Category Archives: Travel

Ponkapoag Bog Trail

I am the type of person who, when I hear about a boardwalk trail through a swamp, cannot wait to go hike it. Provided that the weather is too cold for mosquitoes of course. And snakes. Since moving to the south I have come to appreciate the strange, primordial forests filled with amazing biodiversity and interesting plants. Recently, I came across a pin of the Ponkapoag Bog Trail in the Blue Hills Reservation, and pretty close to my parents house. Naturally, the vegetation was quite different from the dismal swamps I see in the South.

The trail begins following a narrow boardwalk through a corridor of trees. Mostly small trees and shrubs.

Then the trail opened into a beautiful meadow surrounded by small pine trees. The ground was not solid here, but actually quite soggy; as I discovered accidentally when I stepped off the boardwalk to let another hiker pass. The “grass” is mostly moss, with some pretty red and gold colors. The white fluffy things are the seed heads of cotton grass.

Finally, the view of Ponkapoag Pond at the end of the trail, a pretty scene framed by lush foliage, which had just started to turn.

This was a really interesting and pretty easy trail, about 2 miles roundtrip. It was narrow though, on busy weekends that might be a problem.

A Hike through Purgatory Chasm

I’m always amazed that for as long as I lived in the Boston area, there is still so much I haven’t seen. Of course this means when I go back there to visit family, there is always something new to do. On my recent trip I took several new to me hikes, including Purgatory Chasm. It was surprisingly crowded considering the cold weather and that there was a football game on. I didn’t mind seeing other people though, its nice to see families spending time together outdoors.

For so late in October, the foliage was still surprisingly green, but the woods were still beautiful. I especially enjoyed the rocky terrain, which is so different from the flat ground and sandy soil around my home in North Carolina.

Overall, the hike was pretty easy. The trail I took started along the top of the Chasm, tracking alongside it, with interesting views down to the floor of the gorge. Then there was the option for a short side hike to Little Purgatory, which follows a stream to a series of little waterfalls. Finally, hiking back out through the Chasm. This part was a little more challenging, with lots of big boulders to scrabble over, but fun.

The hike was beautiful, and although I got some good shots, I’m not thrilled with my photos. The mid afternoon light was uneven, and with dark rocks and bright sky.

I would love to come back to this spot in the winter. I think that with the leaves off the trees the landscape would look even more dramatic, I might even be lucky enough to get some ice or snow. With the late afternoon, just before sunset, light at my back I could get some beautiful shots looking up the Chasm.

Morning on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

When we lived in Virginia Beach, we would often walk our dogs at a state park on the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, but never had the opportunity to explore the area more. It looked very pretty from the road, but usually we were at the beginning or end of a long drive, and just didn’t have time to stop. finally, last weekend I got to see a little more of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

I was visiting a friend who owns a beautiful place on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Its is so pretty and peaceful, so far removed from the crowds just 45 minutes south in Virginia Beach.  Thanks to Odin landing on me by 6:00 every morning, I’m used to waking up early. So before anyone else was awake, I took my camera and went on a short walk alone. The early morning light was so beautiful!   Long leaf pines and healthy marshes provide a home for wildlife along the edge of the bay.  These sticks in the water mark the location of crab traps.
  A 300 foot pier juts out into the water. It was so relaxing to tie up a float and drink a few beers while we sat in the water. The night before, not at 6:00 am.

I can’t wait to go back!

Craggy Gardens, Spring and Fall

During the last week of October, I once again took a trip out to the Blue Ridge Mountains, to see the fall foliage. Below are two photos taken at the same location, Craggy Gardens, elevation above 5000 feet, on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I love the bright pink rhododendrons and the green foliage in the spring. But I also love the red berries in the fall.

What do you think? Do you prefer the spring or fall (or maybe you like summer or winter) best? Where is your favorite place to see the seasons change?

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Craggy Gardens, Blue Ridge Parkway, October 2016

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Craggy Gardens, Blue Ridge Parkway, June 2016

Edinbrugh Castle

I’ve been meaning to post the rest of my photos from Scotland, but I’ve been having trouble accessing my website admin. After way to long on the phone, it turned out to be an easy fix, I started using Chrome as a web browser, instead of Safari.

I got to visit a castle, a real one! I’d never been in a castle before. It was really interesting to walk around, no hidden torture chambers though (or they are still hidden, at least from the public). It is actually still an active military base though.

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The castle sits on top of a hill that towers over the city.img_3743

I loved all the thistles decorating the castle, like this one carved into the stonework.img_3757

I was surprised that the castle was mainly a military installation. I guess I expected more of a luxurious home for royalty. And while there were some very grand parts of the castle, such as a massive dining hall, for the most part it was clearly built for strategic purposes.img_3768

From the castle, the view of the city, and the Firth of Forth was amazing.

Hiking in Edinburgh, Arthurs Seat

I’ve been to several cities that have nice parks to walk in, but never actually hiking, like Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. We had fine scottish weather for our hike, meaning it was foggy and drizzly, but not raining hard enough to ruin the day. And the rocks looked pretty in the fog anyways. Also, since the fog obscured our view, we didn’t feel any guilt about not getting to the top. I think we did enough walking up and down hills just around the city anyways.

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Thistle! Because you can’t go to Scotland and not take a picture of thistle.

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It was a really pretty park, and we got to see some of the natural environment without leaving the city. And when were were done, the pub was pretty close.

Liverpool and Glasgow

In between Yorkshire and Edinburgh, I had some time in Liverpool and Glasgow, while Jon had business meetings. I can’t say I would have chosen to go to Liverpool, but I did enjoy my afternoon there. The area around the river has been refurbished and is an interesting place to walk, and the warehouses surrounding the docks have been updated to include many restaurants, bars, shops, and museums.

I really liked Glasgow, although it was definitely more industrial than Edinburgh. Like Liverpool, I only had a short time here. From our hotel I took a walk through Kelvingrove park to see the Charles Rennie Mackintosh house, which is part of the Huntarian Museum at Glasgow University. Obviously, I wasn’t allowed to take photos in there, but it was amazing to see such an  immersive experience of the artists’ vision. And these was also some artwork created by his wife, that I was previously unaware of, that I really loved.

Top Row:
A beautiful, brightly colored chandelier, by Cerith Wyn Evans,  in the Tate Modern, Liverpool
Along the Mersey River, Liverpool.

Ferry, painted by Sir Peter Blake, also part to the Tate Modern. Although I was short on time, I was able to enjoy a few hours at the Tate Modern in Liverpool. Also, I love it when art is free to the public. I am quite sure the love of art I and all my cousins share comes from visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with our grandparents. But the price of some museum admissions is pretty high these days, and I think its great when I see art being made accessible to everyone (the Huntarian was also free). And of couse watching the fun colorful boat float across the river made me smile.

A rainbow along the highway as we were driving North to Scotland.

Bottom Row:

Kelvingrove Park

The River Clyde

Squiggly Bridge, part of the river walk along the River Clyde