Day 13, East Coast trip Sat.Sept. 30, 2023

Saturday Sep. 30,2023, at Salisbury MA (Day 13)

Of course we hope that the Internet is running full bore, but on this Saturday I know that a lot of people are watching TV and other things, so it might be slow in putting photos. We will see. (Did finally get sme on , but slowly.)

Today was overcast and in the low 60s, which makes  a good day for a drive, so we headed back to Parker River NWR where we had good viewing  with birds previously. As the sun wasn't shining and the wind was blowing from the north, the birds were undercover a bit more then usual. It was especially true of the Forest activity, as we had seen a number of birds there previously. It was not a total loss as we did see a few species that we had not before. One example of that was the common Yellowthroat, and a Seaside Sparrow that took us about an hour to finally identify. Even with photographs it was difficult to sort it out from others. Every bird even in the same species has some difference from other ones in the same species. They are not twins or triplets, so even a little variation can throw you off in identification. At this time of the year there is very little sound or songs from the birds, so visual ID is the rule.

Boardwalk to Beach on Ocean Very gradual and smooth

What is called the "Back dunes"  protect the forest and marshes.

The marsh is three habitats away from the Ocean.

A Osprey platform is still active in the swamp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other birds that we saw that are unique were; the Great Blue Heron, Semi Palmated Plover, Northern Harrier, Little Gull, Pintail, Widgeon and a Green Winged Teal. The Teal that we saw  is supposed to be a dabbling bird, and that is ...they don't dive down in the water. But these two did do some diving. Now we couldn't look under the water to see how far they dove, but they definitely were under the water completely. Maybe we should report that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we continued to go back to the spots we saw  birds before and for the most part they were there. The auto traffic, bicycles and walkers were much less then two days ago. I think the northwind, and the cloudy skies and the fact that it was Saturday, kept people only for the most part. 

 Parker NWR is about 10 miles long with one road down the middle . On the seaboard side  is the beach (accessible in three  places by long boardwalks.) the back dunes are inland from the beach and closely followed  by the forest.The road edges the forest for the most part and on the west side of the road is the swamp with the many ponds. Access to all of these occurs at  about 6 places. In the spring when the Plovers are nesting the entire road is closed until they fledge.

Virginia Creeper

Seaside berries

                                                                                            
 

Lichen and Virginia Creeper

Bayberry after it turns white from Blue.  Birds say "Yum".

Three Lesser Yellowlegs  at Bill Howard Pond

 

A feature of the Preserve are the many berry bushes which provide  excellent food for wildlife. I'll put in a few of these specie. Again, because of the acid soil the two main trees are a long leaf pine and scrub oak. Historically, the early settlers brought with them a pine tree call Austrian pine. That is scattered among the dunes now, along with the other trees and shrubs.

 

Beach Plums are all over the dunes and surrounding areas. There are three berry shrubs here also,

We headed back from the preserve in mid-afternoon, as we made one stop at a hardware store to pick up some needed things for the trailer. We did find it, and were home in time to prepare dinner

Supper was complemented by meat loaf, mixed vegetables, and a baked potato. That was a very filling and delicious meal.

So that was our Saturday and we will see what tomorrow brings as there are two smaller wildlife areas that we might visit. One is on Native American land and the other is by a river. We shall see.

See you next time.--Jim I'm Saturday so let me

Day 12, East Coast trip, Friday Sept. 29, 2023

Day 12, Friday Sept. 29, 2023 At Salisbury MA 

 It Definitely was a low activity day as we pretty much stayed in the trailer all of the morning and part of the afternoon, getting out to make a run to the store into short trips to some marshes that were nearby. We did find that along the Merrimack River there are dozens of yacht clubs, boat basins and marinas on the sides of the Merrimack River. That would be in Newburyport and Salisbury is well. A drive through that area and you begin to realize how old these towns are, with Newberry Port being established in 1637. These are among the first communities even before the colonies were established. 

I thought that my "four great" grandfather came early when he landed late in the 1600s in New Amsterdam but these settlements had already been established some 75 years before. He was Dutch being named Van Norman or possibly Van Naaman, before the crush of the British moved them out to Pennsylvania and the Delaware gap Area.---how did I get going on this? 

Anyway we spent the morning looking/calling using the Good Sam emergency line,for a repair shop so that we might get our brakes attended before we went much further. We did find a place and if the suggestions mentioned by a number of mechanics work, then we will be okay.

A close read will explain why the lighhouses have to bemoved  back at times.

The small harbor at Rock Harbor holds  a working fleet

                                                                                    

 

 The line between the Sand Dunes and the Swamp...is forest.

 

 We did take too short rides to what Massachusetts calls State Reservations. (Public Recreation areas) I think they would be much like our state parks in the Midwest. They are owned by the state, and a flat fee is charged at the gate ($14/person) even for a daily visit. We decided not to enter. We saw very few birds today and I think six or seven. Yesterday was the big day of course as we mentioned with 35 birds sighted and identified.

 That was pretty much it for the day and there were no new pictures taken. Hang in there, as tomorrow may be an improvement, and the rain should stop by AM. 

We are still less than 1 mile from a coast where Salisbury has a huge, miles long, development of apartments, rentals and homes on the beachfront, like you may have seen in other places along the East Coast. 

One of the things we found it was very hard-to-find here in Salisbury, was a hardware store. It seems they are many miles away from town. We had a need but it was not fulfilled so we will keep looking.

 I did listen to the first half of the Lions game and when they had a big lead I figured they might hold it and they did. It was a big win for the Detroit Lions and their fans. Green bay looked like they didn't even show up in the first half. That's it... More tomorrow. Jim

Day 11, Trip East Thursday September 28, 2023

Thursday Day 11 Sept. 28, 2023 At Salisbury Beach MA 

All is well. We identified 35 birds today. Finally some good bird watching!  Ruth suggestion was that we look for a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) named Parker River. We found  that it was just 5 miles away so we headed for that refuge first thing in the morning.

The refuge is situated just a few miles south of the New Hampshire border in Massachusetts. It is about 10 miles long and is a spit (Sand)  that is really an island about 10 miles long. It is  divided into for major habitats. Namely the beach, the dunes, the forest, and the swamps, each running the length of the refuge.

One of Refuges Pools

Easily seen is the line between the forest and the swamps

A boardwalk typical in this NWR.

Located on the Atlantic Ocean near Salisbury MA

 

 There was a large visitor Center not on the Refuge itself  as when it was built they felt it was more desirable to have it off the refuge.  (More space for wildlife) It is quite huge. Besides research, there is much emphasis on education programs, and accommodating visitors. We were fortunate to have one of the interns who majored in ornithology to attend us. She pointed out that many of the features we might enjoy. A Center volunteer took over after that, and presented a 10 minute movie of the Refuge. (Always a good idea before you enter the Refuges.)

Many berries

Of different kinds  (ID later)

Fungus was rare .

Do you think this means a tough winter? (Woolybear)

 

The road drives along  side  and in some places through the forest. It is completely accessible for wheelchairs at two of the ocean overlooks. (Boardwalks.)  All trails, beaches and boardwalks are for pedestrian use only. When we walked to the beaches on the boardwalks, we found very few people near or on the beaches. A few people know this time of the year is a quiet time so they bring their chairs, their books, their fishing rod and just chill out most of the day on the beach. Others prefer walking to the beach or to the forest to look for birds or wildlife. There might be 2-10 people on a vast, beach stretch.

Snowy Egrets  feeding

Fall cometh!

There are a number of observation platforms in the NWR.

 

 There are seven major stops along the road, all of which have good viewing of  the beach, the forest,the swamps or ant two. One of them has a wonderful boardwalk through the forest, to a pond of the swamp.

That was how it went most of the day. We ate our lunch at a parking area where the access to Hellcat Trail was located. Then we walked that trail (short) to a series of ponds where there were many birds. We were fortunate to see a peregrine falcon chasing the ducks at that point.

 

 

The town of Newburyport MA (settled in 1635)

You cn tell where the old roads were and still are!

 

 

 

 

Some of the other birds that we saw that were significant, were; the Northern Harrier, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Kingbird, Sharp Shinned Hawk, both the Great and the Snowy Egret, four Goldeneyes, an Eastern Towhee and many others totalling 35 species.

The sun shone most of the day getting cloudy toward the afternoon . The temperatures are up to the low 70s for the first time in a week.

We will no doubt return to this venue again although there are other  wildlife areas near us to visit.

That's it for this one as I will include a number of photos. It was a good day for photography.

Hope to see you tomorrow

Day 10 (Wed. 9-27-23) East Coast trip , Moved to Salisbury, MA

 

 

 

The original site of Race Point at the

tip of Cape Cod.It's a two mile walk in sand to the Lighthouse  Wanna be a light keeper?

The Three Sisters lights when they could be seen.

At one time there were: 1. 2. and 3 lighthouses

                                                    So the mariners did not get confused.

The Three sisters today are about 1/2 mile inland and not used.

Drawing shows where the parking lot and lighthouse 

                                                 

                                were moved the last time. Three dots the last  placement of the Three Sisters

Our campground this week in Salisbury MA (Today's photo)

 

Wed Sept 27, 2023, At Salisbury ,MA 

There is only one photo from today but, I will put in a few more. This was our day to travel from Cape Cod to the border of New Hampshire while still in Massachusetts. It's a curious route as it goes around Boston on the beltway (I-495) but it's only a few miles farther than going directly through Boston. I still haven't figured that out yet but it must be the tunnels this stops and the changes in direction that makes that route so long. So that ends up being like a half circle around Boston to get to northern Massachusetts on the coast. It is also only at hundred and 20 miles enroute, so we started late and arrived early. Stopping twice along the way to stretch.

 Pulling off the freeway with the trailer is always a "crapshoot" to use those terms, as there is no way of knowing just exactly where you're going be able to turnaround with the trailer to get back on again. That has happened many times but usually I look for a Church, a mall, or a box store and that usually will do it. Today we did find the Catholic Church, (St Anne RC Church in Littleton,MA) which from the front looks like a congregation of a few hundred. After driving around the church to the parking lot it had spaces For more than 300 cars. Must be a thriving parish.

The Atlantic on Cape Cod by Highland Lighthouse

The  Highand House where you could stay for $8.00 a week. (1880)

 

Arriving at campgrounds is a mixed bag as the greeting can be everything from almost nonexistent to overly exuberant me. This one, call Rose Beach, had the office manager, Missy, ready for us and also ready to help us park aour rig. She not only guided this in and make sure we were on a proper spot but added a number of very helpful suggestions and actually guided me wheel by wheel, and inch by inch into the proper spot on the pad. She was something else and did it in a very encouraging way. We were thankful for that, as it was more than we have ever had from any campground operator. 

 

 Today was a really nice day as far as The weather went with the sun coming out and a few clouds drifting by, while the temperature at least was getting up into the mid 60s. It has not been that warm all week. Two days the temperature went from 59-60 and that was it. The campground is full and with treatment like above I can see how people like this camp ground. 

 

 The sun is setting here At 6:30 as we moved a little bit east and also North. I see in Grand Rapids, MI the sunset tonight is at 7:36. We are on both ends of the times zone. 

After getting settled in we headed back to Newburyport (4 miles) where there was the nearest Walgreens store, to get Ruth some tape that didn't irritate her skin and still stuck well. That is hard to find for her. She did find the last roll!!! 

 

Supper was simple with mashed taters, sauerkraut, and pork. As we did not stop for lunch it was a filling meal. I'll put in the photo of the trailer in this campground but will Also put in a few that I did not before. Tomorrow we look for some wildlife areas surrounding this Community. The birds are flying again so maybe that's a good sign. There are many wildlife areas and some Nat.Wild. Refuges. See you next time.-- Jim

Day 9, East Coast trip (Tuesday Sept. 26,2023)

Day 9 Cape Cod Sep. 26, 2023 

 Finally the sun came out at least for little bit today and there was no rain. It was windy along the coast, but the lighter sky raised everybody spirits I am sure. We set out today to see some of the lighthouses that are stretched out along the coast mostly facing the ocean side.

 The first lighthouse up route 6 was the Nauset Lighthouse . Perhaps I should begin by stating that many of the lighthouses on this coast have been moved, sometimes as many as four times because of the erosion on the cliffs on the Oceanside this. This Lighthouse has been moved two times just recently the entire complex was moved about a third of a mile inland. And that included the parking lot, the bathrooms and other outbuildings. Adjoining this lighthouse about half mile away are three small lighthouses just 25 feet high, no longer in service, and named the Three Sisters. When the first lighthouses were put up along this coast, Highland light which we will see next, was the first with one light tower. Then next came Chatham which we saw two days ago and it had two Light houses. So when they built the three sisters it was not intended that way but to not confuse the Mariners they built three lighthouses. Since that time this configuration has changed and of course now electronic lighting almost eliminates any duplication of lights.

Nauset Lighthouse Cape Cod

 So far internet activity is slow so I will post these three  until the AM

 We then moved further up the coast to the Highland light, which is about the third of a mile from the parking lot. There was however a driveway allowed for handicapped licenses and we took advantage of that. This save some walking. That is twice that we have found this advantage and courtesy. That allowed us to get some good photos as well as visit the gift shop where there was a museum with additional information about this Lighthouse. You can't go all week without buying something from the locals.!!!

Highland Lighthouse the first light on Cape Cod 

                                                it was first called "The Cape Cod Light" 

Then it was North to the tip of Cape Cod where there are three more lighthouses. One called Race Point named for the current that runs past this point. This is the site of many shipwrecks as combined with the current and the sandbars the ships coming around Cape Cod have a difficult time, especially in the old days of sailing ships and steamers. About 2 miles from the point, one sees immediately the amount of sand that makes up this tip of the cape. It surrounds the road on both sides and I'm sure with the 60 mile hour winds that are common here, keeping the roads cleared is a huge problem.. You might know that to get to the Race Point lighthouse, it is a 2 mile walk through sand. There are great stories about the lighthouse keepers who finally after walking to town to get supplies through that sand devised a Ford that could Drive through the sand equipped with tread like tracks. His sons had gotten very tired of walking to school those 2 miles through the sand every day.(And you think you had it tough in the snow?) 

Taken Three miles away this is the light one must

                                  walk the 2 miles through sand, to get to. It is called Race Point Lighthouse.
 

There are two more lights on two islands adjacent to Provncetown, (Another Pilgrims landing site), but we did not look for them on this day.(Woods End Lighthouse and Stage Harbor Lighthouse) 

 We returned to our campsite by way of picking up a tank full of propane (which went empty during the early morning), and Stopped at a place called" Burgers" and Ruth couldn't resist so we picked up two to go for supper. They were very good along with some sides but quite pricey at $30 dollars for the two!!! That was as expensive as the lobster we had two nights ago!!! 

It was a good day because of the improved weather. The wind was not high, but did keep the birds down. We did see a few and in the morning in the campground there were seven Flickers, a robin and a Bluejay that started our day off in good shape. My evening walk spotted a flock of Chimney Swifts. We did pass a few small cranberry marshes,but it is early yet. 

 Tomorrow we head for Northern Massachusetts on the coast near the town of Salisbury. There are some good wild life areas there and we hope to take advantage of that. Stay tuned and thanks for reading,––Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 8, Trip east (Sept. 25, 2023) Cape Cod MA

Sept. 25, 2023, Cape Cod 

 Today's entry will be a short one, unless you want me to describe how one does the laundry when on the road from a trailer to the laundromat. That was pretty much it all day, but I will put in a few photos, that I did not enter previously. Yes it rained again today. So the alternative as indicated was to do the laundry which we did . An interesting and beautiful laundramat (They can be beautiful to a camper) just 2 miles from the campground in a mini mall. It is definitely in the top five for cleanliness and machines and care in all the 49 states we have used laundramats. The machines work, albeit a little pricey at $6 a load, and they worked well. We were in by 1030 and out by 1145. It wasn't too busy and mostly men more doing the laundry. The place called "Liberty Laundromat" is also a cleaners and will do your laundry for you. We left and felt we were "cleaned".

Some statis along the waterfront

The Coast Guard rescue boat at Chathamlighthouse

Pick your favorite meal

Who was looking for lobster?

Ths story of the rebuilding of Chatham Light

 

 

That left a decision whether to go out in the rain or not and the answer was no. So we got out the projects to do in the trailer, as Ruth never leaves home without some projects. She worked on early Christmas card prep, and I got busy writing some long-overdue letters and got caught up with Internet mail and the like. It was working much faster today.

 Oh, I guess we could talk about suppertime as that was the main event of the evening. It consisted of some hot cornbread, underneath what is often called , "John Wayne" casserole, but I like to say it's a Tex Mex chili without beans over cornbread. It has some heat, chilies, onion, and melted cheese to go with the chopped hamburger. Heat that and pour it over the cornbread. I like to split my corn bread and let it soak in a bit.. It was good.  (This was another frozen food we had stored. I love ths meal)

We did have a bite of a blueberry pie that we bought at the supermarket two day's ago. That place is called Market Basket and was the busiest store I've ever been in. The clerk said "it's always that way" And one reason is there are no supermarkets anywhere near there on Cape Cod.  There are 32 aisles of groceries. I didn't see it, but Ruth said that the the sea food counter was lined up three deep to get served. You have to remember were in the East Coast on Cape Cod near all the fisheries that are here. 

 So that was pretty much today as far as activities are concerned. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be windy but no rain and we will head for another lighthouse up the coast called Nauset, where they're are also three older lighthouses called Three Sisters. (Not related to the Three Sisters Mountains in Oregon!) They're not used anymore but are quite pictorial/photographic? We shall see. As I said I'll put it in a few photos that I did not include before. See you tomorrow–– Jim

East Coast Trip , Sunday September 24, 2023

Sunday September 24, 2023, Cape Cod Well, for starters it rained all night, and off and on during the day but the one at night was very hard in the one during the day was more of a mist type rain. Sort of a"Scottish Dew". But that did not slow us down as we continued to wander on Cape Cod to see what we could see. Today we had two objectives, and they were to find a lighthouse at Chatham and two, to find some beaches where there might be some birds .

Coast Guard station in front of Chatham  Lighthouse

The entire station, was once used as rescue station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the first Stop Was Chatham Massachusetts, where one of the older lights on the Cape is located. Although it is fenced in and the front gate is locked I spotted around the back the employees parking lot(, yes I was told not to) and parked there for a few minutes. It was not a very good place to take a picture anyway. We drove across the street where there was a larger parking lot and we could do not only the lighthouse and light station, but also a retired Coast Guard rescue boat which was off to the side on the front lawn. This light was the second to be built on the Cape and that was in 1808. It was built some 200 feet away from the bluff and the water line anti-line have no come as close as 100 feet away. Neither kerosene nor lard oil is no Longer used. The coast guard auxiliary now operates the entire complex. The light has 2.8 million candlepower and can be seen 24 miles away.{ Michigan's oldest lighthouse is Fort Gratiot,built in 1814}. After getting into the 2nd parking lot we noticed there was a large white tent next to a recreation Center, and people are coming out with hot coffee, so I thought I would wander over and see. Three men, nicely attired, we're guarding the entry and I approached him and it was pretty evident that there was a wedding reception taking place. Engaging them in conversation I found they were local men and knew a lot about area. So we shared ideas, thoughts and had a short social Exchange. The one man did tell me some good places to find beaches and not on the Oceanside but On the Cape Cod bay side, which was away from the wind. – – Good advice!

View of Chatham light from employees parking lot.

That endless beach at low  tide at Skaget Beach

A good close up of a California Gull. (Those eyes!)

 

We then headed for Skaget Beach On the Cape Cod Bay side. This is an impressive beach running for miles either way, in the sand is a bright white color. And as it faces due West in the center of the curve of the Cape, it has some magnificent sunsets. When the tide is out you can walk a half-mile and today we did see people that far out on the sand bars. Parking in the summer is an issue although the parking lot can hold 100 cars or more. But it gets filled and that is The issue. We did not have to pay the $25 fee per day as the fees were closed for the season..

This is where we got our Lobster for sandwiches.YUM

Pick yur fare. Cape Cod specials!

Part of the working harbor at Rock Harbor.

Coast Guard Rescue vessel #36500

 

First Encounter Beach -British met the Nauset tribe (no deaths)

The commemorating plaque

In honor of the MLCG 36500

Church of the Transfiguration  with The "Weeping Angel" on top.

 

We still had some time left in the day, as we like to get back in midafternoon usually. So I 'spotted' further up the coast a place called "Young's Fish Market". It also was located in a place called Rock Harbor, and seeing some streams and rivers that ran near there, that was where we went. It was a good choice, as there were many fishing boats and fishing charter boats tied up there. We did get a feel for what both lobster and fishing was like in that small village. At Young's Fish Market, one had the feeling of stepping back 40 or 50 years when times were slower.(See the photo). It is not big but does a whopping business as you can see from the poster signs.

Lobster at "Young's"

We ate about 2/3 of the lobster.

 

 

 We did buy some lobster buns and 12 oz. of lobster to go that we could eat at suppertime.. The gal who ran the place (Nameless) also gave us a very large, 200 page book that was recently printed about the community of Rock Harbor. (By Mrs Higgins!) It contains stories about the many skippers that have kept their boats there as a homeport. It will make good reading some winter night. 

 

During those three stays we did see a number of birds and we might add that they were all shorebirds or waterbirds. They were: California, Greater Black Backed, Little, Lesser Black Backed and Laughing Gulls; Cormorant, Willet, Sanderling, Killdeer, GreatBlue Heron and Snowy Egret. During the day we also saw House Sparrow, Common Crow, A 100-200 flock of Tree Swallows (heading south?), and a Raven. For this time of the year it was a good day. 

We headed back to the trailer and settled in a bit before eating those lobster sandwiches. YUM! There is a little bit left for tomorrow. One chore left as we have been on this site three full days was to make sure the sewer and water were drained before another day went by. 

The rain has stopped and we can hope for a better day tomorrow when we will either do the laundry if it rains, or head for another lighthouse up at Eastham near Marconi Beach. I'll try to put some photos in this if not I'll get up early and put them in the morning . Thanks for reading–– Jim