October 5, 2025October 5, 2025 photobyjohnbo

Cellpic Sunday — Blogger Meetup on Goat Island

September 2025.
Cramerton, North Carolina.

We were getting ready to leave our VRBO in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, after visiting our son and daughter-in-law. It was a Sunday, and as I scrolled through comments on my latest Cellpic Sunday post, the first one I saw was from Deb L. Waters—as it almost always is, since she posts her contribution on Saturday evenings. In her comment, she shared the link to this post: 2025 Cellpic Sunday – 7 September. Since 2022, Deb’s posts have been a regular feature, often highlighting North Carolina, the Catawba River, and her grandson. Although I knew she was from North Carolina, I didn’t know her location until she mentioned the Goat Island Storybook Walk in Cramerton. A quick check on Google Maps showed that Cramerton was just a few minutes from Charlotte and CLT, the airport we’d be flying out of on Monday afternoon.

Goat Island-1 — *Entrance to Goat Island Park & Greenway*

We headed out of our VRBO on Monday just before our mandated check-out time of 10:00 AM, on our way to Cramerton. I commented on her post that we would be in the area and would like to visit Goat Island for a blogger meet-up. She offered to meet us at Goat Island and give us a tour of the park, including the newly opened Storybook Walk.

The photo above was taken from a shady pier that provided our first glimpse of Goat Island on the opposite shore. When we visited on September 8, the Catawba River wore its muddy brown coat—a result of recent rains stirring up sediment and runoff from upstream. The South Fork, which encircles Goat Island, is particularly susceptible to this phenomenon after storms, due to its clay-rich Piedmont soils and inherent turbidity. It’s not unusual, and while it may look murky, it’s just the river doing what rivers do: responding to the landscape and weather in real time.

Pedestrian Bridge to Goat Island — *Pedestrian bridge to Goat Island*

Looking northwest from the pier, we saw our way onto Goat Island, a pedestrian bridge. As we began our approach to the bridge, Deb shared some of the facets of this jewel of an island park. The park is a scenic gem situated in the heart of Cramerton, offering a rich blend of recreation and natural beauty.

The Pedestrian Bridge — *Our gateway to Goat Island*

We approached the first of two unnamed pedestrian bridges, this one on the south side of Goat Island. The bridges lead to an 18-hole disc golf course and playgrounds for all ages. The island also features picnic shelters, a walking trail, and other recreational amenities—making it a versatile spot for both relaxation and recreation.

Our first views after crossing the bridge featured hole one of the disc golf course, a nearby dog park, and a children’s recreation area. Deb told us that the children’s recreation area took a serious hit from Hurricane Helene, which swept through in late September 2024. The storm caused major flooding across the South Fork Catawba River, submerging much of the island and leaving behind heavy debris, sand, and structural damage. The playgrounds were among the most severely affected features, with equipment rendered unsafe or unusable.

Cleanup and restoration took months, with the town prioritizing safety and compliance with inspection standards. One key delay involved the replacement slide on the larger playground—it had to be custom-ordered and installed by the original manufacturer due to backlogs and safety protocols. By July 2025, the new slide was finally installed and passed inspection, marking the full reopening of the playground and a return to normalcy for local families.

Soon, we were walking along the River Link Greenway and the newly opened Storybook Walk, which Deb featured in her September 7 blog post here. The River Link Greenway in Cramerton is officially part of the Carolina Thread Trail network. It’s a 0.7-mile (1.1 km) paved extension that runs along the South Fork River, connecting directly to Goat Island Park and its existing greenway loop. The newly added Storybook Walk features a children’s book displayed page by page along the trail.

Deb Waters and the Story Walk — *Deb and the first page of the Storybook Walk.*

We enjoyed the walk along the trail, noting how the placards in English and Spanish wove the story as we strolled along the walkway. Lynn and I always enjoy meeting with our blogger friends, and this coincidental meetup was yet another opportunity for us to meet Deb and thank her for her commitment to follow Cellpic Sunday with her own responses. Check her site here for her take on the story walk.

About the photos: All photos were captured in Pro Mode on my Samsung S25U cellphone. The images were processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic, and some pictures were also sent to Luminar Neo for further processing. I’ve posted all of the pictures of 2K HD on my Flickr site here.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never assign a specific theme to this feature—the primary rule is that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or other mobile device. The second rule: link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post. Oh, and there’s no penalty if you don’t post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner