ECG Day 11: Provincetown

Today was supposed to be our day of relaxation on the Cape. Vacation day. Which turned into a seven mile (best guess), Lawrence-of-Massachusetts, slog on foot across the endless sand dunes of the National Seashore, sans camel support, plus swarms of mosquitoes.  Bill was not happy, bordering on "I may never see my family again" worries. I could see it in his face.

"There's a trail just west of the campground," said neighbor Mark of last-night. "Takes you right to the dunes, where you get a spectacular view of the entire shore." "And from there you can follow the beach right around to Provincetown," added Shoshanna. "Sounds good, let's do it!" Bill and I agreed. Note to readers: Never listen to Mark and Shoshanna, no matter how much free chili they ply you with.

We thought we found the  trail, which led to somebody's backyard after passing through the National Mosquito Reserve, then we were sure we found the trail this time when a substantial path headed in the coastal direction and we started slogging through sand. Soon there was a lot of sand but not a lot of trail, and I started to notice that signs of human activity had been replaced by signs of deer, coyote and turkey activity.

Any sane person would have turned around at that point. I, however, forged ahead, certain that the ocean would be just the other side of that next dune ridge - which, by the way, are not nice, cute little Delaware dune ridges, but giant, woolly mammoth pleistocene sand mountains. Then I was certain it would be the next ridge. After a couple of miles in, it was too far to turn back, and I would have had no idea how to retrace our path anyway, because weren't on a "path" - we were now hiking in virgin wilderness, probably violating every federal park statute there is. We had to forge ahead. 

I tried to boost Bill's spirits with some nature observations. "Oh look, Bill, rose hips!" "Wow, cool mushrooms!" Silence. "Okay, if we get out of this alive, I'm buying the beer for the rest of the trip," I offered. A spark of life returned to his eyes. If I've learned anything about him from our travels, "free" is high on his list of interests.

After an interminable slog, and experiencing the shoes-filled-with-sand joys of trying climb directly up a dune slip face (we were getting desperate), we stumbled upon a four-wheel road and followed it to Race Point, where we finally joined up with solid pavement and a relatively short hike back to town. Well, it would have been a relatively short hike back to town, had I not turned the wrong way on the road. We ended up touring the entire circumference of the Cape on foot. It ended on a good note, however, as we trudged into town just as the Provincetown Brewery opened their doors for lunch.

The afternoon agenda called for a whale watching tour, a first for Bill.  The boat idled past the tip of the Cape so we could see a hundred or so grey seals hauled out on the beach, then it was off to Stellwagen Bank for whales. We picked up a pod of three, and spent the entire time drifting around watching them feed. The captain got us some really good looks, often right next to the boat. 

Dinner was Portuguese rice for Bill, and Portuguese kale soup and sausage for me. We sat on the benches along the harbor and ate, then headed back on foot to the campground with a couple of almond-joy ice cream cones in hand. This time I stopped to check Google maps every few blocks to be certain we were on course, and Bill seemed totally okay with that.

Note: I will upload more photos when I have internet.

















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ECG Day 7: Little Rhody

Image
Note: This post is for Monday, September 13. I woke early this morning to a pair of long-eared owls arguing back and forth about “who-who-who cooks-for-you.“  Spent some time writing in the tent, waiting for sun up, and trying to figure out how far we’ve come, and what’s left. Six days in, and I think we’re closing in around 400 miles.  The wear is showing.  Our bikes are covered in mud and sand; every nut and bolt seems loose, jarred free by the constant pounding. Our hands are  numb, we can barely sit on the seats, and we make just getting on the bikes sound like Olympic wrestling. I’m beginning to see the attraction of cruise-ship vacationing, let’s put it that way. Bill and I broke camp quickly, considering neither one of us can remember what bag holds what gear.  After that,  just  another 65 mile day.  They’re starting to blend together. The first 30 miles found us grinding across the punishing hills of the Appalachian Piedmont, where th...
Read more

ECG Day 2: In The Footsteps of Ida

Image
Note: This entry is for Wednesday, September 8   I started my crash diet last night.  The plan is to lose, oh, ten pounds or so before we hit the Hills of Connecticut. Grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, and canned, mushed carrots were the order of the day.  “Would you like rolls or biscuits with that?” the waitress asked.  “Yes,” I answered, in a moment of weakness. Bill on the other hand, ordered the “All-Day Farmers Breakfast Platter.” I could see his eyes light up from behind the stack of hot cakes and bacon as several plates landed heavily on the table before him. Today was supposed to be fairly easy - 60 miles, but most of it along the bucolic canal trails adjacent to the Delaware and Raritan rivers.  A mere jaunt. Turned into one of the hardest days we’ve ever done, without question. It started out okay, if not a bit oddly.  A trio of American egrets played hopscotch with us up the Delaware canal for the first half mile or so, which was delightful, b...
Read more

ECG Day 1: New Castle, DE to Bensalem, PA

Image
T here will come a day when I learn, at long last, not to tempt the fates. Today was not that day. It started out well enough, for sure. A glorious sunrise over the Delaware river greeted us as we geared up in New Castle.  The tall ship  “Kalmar Nyckel” was docked right there beside us. A bald eagle sat majestically just off-bank on a small rock isle.  Doesn’t get any better. We cruised into Wilmington effortlessly.  There before we knew it. “This is gonna be cake,” I thought, “ I may not have anything to write about.”  I know, I KNOW... but it’s not like I said it out loud or anything.  Didn’t matter.  They were listening. You know, I’ve been around Wilmington for 25 years now. Even worked downtown. I never really thought of it as a “hilly” place. The fact that it hosts entities like ROCKford Park, ROCKwood Park, the Wilmington Blue ROCKS, and a fairly substantial ROCK face for climbing aficionados... Ya, didn’t register. Well, it registered today. ...
Read more