Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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War Memorial Park in West Bridgewater, MA looks like a small green space from the road. Well, …it is. Within its four+ acres is a lot to see. The Town River flows through the area, and as with so many rivers, and even streams in New England, the river was used as a power source for multiple industries through the years.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
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We never know what we will find when visiting a new (to us) rail trail. The Hanover Branch, or Rockland Rail trail, mostly in Rockland, MA, is a work in progress. It is already a community resource, primarily for walkers, since it is relatively short for right now, (3+ miles end to end).
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
The new trail guide, Easy Walks South of Boston, uses the same template as the other trail guides, with information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing and something of interest along the way) in towns that are contiguous to each other.
Recently I had the chance to visit several of the trails that will be in the book. Here’s what I found at Endean Recreation area in Norwood:
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“Now I know who my real friends are.” We’ve probably all heard this; maybe we’ve said it ourselves. I know I’ve thought it. That “Now” can apply to countless situations. The shock, hurt, and often the bitterness conveyed by these words are transparent.
When encountering someone I had lost touch with, the story they share with me is often of an earth-shaking life change: a family death, divorce, illness, becoming a family caregiver. Each circumstance involves upheaval, with increased demands that feel overwhelming. These encounters often end with “Now I know…” A nod, a shrug, affixing a sad smile on my face is about all I can manage to offer.
It’s easy to feel outrage toward those apparently unfeeling friends, family members, or even anonymous government entities who let us down. No matter the level of support we do receive, in these crises, nothing ever feels like it is enough.
I’ve had time to think about this predicament a lot while learning to live in a changed body/changed life myself. Many loved ones did step in (repeatedly). New people entered my life (eventually). And yet, I am able to see how my life has played out only in retrospect. In the midst of big life changes it is usually impossible to imagine anything changing. But it will.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
Walkers, bicyclists and other non-motorized travelers can now go from Acton to Concord, MA on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. The trail stretches from Lowell, MA in the north to Framingham inthe south. Progress on developing the Sudbury/Framingham sections is ongoing. An impressive bridge connecting the two sections now stretches across Rt. 2 in Acton, near the Concord rotary, and continues south into Concord.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
It had been a while since we visited the Cape Cod Canal bikeway. Easy to get to, no need to cross either canal bridge if you stay on the north side, and so scenic. A place that is easy to access can be taken for granted. However, like other places we may feel tempted to dismiss as “boring,” the canal offers great variety when you look a little closer for what can change between visits.
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It was Memorial Day weekend, a time for remembrance of those who gave their lives in service of our country. These days, however, it is for many the unofficial start of summer. It was a beautiful day, and we knew lots of folks would be out and about.
We hoped to avoid crowds so rather than visit one of our local rail trails, we headed north with our adaptive tandem bicycle to investigate a trail we had not ridden on previously. The Rockingham Recreational Rail trail starts in the New Hampshire seacoast area. The eastern trail head begins in Newfields, New Hampshire, directly next to the Amtrak rail road right of way, which carries multiple passenger trains north and south along the coast.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical park (C&O Canal) runs alongside the Potomac River valley from the tidal basin in Washington, D.C. to Western Maryland. What was once the tow path for the canal is now a broad, level footpath that is great for walking or bicycling. The Potomac River is within view for much of the section north of Williamsport, Maryland, where we traveled. The trail surface is in good shape, covered with packed stone dust for most of the section we traveled, with a few muddy spots along the way.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
Southern Maine is a reasonably short drive from most places in eastern Massachusetts. In the past our family has bypassed this area in our hurry to get to Acadia National Park, and locations farther north. Recently we simply needed a break from the cares of our regular routine, so we decided to head about two hours north for a day trip. York, Maine is known for its beaches, but it also has a lovely place to explore, Mount Agamenticus. We had read about it in Tom Wessell’s book Roadside Ecology and wanted to check it out.
One of the challenges of visiting a place for the first time is figuring out where we can access an entrance, and where we can safely park. Both tasks were complicated by the fact that Mount A (as it is foundly called) is undergoing some major construction at its entrance. A paved road brings you right to the top where you can enjoy 360 views of the surrounding countryside. When we arrived we found cars parked all along the road. (It was a weekend, so presumably it would be less crowded on a weekday). Mount Agamenticus is town-owned, and once construction is finished it will be charging a modest fee to park your car.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
Spring is a great time to get outside, but like the fall, visible signs of spring and the changes that happen in this season are compressed into a few short weeks. Summer and winter last for months on end. If you miss the window of opportunity to catch these quick changes, you will have to wait till next year to witness, and possibly capture in photos the wonders of new life springing forth all around us. At least, this is what I reasoned after realizing I have very few good photos of spring in my files.
Thus I welcomed the opportunity to get outside on a windy spring afternoon in April at Choate Park in Medway, MA. I met up with Marilyn and Dave Doré, collaborators with me for our now published book, titled Easy Walks in Massachusetts South of Boston. We were excited to get started on this trail guide, a companion to the other Easy Walks in Massachusetts books already available. We published the book in September, 2023 and it is now available in paperback and ebook formats.
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Marjorie Turner Hollman 