October 7 Cape Cod

Tuesday, October 7

A few commuters and buses began arriving by 7:00, so we had breakfast, eyed the maps and headed out.   We were headed toward Provincetown, at the tip of the cape, but made a few stops along the way.

Most of the stops were within the Cape Cod National Park, which  is shut down. Some parking areas are open, some are blocked, but all the visitor’s centers are closed. There were still a few buses and other people seeing what they could.  First stop was Fort Hill where we walked the Red Maple Swamp trail and along  a marsh area where the golden grasses made a beautiful scene. The whaling captain's house looked interesting but wasn't open.

red maple swamp trail

marshland

Whaling captain's home

 Next stop was Nauset Beach, a pretty surfing beach with a bright lighthouse. There was a small building where the first transatlantic cable came ashore back in the late 1800’s. Quite an event at the time! Walked a trail to “the three sisters” lighthouses, a trio of small lighthouses that used to be in this area but are inactive.

 

Two of The Three Sisters

 A little further up the road we took a road to the Highland Lighthouse, one of oldest on the cape.  The parking lot was blocked, again due to the government shut-down, but we parked and walked into the grounds.  

Arrived in Provincetown, tiny narrow streets jam-packed with historical buildings, lots of shops, restaurants, B&B's, and the Pilgrim Memorial towering over all. We went to the library where the second floor is practically all taken up by a huge ship – interesting. Had lunch at a Deli-type place called Far Land Provisions which had been recommended. Checked out a few shops.

Library

Ship on 2nd floor of library

Provincetown

Busy streets of Provincetown

Pilgrim's Memorial, Provincetown

 Went a little further, to the end of the cape, Pilgrim Park, where there is a breakwater where  several men and women were fishing for blue fish - quite successfully!  Walked out as far as we could. According to some records, this is where the Pilgrims first landed.

 

Next we drove to Herring Cove and few other nearby beaches. Went through Wellsfleet and walked the Grand Island Trail for a while, collecting some pretty white rocks on the beach.

 Got the impression that there isn’t much unoccupied land on the cape.  Many, many beaches and each has resorts, cabins, hotels, etc.   Seems that most of the towns have expanded so that they all kind of run together. Most have several with similar names, like North Brewster, Brewster, East Brewster or Hyannis and Hyannisport.  Many of the buildings are finished with wood shingles which are weathered grey. Most of the beaches were sandy, some flat and others with dunes or cliffs.  Saw only a few shells; stones and seaweed.

Passed this interesting sign for a restaurant.

As the sun was about to set, we stopped at Cooks Brook Beach to watch, along with about a dozen other folks.  A policeman came by and was taking a sunset photo, so Greg asked if we could boondock here – he said technically no, but he didn’t mind, so that’s the plan.  After the sun was gone, everyone else left, so we’ve got the place to ourselves.

  This boat was afloat and you couldn't see the sandbars when we arrived, but the tide quickly went out.

 The colors were amazing. Changing every few minutes.

 Quiet night. Clouds, so not many stars.