Lighthouses along the Massachusetts Coast

Posted on August 22, 2013August 22, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I ran around trying to get pictures of lighthouses last summer. I had it in my head that the best lighthouses to photograph were in Maine. It was a fun trip and I got some beautiful shots but I overlooked the fact that there are 16 lighthouses just on Cape Cod. Cape Cod is a day trip for me and what about the rest of the Massachusetts Coast?

Boston Harbor Cruises offers 2 Lighthouse Cruises, a “northern” and a “southern”. Of course they are always on a Saturday night so I haven’t had the chance to take either. But this year I haven’t been looking for lighthouses. I’ve been chasing whales and seals and in process look what I’ve seen!

Gurnet Light

This has been my nemesis of a light since I heard of it. The Lighthouse is not open to the pubic and is accessible only by four- wheel- drive vehicles from Duxbury Beach. But even if you have a four- wheel -drive, which I do not, the road is not open to the public either.

If you want to hike it, which I have considered, it’s only about 5 miles each way. (With camera gear I’d rather not) The other option is from the water but I don’t have a boat so I was thrilled to pass right by it on Captain John’s Whale Watch trip.

Bug Light AKA Duxbury Pier Light

Seems like there are “Bug” Lights everywhere. They refer to little lighthouses, many are “spark plug” like in shape but most also have a real name like this one. Although known as “Bug Light” it’s real name is Duxbury Pier Light. It was built in 1871 on the north side of the main channel in Plymouth Harbor to mark the dangerous shoal off Saquish Head. It was the first so-called spark plug lighthouse in the US.

To really appreciate this spark plug of a light you need to read The Keeper of Bug Light http://www.buglight.org/Harry%20Salter%20Buglight.pdf It’s an easy read and very interesting.

`Let’s take a quick swing down to Chatham on Cape Cod. As I looked at the seal colony we cruised past Chatham Lighthouse with Lighthouse beach in front. (If I ever do a Cape Cod series you’ll see this one again.)

Today, the former keeper’s house is an active U.S. Coast Guard station, with on-duty personnel living quarters. Search and Rescue, maritime law enforcement, and Homeland Security missions are carried out here. Flotilla 11-01 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary operates from this station.

This is located right on Main St so it’s easy to get to unlike some of the other’s mentioned here. Lets take a look at a couple more in my next post.

A Whale of a Day

Posted on August 9, 2013August 9, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Monday past was a beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold and not humid. The weather forecast for Tuesday was more “iffy” so I made the always difficult decision to go to Boston on Monday.

Boston is a great city. I used to love going in to spend the day. That was before the “Big Dig”. No matter where you live you’ve probably heard a lot about Boston’s Big Dig. It was supposed to make travel into Boston easier and quicker. After years of traffic delays while they worked on it, it is now finished and traffic is worse! The expressway never clears out. 1 1/2 hour drive before is now 3 hours. The MBTA is crowded and hot. Not a pleasant experience and not much faster.

After much deliberation I prepared to drive into Boston and pay the exorbitant parking fees ($40-$50 for the day depending on which garage wasn’t full) but as I neared RT 128 I turned on the WBZ traffic on the 3’s and learned that even at 10:30 am the expressway was still tied up. The residual backup was all the way back onto RT 128. So change of plans, I went to Quincy Adams station on the Redline and took the “T” in.

To get to my destination, Aquarium station, I rode the Red line to Park St. where I changed to the green line to get to Government Center Station where I changed to the Blue Line to get to the Aquarium stop. Arrival time…1pm. 2 hours from parking at 11am to arrival at 1pm.

I had a combo ticket for a whale watch at 2pm and admission to the aquarium. I had to dash into the Aquarium where I had 1/2 hour before boarding.

I grabbed a hot dog as I ran out the doors to get in line to board the catamaran.

That was an expensive 30 minute visit to the Aquarium. I won’t do that again.

They crammed a lot of people onto the boat. There was minimal seating outside. Most seating was inside so everyone tended to line the railings. A family with very active children offered me a seat. The mother said “you might as well take it, they will never sit still.” That gives you some idea of the atmosphere. 🙂

As we left Boston Harbor we passed Boston Light, with a glimpse of Graves Light beyond it.

Then came Minot Ledge light.

We also saw the Nantucket Light Ship.

We were on our way to Stellwagon bank, an underwater ledge that is a prime feeding ground for humpback whales. The southern end of the banks is near Provincetown on Cape Cod. That was where we went with Captain John’s Whale Watch and saw the fin backs.

I’m hoping since the New England Aquarium Whale Watch stresses the humpback whales that we’ll actually see some this time. If we do, I wonder if I’ll get close enough to the rail to get any pictures. In the meantime I will enjoy the boat ride.

Thar She Blows!

Posted on June 4, 2013June 4, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 6 Comments

All hatches and windows “Battened down”, all passengers seated and secured and we were on our way to Point Retreat Lighthouse.

The first blow was spotted ahead and to the right around 2 o’clock but we were too far away to see the animal. The captain throttled back, Phil opened windows and we all spread out to watch for the next spout. He could be anywhere.

I was standing in the bow area and heard it before I saw it. Right behind me there was a loud whoosh. All of us in the bow jumped and whirled around. The whale was behind us now. Those aft were getting a clear view of the hump.

This whale was cruising along. We’d see his back hump then it would glide beneath the waves only to break the surface 5 or 10 minutes later in another place. It wasn’t diving deep as it wasn’t showing it’s flukes at all. Finally we didn’t see it anymore but the captain got a call about some more so we moved off to check out those sightings.

Not too much farther away we saw another whale surface and blow. This one didn’t hang around too long and we caught a little bit of fluke as it did a shallow dive.

We were running out of time. We still had to get back for the 2nd half of the excursion.

We headed back toward the lighthouse.

It was on our way back to the harbor anyway. As we again approached we saw other whale watching boats and there were more spouts.

They were really close to land this time.

Finally as the captain reluctantly told us it was time to head back we got a report of a mother and a calf. It was on our way so we kept our eyes peeled and were rewarded with a glimpse of 2 blows traveling close together. We didn’t have time to stick around 🙁 but at least we got a glimpse.

As we pulled back into our berth in the harbor I checked the pole where the eagle was perched when we left. It was still there! It was almost as if it was waiting for us to get back safely. As we were unloading I saw it take off, dip toward the water then soar away.

Time for us to clamber back onto the bus for the 2nd half of our excursion; the Mendenhall Glacier.

The Search for Angry Seas continues.

Posted on November 2, 2012November 2, 2012 by Dusty Roads

After a quick lunch at an IHOP in Newport, RI I reviewed my options. There’s a lighthouse I’d been meaning to try to find so this seemed a good opportunity. The Lighthouse is on Goat Island. I don’t know anything about that island either so the whole thing would be an adventure…and maybe there’d be some surf there.

I pulled out my trusty GPS and plugged in the address. It began by leading me back toward the Claiborne-Pell Bridge. I didn’t want to go over the bridge again and have to pay another toll but I decided to trust the GPS and sure enough…right before the bridge entrance was a left with a sign “Goat Island”.

Taking the left took me into historic downtown Newport. There were lots of signs for Goat Island to support the directions my GPS was shouting at me. Right by the Newport Visitor Center and Terminal a right turn took me to “The Causeway to Goat Island”. There was a little park on the right and a place to pull off the road so I stopped . I could see the Lighthouse and a great view of the bridge.

It’s just a little lighthouse.

The seas here were pretty calm too but the sun was starting to go in and out. It wasn’t quite so bright and sunny and a breeze had sprung up. A sailboat was cruising around the harbor.

I wanted to see if I could get a different angle on the lighthouse but when I crossed the bridge it became clear that the Lighthouse is located on the property that belongs to the Hyatt Hotel. There wasn’t much parking except for guests so I decided to move on.

Retracing my steps brought me back to downtown Newport. I wasn’t that far from the Mansions so I decided to try Ocean Ave. On the way I drove into Fort Adams. I just pulled into the parking area but I have added it to my list of spots I want to return to on a better day. The sky was rapidly clouding up and it was starting to sprinkle. A large helicopter circled over the bay.

Leaving Fort Adams I took a right. When I reached Ocean Ave. there was a barricade but it had been moved to the side of the road. The car in front of me didn’t hesitate so neither did I. And that’s where I found them…those angry seas that I knew had to be out there.

As I took pictures it began to rain harder. I moved on along up the road to Breton Park.

Along here the ocean was even wilder.

What an adventure! This had my adrenaline pumping. The wind was really blowing now and it was raining quite hard. I do believe the waves were getting bigger while I watched.

But all things must come to an end. The Newport Police arrived to throw everyone out.

They were nice about it but made it clear that it was time to leave. Like the road in Jamestown to Beavertail State Park, the end of Ocean ave was closed while crews removed sand and debris so I had to take a twisty series of side streets to get back to Broadway. By now it was really raining hard as I settled in for what looked to be a long , wet ride home. But I was satisfied. I’d found the angry seas.

I wonder what it would have been like on the Newport Cliff Walk? Now why didn’t I think of that!

In Search of Angry Seas

Posted on October 31, 2012October 31, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Ok I was a good girl. I did not go out in the hurricane looking for storm photos. I stayed home. I was bored. But every time I’d think about venturing out I’d hear another horror story about tree limbs hitting cars or even whole trees falling… but one day is about my limit.

Hurricane Sandy: Tree crushes car

I was thrilled when I got up this morning and saw the sun trying to peak through. By 9 am it was shining brightly. There was a breeze but no major wind gusts. There was no reason for me to stay in today.

I had lots of places I could check out..The cape, Falmouth, Scituate, Jamestown and Newport RI??? No way would I get to all of them they were too spread out.

Scituate was on the news. Photos there looked pretty tame now so I headed south to Mattapoisett. Neds Point Light is pretty easy to get to and I figured it would give me an idea of what the ocean was like today. Getting there turned out to be the challenge. The Neds Point Rd. was closed with a huge tree down but one of the residents gave me directions to get around it. Those took me through a residential area with a lot of pine trees. It was easy to tell when you would see down branches because you’d smell that wonderful pine sent before you even saw them.

Once I got to the lighthouse in its little park I couldn’t believe it. It was like nothing had happened.

The sky was blue, there was no damage and the seas were calm.

I enjoyed the ambiance for a bit then decided to head to RI, specifically Beavertail Sate Park. That place can kick up a surf without any storm. I was sure I’d find some big waves there.

To get there I had to go over the Claiborne -Pell Bridge. It’s a beautiful bridge. It’s huge!

When I got to the toll booth I asked if it had stayed open during the hurricane. The collector told me he was only going to tell me once…they need SUSTAINED winds of 69 miles per hour. He said they only had sustained winds of 45 MPH during hurricane Sandy.

I mentioned that I’d seen quite a few boats moored in the harbor as I came over the bridge, did they ride out the storm out there? He said yes, not the smartest thing to do.

Then my time was up. Another car was behind me. I wished my toll collector a good day and continues on my way.

Along the shore you could see the debris left by the storm so it was easy to judge how far up the waves had come but the road was clear and before I knew it I was tuning down the road to Beavertail State Park. That’s when I saw the blue lights. Oh oh road block. I made a left and parked, grabbed the camera and headed down the hill to the corner. A women coming up the hill said I was a day late..I should have seen it yesterday. As I suspected the road had been completely under water. (This is what it normally looks like)

Today they were cleaning it up and had the road closed so the workmen could complete the chore.

On a side note I was told that IF I was able to get across to the other side I would see a car floating in the bay. A woman had run 2 police barricades because she didn’t want to be trapped on the “wrong side” of the bay. When she got to the low-lying section the water was too high and carried her car into the bay. Here the story changes depending on who is telling it. Some says she swam to shore and was rescued by the police others say she got out before her car went in the drink. Either way what she did after that was walk to the nearest bar and get drunk. Most of the folks I spoke with said they hoped her insurance turned her down. They were pretty irritated by her irresponsibility.

I hung around for a bit but by 1:30 it was pretty clear it would be several more hours before they opened the road so I headed back across the bridge to Newport, RI.