and I attempted to visit this confluence while on vacation in North Carolina. I checked out the site before we left and found out it was on a military base called Sunny Point. I emailed both the base commander and the deputy base commander a week ahead of time asking for permission to visit, but I didn’t receive a reply. Since we were so close, we decided to try to gain access.

We stopped to get gas on the way at a place that had sign advertising “Worms and Coffee”. (See photo.) There was a man repairing one of the gas pumps and I told him of our plans to try to get on Sunny Point and take some photos. He said there was no way we were ever going to get on the base because it is where the US Army ships out ammunition to troops overseas.

The base was only a few miles from the gas station. We stopped at the Welcome Center, but it was closed since it was Saturday. We drove up to a gate and explained to the security guard why we were there and what we wanted to do. I think he wanted to shoot us because we looked so much like terrorists, but he radioed his supervisor instead and then instructed us to go to the main gate to talk to him directly. We drove there and plead our case, but he wouldn’t let us on the base. So we had to turn around and chalk this one up as an attempt. The closest we got to the confluence was 0.89 miles (1.43 km).

There is a big sign at the entrance to the base that states, “Protecting the Environment Is Also Our Business”. We got a kick out of that.

Looking at the aerial photo, it looks like this would be a fairly easy point to reach. There doesn’t appear to anything but trees around the confluence, so maybe they’ll let someone visit it. If you plan on visiting this confluence, I recommend getting prior approval or at least go on a weekday when someone is there besides security guards.

Danny Strickland www.artgaga.com