Highlights: Verses from people’s favorites poems written in chalk on the grounds of Old Salem Town Hall
Chalk it up to Salem. Or, more accurately, chalk it up to poetry.
As part of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, Salem gave its visitors the opportunity to write down some lines from their favorites poems. Or, to add some of their own. It’s just another example of the artistic flair of the people who flock to the artistic hub just north of Boston.
Perhaps you’re an Emily Dickinson fan, or maybe Adrienne Rich is more your speed. Or, maybe you prefer poems or words of your own. Whatever you’re tastes, last weekend (May 5-7), you had the opportunity to write your favorite lines of poetry on the paved path leading to the Old Salem Town Hall.
What was so nice about the poems written in chalk was some of the poems were not written by popular poets. So, some of the visitors may have been introduced to poets they were not aware of.
No part of the area was safe from the words of the poets, not even the walls of the old town hall.
While it is not clear if this is going to be an annual event, I am sure there will be more artistic events in Salem in the hear future.
Is there a line of poetry or work from a certain poet you would have written in chalk at Old Salem Town Hall?
Location: 481 Western Ave, Gloucester, MA (about 1 hour northwest of Boston)
Hours: Open daily, sunrise to sunset
Cost: Free
Parking: there are 10 parking spots in the lot outside of the park, parking is also available on the side of the road near the park. 10-20 cars can safely fit in the area by the side of the road
Trail Size/Difficulty: 10 miles of trails and former carriage roads. Moderate hiking. Carriage roads are covered with dense crushed stone and are generally wheelchair accessible.
Handicapped Accessible: The main trail and carriage roads are accessible at least for a while. I walked it for over 2 miles and it was an easy, wide trail. The side trails are much more rocky and challenging.
Dog Friendly: Yes
Highlights: wildlife, lakes, vernal pools, easy to moderate trails
Fitbit Stats (distance walked, steps taken and calories burned according to Fitbit watch): 7.8 miles, 17,637 steps, 1,586 calories burned)
Although it is more famous for its long stretches of shoreline and its fishing industry, Gloucester is also home to some beautiful parks. Boasting 10 miles of trails and several bodies of water, Ravenswood is teeming with wildlife.
One of the highlight of the park is Fernwood Lake. Fernwood Lake is bisected by a walking path with open areas to photograph the lake and the animals that inhabit. it.
I took the Cedar Swamp Trail and hooked up onto the blue blazed Fernwood Lake Trail. This trail is an easy 3 mile loop with many birds and trees along the path. Of course, I went off trail to get some of my photos and I had to redouble my steps since I got a little lost. So the hike was much more than 3 mile loop. I took this trail partly because I thought it would be less traveled than some of the other trails and it was. I didn’t run into many people taking these trails. It has been a very rainy spring. So there were lots of puddles and the area was very green. The trails can be extremely rocky in some places, especially along the loop I took. I did see a few runners. But, not any cyclists. As a side note, bikes are banned from March 1 until April 30 during the muddy season.
During my hike, I saw evidence of beavers
And I saw these buds which will soon become blueberries.
During my visit, I saw turtles, birds, a few dogs that were visiting as well as some other critters.
Mica is a 5 year old Australian Sheepdog.
From left to right is Masy, a 3 year old Lab, and Riley, a 9 year old Lab.
Parking: There is a lot that accommodates about 50 cars next to the reservation. It fills up quickly on nice days. I got the very last spot when I went in the morning.
Dog Friendly: Yes
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Highlights: rocks for climbers to practice on, easy, gentle trails, graffiti, family friendly, scenic views
Once the site for swimmers and divers, Quincy Quarry is now a haven for rock climbers, dogs and graffiti artists.
Quincy Quarries Reservation (or as we used to call it “The Quarries”) was originally built in 1825 as a large scale quarry industry, Over the years, however, it has gone through some dramatic changes.
Fun fact: stones from the quarry were used to as the main source of stone for the Bunker Hill monument in Charlestown.
The grassy fields and paves walkways used to be the site of a quarry industry. And water took up most off the area that is now grass and concrete. Business deals (a golf course is located just past where the quarry industries once stood) and a slew of deaths (mostly from diving into the water and some under more mysterious circumstances) at the quarry sparked the debate to fill in the quarries and use the land for business purposes. According to the New York Times, at least 19 people have died there (and who knows how many cars and other objects lied at the bottom of the water). In fact, a post or series of posts could be dedicated to the controversial and mysterious past of the area. So, the quarry was drained in most parts and the area was made into a walking park.
So, where did all the dirt come from to fill in the once watery quarry? Remember he “Big Dig”? Yup, that dirt was used to fill in the drained quarry. There is still some water in the quarry. But, people don’t jump in it anymore. Not only is it very dirty, it is seemingly much more shallow and there is much less of it.
After the last quarry closed in 1963, the area was dormant except for the people, mostly younger kids, who enjoyed diving off the precipitous rocks.
It’s hard to believe this area was mostly just granite and water a few decades ago.
Rocks, paths and grass cover what was once water.
Boy have times changed, The very same quarry that my father used to dive in have largely been filled in and paved over or have become fields. And, instead of jumping off the quarry, people climb up them.
This particular rock was 60 feet high and the path to the top was pretty narrow. But, I made it up.
The groups of climbers all work together to ensure their ascent is a safe one and cheers erupt from the other climbers whenever anyone makes it up.
You can learn a lot when you go on photo shoots. I’ll never complain about my physical obstacles again after watching this climber.
The climbing teams, and it is a team effort, go through great efforts to ensure each climb is safe. The people go over the procedures and safety protocols before each climb. Each person has a role whether it is the person holding onto the line, the device keeping the person suspended or the climber. Still, it’s hard to believe one rope or one board could be the difference between success and failure (although there are other backup safety measures as well). It is very safe if you take the correct measures, though.
Its a long way down.
The funny thing is I am not exactly fond of heights. But, whenever I have my camera with me I get so focused on what I am doing and I don’t really think of the risks as much as getting a good photo.
The views from the rocks are impressive, the skyline of Boston being the highlight of the various views. You can also check on the traffic into Boston from that rock before you leave.
There are several rocks at Quincy Quarry that people use to climb, draw on and just rest on.
The graffiti is one of the first things you will notice upon arriving at the Quincy Quarry Reservation. In fact, it seems to be encouraged.
There was also this creative and romantic proposal scrawled against one of the rocks.
There is also abundant wildlife at Quincy Quarry Reservation. Although they weren’t there (or they were hiding) during my visit, coyotes and deer are known to inhabit the area. I only came across a frog who thought he was hiding from me
a chipmunk
and various birds
I also saw lots of dogs at Quincy Quarry.
Baxter is a 2 year old Border Collie. He may have three legs. But, he is just as beautiful and sweet, if not more, as any other dog I saw that day.
Maddie is a 9 year old mixed shepherd. But, hey, how did she get up there!?
Here is a video from YouTube to give you a sense of how different the quarry looked and just how popular of a spot it was.
Location: Norumbega Rd, Weston, MA (about 20 minutes west of Boston, MA)
Hours: Accessible every day, 24 hours a day
Cost: Free
Parking: Parking is difficult. There is no parking area and the road is pretty narrow. So, pulling over isn’t recommended. I found a parking lot around the corner from the tower on South St. There is also a parking garage on South St.
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Dog Friendly: Yes
Highlights: 38 foot tower built as a tribute to the Norse
Once considered part of a Norse Village, Weston, MA, has a very special tribute lying just across from the winding Charles River. While the stone tribute still stands there to commemorate the suspected Norse village of Norumbega (a legendary Norse fort city), the name of the area is no longer. Weston must have been easier to pronounce. To preserve the Viking history of the area, the tower was built on that ground as a tribute to the Norse history.
Legend has it that Eben Norton Horsford, an American scientist best known for reformulating baking powder (thank goodness for that), was convinced Fort Norumbega. Horsford was convinced Leif Erikson had discovered America and this drove his interest in Norse history. He commissioned several works to commemorate the Norse explorer and the Norse people.
Erected in 1889 , Norumbega Tower is a hidden gem located just west of Boston, MA. The tower stands 38 foot tower and is made of mortared field stones with a stone spiral staircase.
A locked gate prevented access to the he tower, which has a spiral staircase inside the structure. I am not sure if it is open certain times of the year. There is also a bench near the tower and the path to the tower is paved. It is amazing how, after all of our extreme weather and other elements, the structure still stands. They just don’t make stone towers like this anymore.
The following is written in the inscription on the tower:
Location: Barney’s Joy Road, Dartmouth, MA (about 1.5 hours south of Boston and 45 minutes southeast of Providence, RI)
Hours: The park is generally open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Park hours in season are 10 am to 6 pm weekdays and 8 am to 6 pm weekends and holidays. You can park at the entrance (a gate prevents access in the off season) and walk the roughly half a mile to the beach
Cost: $12 MA Vehicle, $14 non-MA Vehicle, see website for additional fees for boating
Parking: there is ample parking near the beach after you pay at the entrance.
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Dog Friendly: Yes, but they are not allowed on the beach from April 1st to September 15th, unless they are service pets
Located along the southern coast of Massachusetts, Demarest Lloyd State Park has some of the prettiest views of any state park I have visited. Its abundant bird population, scenic views and sandbars make Demarest one of the truly special places to visit and get away from it all.
Demarest is a bird lovers paradise, especially during the off season when there are less people, cars and other disturbances to scare them away.
The views at Demarest are truly breath taking.
I kept thinking to myself, sometimes the world is indeed a very beautiful place. It’s important to have places like this treasure to observe and appreciate pure beauty. Demarest was easy to photograph. The hardest part was deciding which photos to post. All I had to do was check my settings and point and click. The beauty was already there, all courtesy of Mother Nature.
It was low tide during my visit. So, I was able to walk out onto some of the sandbars and get up close to some of the gulls at the park.
There were also several lobster pots and other cage-like devices that had washed up along the shore or were being stored there for safe keeping
If you do walk past the beach area, as I did, you should remember to pack or wear an extra pair of walking shoes (flip flops and sandals won’t be adequate) because the path turns from sand to pebbles and seashells. It is worth the walk, though.
One of the few creepy things at the park were these spiders. And they were everywhere. I must have seen dozens of them. So, if you do lie out there on a beach blanket, I’m just saying…but they have a purpose and place here as well.
Parking: There is a free parking area across the street from the reserve for about 50 cars. Since the daffodils are a big attraction there, it filled up by the time I left and people had to wait to get the next available spot
Handicapped Friendly: No, the dirt trails have some slight inclines and the wooden planks used to walk over the streams are very narrow
Dog Friendly: Yes
Highlights: daffodils, wildlife, family friendly, easy trails, vernal ponds
Lowlights: Parking is very difficult unless you leave early on the weekends during daffodil season or go during the weekdays. It is not as busy after the daffodil season has ended
Undoubtedly the highlight of your trip to Parson Reserve has to be the sea of yellow and white daffodils. The short daffodil season (the season usually begins the second week of April and ends the first week of May) is one of the busiest times of the year at Parson.
The entrance to parson Reserve is not easy to find if you don’t know where to look, So, keep your eyes open and use the address listed above in your GPS.
A stream empties at the entrance to Parson reserve. A nondescript entrance is located just past the rocky stream. A short walk (about half a mile) along a well defined trail with a gentle incline and signs pointing to the daffodil field as well as a bench for weary travelers leads to the daffodil field.
Rows and rows of daffodils greet you at the end of the trail.
Bunny, a 6 year old Chocolate Lab who was adopted during Easter, enjoyed the daffodils!
One of the great things about my visit to Parsons is that there are also lots of trails to explore at the reserve which I had not expected. The easy flat trails have some pretty trees and, I assume when they bloom, flowers.
There is also a vernal pool. The staff who were there handing out maps, said they are supposed to be tadpoles there this time of the year. I did not see any. But, I am sure they’re there!
There were lots of critters at Parsons. I saw this cute little guy, a garter snake, as I was leaving the reserve. This is why I always take the less used trails (or go off trail). A lot of wildlife gets scared by the crowds and noise and consequently, you have to explore a little to find the good stuff.
There were also a lot of birds at the sanctuary.
Just to re-emphasize the issue of parking. Try to arrive at Parsons by 10 on the weekends during daffodil season. I am an early riser. So, I found a spot with no problem. The parking area has room for about 50 cars and it fills up quickly on the weekends this time of the year. When I did leave around 10:30, there was already a line of cars waiting to get in to the lot.
When I drove by even later (around 3) the entire side of the road was full of cars and the lot was full. So, the best time to go is early in the morning or on a weekday. But, it’s definitely worth getting up early for!
Despite the wet and cold weather, it is kite flying season in New England. But, would a little rain stop hardy New Englanders? No, the rain and brisk temperature didn’t deter these true kite flying aficionados.
KONE (Kites Over New England) hosted the event at Cogswell’s Grant in Essex, MA and there were kites of all types flying through the air. Kites in the shape of pirate ships or with Batman and Frozen (a particularly appropriate kite for that day) figures on them are a few of the types of kites that soared through the air.
Some unlucky kite flyers got their kites stuck in the trees. But, the helpful staff at Cogswell’s helped untangle them.
Kite flyers of all ages enjoyed their time at Cogswell’s Grant.
Some of the visitors had more fun popping the bubbles being made by the bubble man.
Tessa, a 7 year old all white German Shepherd, was more interested fetching her stick.
KONE hosts several “kite days” in New England throughout the year and I hope to attend a kite day later when the weather is better!
What better way to celebrate Earth Day then a visit to Stavros Reserve in Essex, MA?
It was a windy and raw day, more like a fall or winter day than a spring day. But, such is the weather for New England. I just considered myself lucky that it wasn’t snowing. This is New England after all.
Stavros Reserve is easy enough to find. Parking, however, is a different story. After driving past the reserve in the hopes of finding a parking area, I turned around and settled on a parking spot on the grass by the side of the road. Several cars (5-10) could probably squeeze in this parking area before the side of the road narrows to accommodate the traffic on Island Rd.
At first glance, Stavros Reserve doesn’t seem like much. The moderately steep roughly quarter of a mile incline features some scenic views, pretty trees
and this creepy looking tree that reminded me of the trees from the Wizard Of Oz.
Once you reach the end of the trail, you’ll see a stone structure that was once a fieldstone base of a 50-foot, three-level tower built by Lamont G. Burnham in the 1880s.
The top of the trail at the reservation has some eye catching views.
Inscribed on the marker under the tree is:
“This land is a memorial to
James Niclis Stavros
For the enjoyment of all who find
Renewal of spirit in nature
Mary F. Stavros
May 17, 1986”
As an aside, I fell in love with Essex while I was there. Antique shops and well manicured colonial style homes line the main streets. It’s an old New England town, incorporated as a town in Massachusetts in 1819, that has kept its charm.
The birds, seagulls specifically, were acting strangely while I was there.
That was enough for me. I saw a flock of seagulls. So I ran. (only people over 40 might get that one)
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Location: Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd.
Sturbridge, MA
Cost: Adults $28.00 Seniors (55 and over) $26.00 College Student (with valid college ID) $14 Youths (4-17) $14.00 Children age 3 and under Admitted Free
(if you do visit again within 10 days of the purchase of your ticket, your second visit is free)
Hours:
March – April
Open Wednesday – Sunday | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Open Daily | April 15 – 23 | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
May – October
Open Wednesday – Sunday | 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
(hours vary upon the season)
Parking: Free parking with the purchase of a ticket is available for about a couple hundred cars.
Handicapped Accessible: Yes. Old Sturbridge Village offers handicapped parking, and , upon request, wheelchairs for some visitors. Only about half of their historic buildings are wheelchair accessible
Warmer temperatures and longer days of sunlight are not the only things coming to Old Sturbridge Village. The baby animals have also arrived!
Just in time for April school break, Old Sturbridge Village is home to a variety of barnyard animals. It is always a treat seeing the baby animals at the living history museum.
I have already made multiple visits to Old Sturbridge Village (click here to view my original post about my first visit there in July of 2016) and I am sure to make many more visits when they have fun events like this one.
Although they did not have as many animals as the Strawbery Banke Musuem’s baby animals exhibition, Old Sturbridge Village still had a wide variety of animals to view and, in some cases, pet.
Many of the animals, particularly the little ones, were pretty tuckered out after all that traveling and playing.
Meet Jake (on the left) and Patrick (on the right). They are donkeys who were rescued from a farm in Texas and are looking for a good home, if you’re interested!
In the fields in the middle of the common area, there were chickens, alpacas and pigs and other animals in their pens.
This mommy hen was digging for food for her chicks.
There were also living actors playing parts of the people from that era (the 1830s). They also interacted with the audience and they were very informative.
Fun fact: it took a shoemaker about one whole day to make…that’s right one shoe. One. Well, I guess it’s a “fun fact” unless you’re one of the shoemakers.
Okay, nerd alert: I could listen to these living actors (I hope they’re “living”) all day. But, I couldn’t spend too long as I had photos to take and only so much time to spend there. One day, I plan on just spending the entire day and taking it all in.
These aren’t real actors in case you were wondering (although in the first photo, the woman looking mannequin looks like a ghost). These mannequins are dressed in common attire of the day.
The kids got a blast out of the firing of the musket (he was shooting blanks).
Thiss gentleman was building the frame of a house, with a little help from some friends.
Of course, I couldn’t resist taking photos of the beautiful buildings and landscapes at the village.
Highlights: DrainSmart Mural Project, sights and sounds of Salem
Think twice before you drop that seemingly harmless piece of paper on the sidewalk. That is what the DrainSmart murals located throughout the city of Salem, MA, seem to be saying.
The DrainSmart Program was created to help create awareness of how littering causes so much pollution in our waters. As the murals state, everything that enters the sewers drains to the ocean.
There were 12 murals planned for the city. I photographed 5 of the best looking works. Unfortunately, I could not locate some of the others or the others I did find had been worn away by pedestrian foot traffic and the elements.
Click here to see what they were supposed to look like.
The DrainSmart murals weren’t the only works of art or signs in the area.
Halloween isn’t the only time people dress up in Salem. The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers held a Regency Dance Weekend in Salem, MA, while I was visiting. The participants all wore attire that represented the time they were recreating.
Whenever I am in Salem, I am always taken by the historical significance and the architecture of the area. This building, the Witch House, is the last standing structure with direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials. In this house suspected witches and other people who were considered witnesses were tortured and threatened to confess to participating in witchcraft or witnessing witches.
It’s also fun just walking around and checking out the sights and sounds of Salem, particularly on such a pleasant spring day. They are building a hotel on Essex St and I noticed on the side of this building an old sign for Pickman Place.
It’s always refreshing for me to see buildings that have stood the test of time and still stand today, even if they may have different tenants. I may have an unhealthy attachment to historical buildings and landmarks. They bind us together. In a world that is ever changing and making way for new and better, it’s important to keep our history close at hand as well. Imagine all of the different people who have walked those same streets, enjoyed the very same entertainers we have. These streets could tell stories.
This side street where the Salem Witch Trials Memorial stands will be packed shoulder to shoulder in a mere 200 days. On this day it was desolate.
As was the mall. There is something about the Museum Mall in Salem that seems creepy and kind of scary when there’s not a crowd there.
There were also musicians out in the warm weather. You might not recognize the second musician. He usually plays his instrument with a mask at the very same location during the Halloween season.
There were also some very cute dogs out in Salem during my visit.
Mojo is a 4 year old Airedale and Pointer rescue from Tennessee.
Duke is a 9 month old Hungarian Vizsla. I wonder if he’s related to Dennis?
New England Nomad 