Cruisin’ the Cape Cod Canal

Posted on August 5, 2013August 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It was hot and humid so I thought there might be some relief out on the water. I thought I’d follow up on the sight-seeing cruise ship I’d seen on the Cape Cod Canal. I’d learned that the boat went out of Onset. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Onset so that alone would be interesting.

Driving into Onset took me past clam shacks , souvenir shops and typical tourist attractions. I think I even passed a miniature golf course. I finally pulled over and asked 2 young men if they could tell me where I could find the sight seeing boat. I was a block away!

Following the road the men pointed me toward took my right along the beach. To my surprise it was practically empty! Once I reached the parking area and wharf I was greeted at the entrance. The attendant told me I was in the right place and pointed me to a parking spot.

An automated parking meter accepted my debit card and spit out a receipt for me to put on the dash of the car.

The MV Viking was pulling in as I parked. Timing couldn’t be better.

I bought my ticket and about 15 minutes later I boarded for the 2 hour cruise.

We reach the canal from Onset Bay.

At buoy marker 21 we passed an active Osprey nest then turned to port (left) to head into the canal.

Ahead was the Cape Cod Railroad Bridge and the Mass. Maritime Academy (both of which deserve their own posts).

The Cape Cod Railroad bridge is a vertical lift bridge. This means that the rail bed is elevated when not in use and lowered to connect with the rail bed on terra firma when a train needs to cross the canal.

I was surprised to learn that the bridge is still in use being raised and lowered about 3 times each day when the Cape Cod tourist trains come through.

The Mass Maritime Academy has been preparing men and women for careers on land at sea for over 100 years. The co-ed academy balances a unique, regimented lifestyle with a typical 4 year college environment. Moored near the academy is the MV Kennedy, a huge training vessel for the cadets.

Next up was the Bourne Bridge, one of the 2 bridges that span the canal and connect the upper and lower cape.

The center spans on the Bourne Bridge and the Sagamore are the same size.

The Bourne Bridge is the larger bridge because the topography requires to additional extensions on either end that the Sagamore doesn’t need.

The cruise provided an answer to a mystery that I have always wondered about. Have you ever noticed the round “balls” attached to some high tension lines? No one hs ever been able to tell me what they were for.

Well, according to the commentary on the cruise, they are so low flying planes can see the lines and if they can’t see them then radar can pick them up so the planes don’t get entangled. They are called “Talons”.

Finally we came to our turn around at the Sagamore Bridge.

There was the Herring run near the Butterflies of Cape Cod and the Seafood Shanty where I’d first seen the Viking cruise by.

There was a lot more to the cruise covering history and antecedents but I need far more room to include it all. I invite any one local to try the cruise and if you aren’t, then come on down for a vacation and give it a try. http://hylinecruises.com/cape-cod-canal-cruises.html

Cape Cod is beautiful in the summer.

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.

Into the Sky

Posted on July 27, 2012July 27, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Our last morning in Bar Harbor found us trying breakfast at the Cottage Street Bakery and Restaurant because we hadn’t tried any pop-overs yet and they had pop-overs. They also had an outside deck and it looked like we were going to have another beautiful day.

Breakfast was just as good as at The Great Maine Breakfast and the pop-overs yummy. We took a few minutes after breakfast to wander around a little more and grab a few last pictures and then it was back on the road. What a nice mini vacation.

We decided not to detour back to the winery but just to go home. Along the way we had to cross the bridge we’d crossed on the way up. Approaching it from the other side we could see what looked like an old fort. Then JR spotted a sign and a turn off. We had time so off the exit we went to squeeze in one more adventure.

We followed the little road up to an entry hut like a toll booth. We asked the attendant about the Fort and she mentioned that we could go up the bridge too! That sounded really cool so we paid our entrance fee, followed the road to the upper lot where we could park and walk down to the bridge.

As we walked down the path to the entrance to the bridge we could hear a bird screeching. To me it sounded like a raptor of some kind but I couldn’t see anything.

An attendant gave us instructions on how to exit the elevator before he would let us on the car and then, whoosh, we were whisked up 420 feet in 60 seconds to the observation deck at the top of the supports. What a view! This is amazing! All glass, we could walk all around the enclosed elevator shaft and see views that spread out in all 4 directions. If you are afarid of heights you may not be as thrilled with this as I am. You’re really high up!

The bridge spans the Penocscot River Narrows and the elevator up is fastest elevator in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont . That ride will take you to the top of the tallest public bridge-observatory in the world! AWESOME!

Pictures taken through the glass walls and we headed back down to ground level. The attendant was there waiting when we came back. He made a comment that there hadn’t been too many “Bird Watchers” out this year. This got my attention and I asked him what we were hearing when we came in. He said there was a nest box on one of the cross bars of the old bridge. He pointed it out to us and went on to say that there were baby Peregrine Falcons in there and that was what we were hearing. He said they screech like that when they get hungry. As we headed back to go to check out the fort we looked again. We could see the nest box but no falcons. Too bad , that would have been very cool to see.

It’s really nice to see the old and the new, the two bridges side by side. As far as I could tell the old bridge is not open at all anymore but I hope they keep it for contrast…and a place for the Falcons to continue nesting. 🙂

Not Entirely Wasted

Posted on September 29, 2011September 29, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I may have skipped driving out to Springfield but I didn’t totally blow off the whole day. After taking my little mid-morning nap I settled in to start backing up my photos. That kept me occupied for several hours and when I looked up in the afternoon I was pleased to see the sun shining in.

Nice days will become more and more rare as the season progresses so I wasn’t going to pass it up. I grabbed the camera and headed out to drive south on RT 138. I wanted to see if I could find the farm, I think it might have been a vineyard, that I had noticed when I drove out to Narragansett. Since they call RT 138 “scenic” 138, I thought I’d drive it instead of the highway.

It wasn’t until Somerset that I spotted anything I wanted to stop for.

Off to my left I could see water. I’m not sure whether it was ocean or river. I will have to check a map. I do know the Taunton River runs through Somerset so it could be that. Anyway there was the cutest little boat out there

and a bridge..of course there was a bridge! So I had to stop.

As I approached the bank I was surprised to see a whole flotilla of swans. Quite a few hadn’t reached the “snowy white” stage yet so I can only guess they were still immature even if they were as big as the adults.

I took my pictures and turned around to return to the car when a movement caught my eye. I walked quietly to some trees and brush and there were some sea gulls having a bathing party. I’ve never seen any bunch of birds have quite so much fun in a pool of water. They were splashing and squawking like a bunch of kids having a water fight.

I didn’t find the farm today but I had fun playing “peeping tom” to the bathing seagulls.

Bridges

Posted on September 21, 2011September 21, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I guess by now you know I like bridges. I get a thrill out of driving over really steep bridges like the Mount Hope Bridge in Bristol, RI

even the Sagamore Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal

and I just love photographing little wooden bridges or iconic covered bridges.

To me, bridges are just cool.

I remember being a passenger on a huge combo bridge tunnel when I was a kid. I think we were in the south maybe crossing Chesapeake Bay. I’m going to find that bridge and drive it for myself one of these days.

But today I wanted to share what I have learned about the Newport Bridge also know as the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge.

First of all it is a suspension bridge. One of those bridges where the bed is held up by cables running down from vertical supports also called “Suspenders”. I think they look so fragile and beautiful.

The Bridge is operated by the RI Turnpike and Bridge Authority and spans the east passage of Narragansett Bay. Newport RI is located on Aquidneck Island. The only way into or out of Newport is over a bridge of some kind. The Newport Bridge connects Newport RI with Jamestown on Conanicut Island, RI. The other bridge connecting Jamestown to the mainland is Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, which is also a neat bridge that may be a subject for another time.

But back to the Newport Bridge, it is a modern 4 lane highway, 2 lanes in each directions and is part of RT 138. The bridge is the only toll road in Rhode Island. The toll is $2.00 / axle so for cars that makes it $4.00. It is also unique because Rhode Island residents with a Rhode Island EZ Pass pay a deeply discounted rate.Nonresidents pay full price. This discount is so unusual because it is the only toll in the US that gives a resident discount to non-adjacent neighborhoods.

The main span of the Newport Bridge is 488 meters (1601 ft), ranking it number 70 among the longest suspension bridges in the world, and making it the longest suspension bridge in New England. The overall length of the bridge is 3,428 meters (11,247 ft). Its main towers reach 122 meters (400 ft) above the water surface, and the roadway height reaches as high as 66 meters (215 ft).

The bridge was constructed from 1966-1969 at a cost of $54,742,000.

At night the bridge is illuminated by strings of lights that follow the graceful sweep of the suspension cables. I’ve been checking maps to try to find a good spot to take a night picture.

Bicycles and walkers are not allowed on this bridge. However I may have just discovered a loophole. On Sunday, November 13, 2011 A fund-raiser called The “Inaugural Citizen’s Bank Newport Pell Bridge Run” will debut. The entry fee is $50.00. Proceeds from the run will benefit several local charities including the Special Olympics of Rhode Island.

Now I’m no runner but maybe I can be a “walker” if I pay the fee and that will get me on the bridge for pictures…maybe? I am going to have to make some calls and if I get the OK then I will have to try to get the day off from work. The race starts at 6:30 am!

I promise if it am successful you will be the first to know! 🙂