Category Archives: Blog posts–Easy Walks

by | August 27, 2021 · 4:14 pm

Diamond Hill Reservoir, Cumberland, RI

A hot day offered spectacular views of the Diamond HIll Reservoir in Cumberland, RI, and the fluffy clouds above

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

Summer heat is not my favorite, and it’s been a hot, wet summer for lots of us. Rather than drive a long ways to get out on our bike, we left straight from our yard and chose to return to road biking, which we did a lot of last year in the height of the pandemic. Our goal? The Diamond HIll Reservoir in Cumberland, RI, just a few miles from home, despite our living over the state line in another town. We are back to #avoidingcrowds and learned that road biking, rather than navigating our beloved rail trails, offers some unexpected delights, and provides for much less interaction with others right now.

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by | August 3, 2021 · 1:33 pm

Old roads–along the Quinapoxit River, West Boylston, MA

Along the west bank of the Quinapoxit River, West Boylston

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

While visiting the area, we stopped along the Quinapoxit River to walk along an abandoned road that offers great views of the river. The pavement is still mostly intact, although several areas have lost some pavement from washouts in seasonal storms. The road is open to walkers and bicyclists.

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by | July 28, 2021 · 3:46 pm

The importance of maintenance-Upper Charles Trail Holliston

Our newly powder coated adaptive tandem, ready to ride at the Upper charles Trail Holliston

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

Maintenance is a fact of life. As much as we’d like to simply have things work, there are times we have to spend time (and money) and effort to maintain things we depend on. We had put off getting our adaptive tandem repainted, but rust is a serious concern on a steel bike, so off it went last month to Pike Powdercoating of Allston, in an effort to protect the bike from rust. It was wonderful to get it back and take it for its first test ride, out on the Upper Charles Trail in Holliston.

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by | July 20, 2021 · 4:26 pm

Meeting outdoors Bellingham town common

Bellingham Writer’s group met in person at the Bellingham Town Common

Many of us have been meeting virtually the past year through the pandemic, and are inching our ways toward meeting in person. The outdoors still feels like a better option, so when my local writer’s group talked about meeting outdoors, we looked to our town common as a great central meeting spot. Last month the rain kept us meeting virtually, and this month, despite lots of storms through the week, we finally managed to meet in person for the first time since March 2020.

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by | July 9, 2021 · 11:28 am

Sachuest in summer, Middletown, RI

Fisherman hoping for a catch even as the waves grew higher

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

We have visted Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge a number of times, but typically in the winter, and often because we have been nearly certain we will spot snowy owls at some point during our visit. Because of impending rain, we hoped this popular spot would be less crowded, even though it was a holiday weekend in mid-summer. We were surprised, however, at the number of others who had the same idea we did, even as storm clouds threatened.

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by | June 29, 2021 · 11:30 am

Along the Pemigewasset River, Bristol, Franklin NH

Great views of the Pemigewasset River for miles along this path in Franklin Falls Dam Recreation area

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

We visited the Franklin Falls Dam recreation area and found a great six mile long trail (basically a fire road) alongside the Pemigewasset River. The trail is in good condition, offering views of the river along almost the entire length of the path. Besides a great spot to enjoy the natural history of the area, we realized we had stumbled into some fascinating cultural history as well.

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by | June 28, 2021 · 11:23 am

Carver’s Pond Bridgewater, MA

Carver Pond, Bridgewater, MA

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

Years ago I lived about three blocks from Carver’s Pond when I was a student at Bridgewater (then College, now University) and I had no idea the pond and trails were even there. Thanks to the Facebook Group I created, Easy Walks, Massachusetts, RI and nearby, I learned about Carver’s Pond from a participant in the group and used the information shared to meet a friend there recently.

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by | June 24, 2021 · 3:00 pm

Walking through history-Blackstone Canal Tow Path, Uxbridge, MA

Along the historic tow path of the Blackstone Canal

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

We recently visited River Bend Farm in Uxbridge, MA, a state park and in the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. We planned to walk along the one-mile section of restored tow path that follows the route of the historic Blackstone Canal, built to transport goods from Worcester, MA through the canal to Pawtucket, RI. I describe this walk as “handicapped friendly” since there are no steps to navigate in crossing the bridge from the parking area and visitor center over to the tow path. The path itself is packed gravel, which offers safe footing.

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by | June 16, 2021 · 10:43 am

Trestle Trail–an undeveloped part in Coventry, RI

Lady slippers along the trail

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

We could have chosen an easier path to take our bike, but we wanted to explore and find out how much had gotten done on the Trestle Trail portion of the path that crosses over into Connecticut. A bridge was recnetly opened over the Quinebaug River, right at the RI-CT line, taking travelers into the Mooseup Valley State Park trail in Connecticut. The rail trail right of way is clear, and we had no risk of getting lost. The raised rail bed is quite high above the surrounding land in places.

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by | June 1, 2021 · 11:53 am

A Walk through History Silver Lake Beach, Bellingham, MA

Bridge to Island, Silver Lake Bellingham, MA

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

Working with our community Cable Station, ABMI Cable 8 here in Bellingham is such fun. We get outside, explore places that offer Easy Walks, and get the perspective of the great views offered, when cameraman Tyler McMinniman brings along the drone, part of the great equipment the cable station has on hand to create great video.

Buildings filled the area that is now Silver Lake Beach

We met recently at Silver Lake Beach to wander the area, and talk about a little of the history of the area. This was a “go-to” destination in the days before cars were common. Over the years the area offered a carousel, a dance hall, a skating rink, and even diving horses! It is often difficult to imagine all this activity when strolling the area on a spring morning, when we were about the only people there.

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