Category Archives: Cape Cod

Writer’s Block

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Well it was bound to happen one of these days. I set a pretty ambitious goal to post something 6 days a week. The biggest problem is time. There is lots to write about but I like to give you up to date information and pictures. In fact, I subscribe to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words so if I have no pictures, I have no tales.

The past few days were a combination of things including weather that kept me from getting much exploring done. I didn’t even have much time to take pictures for my photo blog. I had my car in for maintenance so with no wheels to get around I missed being out and about gathering stories. It still need some more work too so I hope it won’t be tied up too long. After all I have places to go and people to see and things to do and then tell you all about it all here!

I asked Scout if he had any new tips and he admitted he hadn’t put anything together. He said he could have some in a day or two but by then I should be back on track.

I thought my friend Julie would bail me out with stories of her recent trip to Arizona and California but she had the day off so I haven’t caught up with her at work yet.

My cuz in Florida is going to share her experiences on trip she took to Ireland but she’s still putting that together. I have another co-worker that went to Ireland as well but I haven’t set up a time to get his stories yet. My fault on that one.

My friend Diane still has many, many stories and pictures to share but again I dropped the ball and didn’t leave myself enough time to get together  with her.

Another friend and co-worker, Jay, just got back from his rafting vacation but we haven’t had a chance to chat about that in any detail yet. I can’t wait to see his pictures and he says I can share them here. That will be a treat for us all, I am sure!

Well, sometimes it seems I spend more time making excuses and if I’d just taken that same time I would have had something to write but it’s just human nature, I guess.

I will be on my work schedule now for the next 2 days so I won’t have any time to go anywhere but maybe I can dredge something out of the archives that you might enjoy.

Or maybe I should remind you that you’re welcome to contribute too! I love your comments but you can also share you travel experiences too. Don’t be shy. Sometimes a fresh voice is just what’s needed. In the meantime I’ll share some photos from some of my jaunts. I’ve written about all of the trips shown in these photos but selecting the pictures makes me think that there may be more stories in them to share. Something to think about.

Well enjoy the pictures until I get my next post together. Remember my next trip is fast approaching and we know there will be a lot of things to share from that.

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Cape Cod Canal

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What’s 17 miles long, 540 ft wide and connects Cape Cod Bay with Buzzard’s Bay? Answer: The Cape Cod Canal

I thought I’d write a little about the canal because it’s a beautiful area and it’s fascinated me for years. I have had a goal to bike the length of it since I moved out here 30 years ago. Still haven’t done it. Maybe this year.

The canal is spanned by 3 bridges, the Cape Cod Railroad Bridge, the Bourne Bridge and the Sagamore Bridge. I was amazed to learn that there  are traffic lights at each end of the canal to regulate vessels that are over 65 ft!

The idea of the canal was first considered by the pilgrims back in 1623. William Bradford surveyed the area trying to find a way to reduce travel time to the new trading post he established and there the matter ended until 1697 when the General Court of Massachusetts took the first formal request to build a canal under consideration. Over a series of years the area was explored and surveyed numerous times. Even George Washington got involved as one of the surveyors on the project but each time the project fell by the wayside.

The first attempt to actually put shovel to ground and try to dig the canal did not come until the late 19th century. Any previous attempts had been doomed by either money or the shear immensity of the project. It would take someone with real vision and audacity to  get behind the idea.

 That man finally stepped forward in the form of August Belmont Jr, American financier and thoroughbred racer and June of 1909 construction finally began. Almost immediately the engineers ran into difficulty. The builders had “tons” of obstacles to over come and I mean that quite literally. The builders soon discovered huge boulders in the path of the canal left over from the retreat of the glaciers after the last ice age. That problem was tackled by blasting and dredging but it made for slow going. Add to those headaches are the problems inherent in trying to complete a major outdoor project with New England weather to contend with and , well you can see how the canal could be called the original “Big Dig”.

Still the engineers plodded on and finally the canal was opened partially in 1914 and finally completed in 1916.

From 1916 to 1935 the canal muddled along. It was narrow and shallow and navigation was difficult. There were numerous accidents that marred the reputation of the waterway. Finally the government stepped in and under the US Army Corps of Engineering the canal was widened and deepened until it became the widest sea level canal in the world!

Today in addition to being a commercial and recreational waterway, the area has been developed into a heavily used recreation area for biking, walking, skating and fishing. It has benches set at scenic areas along the canal where people like to sit and watch the boat traffic. There are access roads on both sides of the canal that make it easy to reach the best fishing spots.

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So now I just have to get a bicycle!

Cape Cod Spring

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It was a beautiful, warm spring day in Taunton. The sun was shining, the breeze was warm, the kind of day when you can believe that anything is possible.  I spent the morning running errands and generally puttering around but after lunch wanderlust kicked in. I’ve been working on a post about Cape Cod National Seashore, not to mention that there was a good possibility that there would still be whales around that might be seen from shore so it was easy to talk myself into an afternoon jaunt to the cape.

One of the nice things about Cape Cod this time of year is that everything is fresh and new. Trees are budding and folks are sprucing everything up to get ready for the summer season but the tourists haven’t arrived yet…at least not “en-mass”. There are a few vacationers but they are the exception so travel is easy. No traffic jams. It seemed like a good time to try to get pictures for that post.

It seemed like a good idea that is until I hit Bourne. I hadn’t even got to the bridges when the fog rolled in. Not little wispy fog but great , dense fog and over cast skies. I worked my way from scenic overlook to scenic overlook, debating all the way if I should turn around and save the gas or gamble that the fog was localized near the canal. Gambling won and it was a pretty good gamble.

By the time I reached the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham the sun was shining again. There were a few hikers around but the Visitor Center was quiet. The Ranger at the desk asked me if I needed help  as soon as I walked in to ask about the fog conditions around the cape and if any whales had been sighted  today. He said the tip of the cape, Provincetown, Race Point and part of Truro on the bay side were pretty much socked in by fog but the ocean side of the cape was still clear with just a haze filtering the sunlight. He said most of the whales were down around Race Point but that some had been seen near Head of the Meadow Beaches in Truro.

Always the optimist I set off to look for the whales again. This time I had a new camera lens and I hoped it would be enough to let me catch some shots from shore. I went to Nauset Light first as that was where I saw the whales the last time. Nothing today. I moved on down to Marconi Beach. Struck out again. By now the clouds were starting to gather and the breeze was turning into more of a wind.

I decided one last stop and if I struck out there I would take the long way home and sight see up 6A  to the Sagamore Bridge. I pulled down to Coast Guard Beach and there I hit pay dirt. As soon as I pulled in I could see multiple blows on the horizon. The wind was really starting to blow too so I pulled on a wind breaker, gathered my 500 mm lens and the monopod and stepped up to the fence to brace against the wind.

Through the camera I could see the whales quite clearly. They were very active. The sun was still shining but it wasn’t as intense as it had been and there was definitely a slight mist. The blue sky seemed to blend into the ocean making the horizon line a fuzzy blur. It was really different and I was happy to try to capture those unusual conditions. It made me think of a piece of art or a multi-hued tapestry as it seemed to have a texture all of its own.

It was almost more mesmerizing than whales as they were so far out as to be tiny specs and spots in the mist.

I tried for pictures again without much better luck. Better lens, worse weather conditions, can’t win. I was joined by a couple from New Hampshire who were trying to video tape the action. He was having trouble holding his little video camera steady in the now gale like winds. He tried a tripod but that was shaking too. I was having my own troubles holding my big lens steady on the monopod. I wouldn’t have had any luck if not for the fence.

Before too long we had quite a crowd lined up watching for spouts. With that many people watching I doubt if any sightings were missed. Over the sound of the wind you heard an almost continuous chorus of there’s one, and there’s another , oh there’s two and I see a tail, that’s a flipper and so on. I was there over 3 hours before finally packing it in just before 6pm. I was tempted to stay around to see if there would be enough of a break in the clouds for a nice sunset but thought better of it. It was getting quite cold and sunset was still over an hour away.

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I said good-bye to my fellow whale watchers and headed home. I was anxious to see if I had caught anything under these conditions. The result was disappointing, again, but the day was not! I will keep trying until the whales move on or I get that “money” shot.