What the Walrus said . . .

My stay on Cape Cod, MA, was interesting and I met some more of the American Gypsies, as I will call them. These are the people like me that have an address somewhere, but who are nearly never home. They have an RV and they are somewhere on the road probably 75% or more each year. Also like me, they are usually retired and are just out and about because they still can. Can’t really blame them . . . it is a fun way to live! Surprisingly are the number of younger families that are doing the same with their anxious and curious children. I am not certain how that will work in the long run for these kids, but they all seem to be doing just fine and all are polite and friendly. I can’t ask for more from kids these days.

My time on the Cape was short. I kind of made it that way on purpose. Endless sand dunes do not truly thrill me. And lighthouses can be wonderful if the weather and lighting agree to work with me. However, my experience with Cape Cod was grey, foggy, windy and damp. Again, it is as if I am here too early, and the good weather will be “later” as the locals here tell me.

I did go for a short, eight-mile hike on the second day. I wanted to wander down the beach to the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center that I had driven past the previous afternoon. There was only one problem . . . the Nor’eastern had set in rather fiercely and the seashore had been horribly eroded by the high surf and winds, badly enough that some of the access stairways to the beach had been closed. The bottom steps went into space, the sand had all gone out to sea! It will return in time, but not in my near future. LOL Additionally, there are places where the marshes had run to the sea with so much backed up rainwater that the beach had been severed. You cannot walk continuously from north to south until the seas give back the sand.

Yet I walked what I could and along the way learned some fascinating history. I did not know (or did not remember) that the Pilgrims first landed on Cape Cod, actually at a place now called Nauset Marsh. They then went north, after finding shoals to the south that stopped their progress down the coast and anchored on the lee side in what is now Provincetown, MA. From there they sought water and food before sailing across the bay and established their colony. It was not until 1644, when a group (seven families) of hardy pilgrims petitioned to return to build a settlement at Nauset Marsh, MA. Now colonization of Cape Cod started in earnest.

Another thing I learned is that these very settlers nearly destroyed Cape Cod, and apparently the damage is still recovering. The method of farming that they used required clearing of the coastal forests by either falling or burning all the trees and undergrowth. By the mid 1800’s, when the famous author Thoreau would walk through this section of Cape Cod, he would refer to the area near Nauset Marsh as the “howling plains” because nothing of the forest remained to stop the blowing wind and sand. It is hard to look at the area today, with the growth that exists, that this ever occurred, but what must it have looked like when it was covered in a thick forest of trees.

The region has many stories. This is where the U.S. Government established Life Saving/Rescue teams to help pull survivors ashore from ship that became fouled off Cape Cod’s coast. Coast Guard Beach still has the original Lifeboat Station House and Barracks.

This is also where the first Trans-Atlantic Telephone cable came ashore, apparently to a crowd of cheering thousands. No longer would it take days to sail information across the sea when it could be wired in mere hours!!

My biggest joy on Cape Cod would occur on my last day on the island. As you are aware, I had not had a lot of luck finding many subjects to photograph even though I had walked miles! On my last morning, after packing up camp site, I headed north on Highway One, to see if I could locate and photograph the seals that I heard could be sighted in Provincetown Harbor, or out on the northern beaches. I love seals and their antics! They can be so photogenic.

 Provincetown Harbor, though quaint and picturesque was empty of seals! Just my luck!! Moving on to the beaches on the northern end of the island, which were foggy and windy, again I had no luck. A bad feeling was beginning to settle in!! I did see one lone seal, swimming about 25 yards off the surf, headed south along the coast, cruising himself in search of his own kind. We were both not having any luck in that department. I did get one good picture of him as he scanned the shore looking for his fellow seals.

I was at a loss! Cape Cod was going to be a photo bust. One seal picture, possible a couple of good Piping Plover pics, maybe a historic house and a couple of sand dunes. Not really what I was hoping for!

So, I resorted to my tried-and-true assistant. I asked my Guardian Angel, Kellie, who is always with me, what she could bring to me . . . what could she show me today . . . and as always Kellie came through. As I rounded the corner of the Over Sand Ranger Station, where private vehicles check in before going onto the beach, I literally almost tripped over a mother Red Fox and her Kit. I followed them, and they followed me, for almost and hour or so . . . I hope you like the pictures. Next up . . . Acadia National Park, Maine.

On a side note . . . I had to pack up and run out of Acadia National Park so I could get this post out to you. There is no real cell phone service and even my “hot spot” in my car could not find anything to connect to! Tomorrow, I head back to civilization and a shower!! I will catch you up on Acadia when I get wherever I land!