Where in the World?

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey

The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure. – Joseph Campbell

Quartz Veins in Ft. Wetherill State Park

I had decided today would be a day of hiking, geocaching and adventure. I left mid morning and headed to Conanicut Island where Jamestown, RI is located. There were many areas in the south central part of the island I hadn’t explored.

Fort Wetherill State Park was my first destination. I explored the many trails in this park. I found some strange geological formations in the form of very long quartz veins running through the rock on the coast. I discovered that this entire area was once part of Africa over 500 million years ago. The fort has history all the way back to the American Revolution. The views across Narragansett Bay were stunning.

After a short break for a snack and water, I drove north a few miles and discovered an historical cemetery. I then proceeded south again to Fort Getty State Park. I discovered huge coastal estuaries harboring many species of birds and animals. I walked the rocky coasts exploring the nooks and crannies.

Finally, I drove around almost aimlessly and found new beaches, new bird sanctuaries, harbors and more interesting history.

The point is that adventure is a close as you want it to be. I experienced all of this in a day and it was only 20 miles from my house. You don’t have to fly or drive long distances. All you have to do is get out of the house and ask yourself, “What’s around the next turn?”

Change your routine. Go have some fun.

Michael

Fisherman at Beavertail State Park

Dense fog, windy, very high waves and lots of salt water fisherman. This was my first impression of Beavertail State Park located at the southernmost end of Conanicut Island in Rhode Island. It was early morning and cool. The air was literally dripping moisture from the thick fog.

I had never been here before. After parking my car near the lighthouse, I walked over to the eastern shore which looks out into Narragansett Bay and saw some of the most rugged coastline I had seen south of Maine. It was hard to see in the fog, but the rocks sparkled with moisture; blacks, grays and shades of browns.

It seemed to be a popular day for fishing. I saw several dozen fisherman casting into the 6 – 8 foot waves pounding the rock shore.

Lone Fisherman

My goals were many today; to explore this park, do some hiking in the fog, look for geocaches and do some photography. I was rewarded by miles of trails through pristine areas.

The area also has a lot of history; colonial shipping, World War II bunkers that were used to defend against seaside attacks and Indian settlements. In fact, Conanicut Island is named for Chief Canonicus who once resided here.

The park and some areas just north of it in Fort Wetherill has some interesting  geology. Most of the rocks here are igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. You can find large quartz veins when walking along the rocky shore. Fort Wetherill probably has the largest and longest in the area. I was surprised to learn that New England and parts of New York are more closely related to Africa when examining the fossil and geological record. Apparently, many millions of years ago, Africa broke off from North America and left a little piece behind.

If you visiting Rhode Island, take the time to travel south and visit this park, Jamestown and Newport across the bay. You won’t be disappointed.

Additional Links:

Beavertail State Park on Rhode Island State Parks

Visit Rhode Island.com for Beavertail State Park

Beavertail Lighthouse

Fort Wetherill

View Larger Map of Beavertail State Park

Looking Out from Mt. Holyoke

I was up in Northamptom, MA today doing some geocaching, hiking and photography. It was a nice overcast day which meant that the colors were evenly lighted and the trails were cool.

Most of the morning was spent on Mt. Holyoke which is in Skinner State Park near Hadley, MA. The mountain itself is a little over 900 feet high but rises very quickly, so the trails to the summit are quite steep.

What a great day to be walking through the deciduous forests of New England. Color was everywhere. Squirrels were busily getting ready for the winter. Hawks circled looking for prey. The sound of leaves falling was everywhere.

Fall continues to be my favorite season. I typically start up in New Hampshire to see the color and then get to enjoy it for several weeks as it slowly moves down south as the cool air becomes the norm.

Please view my other photos for the day (4 photos).

Hope your day was nice!

Michael

Sunset at Ecola State Park

I’m in Oregon this week on a photographic tour. I spent most of the day on the coast around the Cannon Beach and Seaside areas. I haven’t been here for over 10 years. It’s so nice to be back.

The Oregon coast is phenomenal. I can spend hours watching the huge waves roll one after another into the shore. I especially like to watch them from the cliffs that tower above the beaches.

I took the sunset photo at Ecola State Park near the Sea Lion Rocks. It’s funny because I was dreaming of a beautiful sunset all day. Most of the day was hazy and partly cloudy. I continued to see a great sunset in my imagination.

Low and behold about 2 hours before sunset, I started to see the clouds open up and then separate above the horizon in the distance. So, all I had to do was to show up at the place I had picked to photograph the beautiful colors.

I had traveled all the way across the country to photograph a sunset on the west coast, specifically in this exact place. The forecast is rain over the next two days, so I knew my “chance” for the sunset was today.

Tidbit: This sunset at Cannon Beach was even mentioned on the local news this evening. Cool!

Everything worked out perfect.

Michael

Erica stayed local this weekend. We decided to take a long walk on the famous Cliff Walk in Newport, RI. The total length is about 3 1/2 miles one way. We didn’t walk the entire length, but we did go about 2/3 of the way.

Yesterday was mostly rain, fog and wind. Today, the fog lifted by noon and the rest of the day was windy and partly cloudy; a simply stunning day.

It was a leisurely walk as I was doing some geocaching along the way. Erica turned out to have a knack with the geocaching game. She found a difficult one that I couldn’t find.

I enjoy looking at the mansions along the way. These places are huge and represent a different time and place. I really like the stonework on a lot of them.

Today was a great day for surfers. We watched them for quite some time. The waves were around 6 feet high and were rolling into the coast in groups of three.

I love watching the ocean waves. I find it mesmerizing and relaxing at the same time. So, it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk combined with the ocean, waves, blue sky, huge cumulus clouds, stone mansions and some great company.

I feel really rested from this weekend. It was fun to just do very little and like I mentioned yesterday, make time to play. We tend to get too tied up in the world around us and forget to take time for ourselves.

Michael

I play a game called Geocaching. I’ve been playing since February 2004. Last year I didn’t really play the game that much. Supercomputers in the Rockies are working on figuring out the reasons why.

It combines several things that I love to do; explore, travel, technology, figuring out puzzles, hike, walk, photography and just getting out in nature. I’ve been working on getting back into shape so I’ve been doing a lot of walking and hiking over the past two weeks.

Geocaching is helping me to fuel that goal. I’ve redirected by mind so that it focuses on finding the geocaches and it doesn’t notice that I walk many miles in the search. This plan works for me.

For over a year I’ve been really close to finding a career total of 900 geocaches. I made a goal just a few weeks ago to reach 900 by the end of May. Today I finally made it.

Some might say it’s a small goal, a silly goal. I disagree. No goal is really silly. If it is something you want, then it’s important. Plus I’ve lost 3 pounds since I started the intense walking/hiking again. Not bad for a silly goal.

Michael