Author Archives: Marjorie

Bicycle craze

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Out on our tandem during the Covid pandemic (Acadia National Park)

We humans are prone to “enthusiasms.” Even though we want to distinguish ourselves from others, being attracted to what “everyone else” is doing seems to be in our makeup. I saw this most recently during the Covid Pandemic that began in 2020. Suddenly deprived of indoor entertainment and ways of gathering safely, crowds headed outdoors and soon parks and trails were jammed with visitors. It became so bad that those overseeing these outdoor spaces felt forced to close them because of concern for contagion. We ourselves continued to ride our tandem bicycle, but shifted our habit of riding on rail trails, instead turning to quiet country roads to spend time outdoors away from crowds.

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From train trips to rail trails

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

Excursion train taking passengers through the Royal Gorge, near Canon City, Colorado

On a cross country trip in 2021, one of my family’s stops was the Royal Gorge near Canõn City, Colorado. What I did not realize until we started sharing photos of our trip with family was that my great-great grandmother, E.J. Phillips, had traveled through this very same area in 1886.

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Exploring Paths in Norton, MA

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Canoe River, Norton, next to Norton town forest

Easy Walks South of Boston features six different destinations to visit when you are in the town of Norton. On a beautiful day in autumn I stopped by four of these open space properties to get some pictures of fall color. It was also an opportunity to see what my collaborators, Marilyn and Dave Doré, had discovered during their fieldwork for the book.

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The Guest River Gorge trail, SW Virginia

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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The Guest River in Jefferson National Forest

On our travels from New England to Tennessee to see family we stopped for a day at the Guest River Gorge, a rail trail in Jefferson National Forest in Southwest Virginia. The Guest River rail trail is a great example of a true rail trail. That is, a former path built for a railroad line, now abandoned and transformed into a recreational space dedicated to walking and biking. The packed, crushed stone surface of the trail makes for very Easy Walking.

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In Search of E.J. Phillips

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

E.J. Phillips’ publicity photo

We had the letters, written by our great-great grandmother, Elizabeth Jane (E.J.) Phillips. The carefully preserved sheets of paper, still in their original envelopes, along with multiple publicity photos from her decades on the stage, made up the whole of what we knew of a long ago grandmother. Another part of her story, a quilt she began, and an essay about the quilt, was lodged with our more distant cousins.

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Stoughton MA trails

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Remnants of one of the quarries found at the Bird St. conservation area

One of the first things I learned about the trails at Bird St. Park in Stoughton, MA was that the best parking is not on Bird St. It’s on West St. OK, got it. Now to get there and head out on the trail.

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Powers Farm, Randolph MA

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Returning to where we have been before says a lot about our enjoyment level. Some are, for me, one and done. But I look forward to returning to others, like Powers Farm, Randolph, MA, when the opportunity presents itself.

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Girl Scout Bites

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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I was a contrary child, picky about many so-called “normal foods” such as peas and carrots, green beans, broccoli or onions. I did, however, adore liver, spinach, and prunes. It was not an easy childhood.

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The Basin and Other Easy Walks in the White Mountains

The Basin

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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The Basin in Franconia, NH is a delightful outdoor destination with paved walkways alongside the Pemigewasset River. It was not always so. Others who visited in years past describe steep, eroded paths that made for treacherous footing. A tremendous amount of effort and financial investment has transformed this into a beautiful place for people of many abilities to enjoy.

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In Search of Sea Caves (and Gold!)

Along the cliffs of The Ovens Natural Park

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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On our trip to the area near Halifax, Nova Scotia, (NS) we planned to ride our adaptive tandem bicycle on the multiple rail trails that are available in that area. The Salt Marsh Trail and St. Margaret’s Bay Trail ended up providing us with plenty to see on our travels. The rigors of setting up our tandem and riding up to twenty+ miles per outing means we take a rest day between the times when we venture out on the rail trails.

One of our “off” days took us to the Lunenburg, NS area. While looking at maps, we spotted a reference to The Ovens, in Riverport, near Lunenburg, which promised a cliff walk and sea caves.

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