The Green Mountains offer so many beautiful, quiet places to take in the views. This small farm was not too far outside of Stowe, Vermont on the way to the Von Trapp Lodge. The quintessential red barn and old tractor were framed perfectly by the passing clouds.
Sunrise on Harwich Port
In a year where most of us were confined to our homes and local towns, any escape was a breath of fresh air. This series of photos is from a morning in Harwich Port, where we were able to take a few days of vacation in late summer. I snuck out at first light in an attempt to find some new material and wound up driving the length of the town from Dennis to Chatham.
At the mouth of Herring Run
Herring Run
First light at Wychmere Harbor
Neel Road Beach - a tiny plot of about 200 feet of public shoreline
An overlooked path at Red River Beach
Salt marsh between Harwich Port and Chatham
A great blue heron stalking
All calm at Pleasant Street Beach in Chatham
Discovering Portsmouth
While we’re all generally stuck at home during quarantine, it might be good to escape to memories of former travels, when things were much different. Plus, apparently I haven’t posted any new photos in over a year - so time to catch up!
Portsmouth is only less than an hour’s drive from the Boston area. I’ve driven past it who knows how many times on the way up to Maine, but I’d never actually stopped there. So, with an open weekend day in the fall, we decided to do some exploring.
The downtown area is very much packed with people walking about, but there are tight alleyways that offer a brief escape. We had lunch at the Elephantine Bakery in one of these spots (incredible chocolate-filled croissants and coffee, by the way). Onward in our wanderings, we found the Strawberry Banke Museum, a mostly-preserved colonial village, and no shortage of views of the water and busy fishing boats. Plus, a vintage Saab, so I had to stop for that. We grabbed some local IPAs to take home at Earth Eagle Brewing on the north side of town. The architecture and history here are really interesting and made the trip totally worth it.
Portsmouth: Recommend!
The Last Rays of Summer
Finding a spot like this at sunset is rare, especially on a long and hot Labor Day weekend. The few others at the beach were enjoying the view over the water and I snuck back over the dunes to catch the reflection on the salt marsh. As summer turns to fall and the crowds depart, you have more of these scenes to yourself. We’ll return soon for some more perfect sunsets.
Memorial Day In Boston
Remembering those who served. Happy Memorial Day!
Photo from 2012 on the Boston Common.
2018 Boston Marathon
Marathon Monday is finally here, but this one was bound to be different than recent memory. Typically, runners and spectators are getting with the sunshine and warmth of a spring day. Not this year though. With temperatures in the low 40s, driving rain, and wind, today looked very challenging for the runners. The crowds showed up at their usual spots, albeit a bit less in number, but still equally ready to get soaked and cheer on the competitors. There were some great races and lead changes in the last few miles of the course.
Des Linden (USA) won the women's race and Yuki Kawauchi (Japan) won the men's.
Des Linden powering through mile 24 - she went on to be the first American woman to win since 1985.
Des took the lead at mile 22 and never let up.
Gladys Chesir was in the lead pack for most of the race and was in second place at this time.
In the mens race, Geoffrey Kirui was in the lead by more than 1 minute at mile 24, although the conditions caught up to him in the final few miles.
Kirui was tiring as Kawauchi was cutting into the lead. He would go on to finish second.
Yuki Kawauchi of Japan was about 1 minute off the leader pace at mile 24, but made an incredible effort towards the finish to win the men's division.
Kawauchi was the first Japanese man to win since 1987.
Americans Sarah Sellers, Rachel Hyland, and Nicole Dimercurio placed second, fourth, and sixth.
Krista Duchensne of Canada made up ground and finished in third.
Massachusetts local Shalane Flanagan running by on her way to a seventh place finish.
Edna Kiplagat, defending Boston Marathon champion of Kenya, placed ninth.
Hiroko Yoshitomi of Japan finished tenth.
Amelia Island Concours
It was great to escape the New England winter for a quick weekend trip to Florida. The Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance is held at the Ritz Carlton and features some amazing million dollar cars. This is one of the most exclusive car shows in the country with some very rare examples in incredible condition, either restored or original. I wouldn't mind taking home any of these!
On this trip, I primarily used a 70-200 zoom to get close detail shots in focus and really separate the subject from the background.
Bryce from the Edge
Back in June of last year, we spent a night at Bryce Canyon during our trip through the southwest. This place has one of the most alien landscapes we have ever witnessed. The rock formations (called hoodoos) go on for as far as the eye can see. In late afternoon and early morning, the light reflects off the sandstone and casts dark shadows throughout the canyon. With daytime temperatures in the eighties, we weren't expecting the thirty degree morning we had to watch the sunrise!
The park road runs through and provides a number of vistas to stop at and view the landscape below, so during the first afternoon and morning, we mainly explored from the rim of the canyon. The shots in this post are from those trips. We did have a solid hike through the canyon itself, which I'll post in the near future. Bryce is much smaller than Zion, and can easily be seen in a day, but very much worth checking out if you're traveling through Utah!
Observation Point
Hiking to Zion's Observation Point is a strenuous effort but offers an incredible view as the reward. Starting early in the day, we took the shuttle bus through the park to the Weeping Rock Trailhead. Almost immediately, the trail begins a steep vertical ascent of switchbacks that rise over 2,000 feet.
Continuing past the offshoot trail to Hidden Canyon for several minutes, we quickly found ourselves in Echo Canyon. This large side canyon sits high above the Zion valley floor and known as 'the refrigerator' because it is in the shadows and offers much colder temperatures than the ambient areas on the hike. Echo Canyon offers a some very interesting eroded sandstone along a dry stream bed and offered views into Hidden Canyon along the way. We stopped to check out a stone tunnel and water pool here.
As the trail gained further elevation, we entered the White Cliff formations and began to see wider views of the Zion valley in the distance. The last mile or so was mostly level along the canyon rim through a sandy trail. Finally, after about 4.5 miles, we were rewarded with a stunning view of the valley floor, Angels Landing, and the Virgin River carving through it. We stopped to eat lunch, rehydrate, take a few photos, and returned the way we came.
Possibly due to the length and exertion, this hike was mostly free of other hikers - much unlike Angle's Landing, which had lines of people waiting to get by. It was quite a peaceful hike, with only the sounds of wind and footsteps. At Observation Point, there were only a handful of visitors enjoying the views. Needless to say, Observation Point lived up to its name. This was the one of our top two hikes at Zion.
Looking up during the ascent.
Making a quick pace through Echo Canyon.
A water break offered a good view of this small side canyon.
Finally coming into perspective.
Living up to its namesake.
Incredible.
Looking down from the highest point in Zion.
We had much more time to explore on the return trip.
Sunrise on Acadia
Acadia National Park sees some of the first light on the East Coast. On a cold October morning, I ventured out in the dark into the park and walked down a trail to this spot, Boulder Beach. It takes a scramble down some large rocks to get to the shore, so it was deserted; nothing but the sound of waves and rocks knocking together. There was a slight pre-dawn glow to the sky, then the sun really lit up the rocks along the entire coastline in an intense, deep orange.
