Turn right on Main Street

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Ron Haines

It makes my day when I am traveling down a rural, two-lane highway and my GPS says: ‘In eighteen miles turn right on Main Street.’

What it means is that after 18 miles of pleasant driving past farm fields and forests I will enter yet another small town and turn right on yet another Main Street.

If I plan the route well and let the GPS do its magic on the ‘shortest distance’ setting, I can have a whole afternoon of such driving, including stops at promising looking junk/antique shops and other quirky places.

It’s far easier than plotting a ‘blue line’ journey on a paper map. I encountered many Main Streets on a recent jaunt through western Massachusetts. Below are a couple of them.

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The shot below, taken in New Hampshire, offers a more extreme example of what can happen when following the directions of a GPS set to ‘shortest distance.’ IMG_3960c

Posted in Offbeat, Photos mostly, Road trip | 1 Comment

Finding fellow canoeists on a woodsy paddle in the Boston suburbs

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Ron Haines

After a couple years of traveling in a plastic armada of kayaks on paddle trips with various groups in Florida and the Northeast, my vintage Grumman aluminum canoe had the pleasure of the company of five other canoes on a recent voyage down the Ipswich River with members of the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. And two of the five were also old Grummans.

Just 30 miles from Boston, the Ipswich in and around the Boston suburb of Topsfield meanders through woods and swamps, surrounded by two state parks and the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary.  It’s a nice ride, pleasantly narrow and twisty, with a helpful current.

The good news is that because the river has long been a source of drinking water for the many communities in its watershed, the water quality has been kept reasonably high. The bad news is that because it has long been a source of drinking water for the many communities in its watershed, it gets sucked nearly dry in portions of its 35-mile length quite often. See the Ipswich River Watershed Association website for more details about protecting the river.

The whole area is steeped in Colonial history of course, but the bit I found most interesting is that it was a hotbed of witchcraft and witch trials in the late 1600’s. The infamous Salem is now a part of nearby Danvers. And, probably unrelated, a member of the fifth generation of the Smiths of Topsfield, Joseph Smith Jr., founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the 1800’s.

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Posted in Appalachian Moutain Club, Grumman canoe, Nature, Paddling, Sierra Club | 4 Comments

Another recycled gas station…and baby swans.

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Ron Haines

Right near the launch site during a recent paddle on the Connecticut River near Gill, Massachusetts, I found another treasured old gas station, this one recycled into Riverside Healing and Bodyworks. I couldn’t resist taking a photo to add to my collection. (Also recently added is a shot of The Glass Station in Nepaug, CT, which I happened upon a couple weeks ago.) Below are some shots from the river too, including the baby swans I promised in the headline. We were on an easily managed small and low current section of the river, so there was plenty of leisure time.

Riverside Healing and BodyworkGill, MAIMG_4305cIMG_0593cIMG_0589cIMG_4337c

Posted in Gas stations, Nature, Paddling, Photos mostly | 5 Comments

Capturing the Blue Heron

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Ron Haines

Getting a decent photo of a blue heron is a piece of cake in Florida compared to up here in the northeast. Here they are generally very leery of humans and fly away when you try to get close. In Florida I can get a good photo of one by rolling out of bed and sticking the camera out the window. To get the one below, at Roseland Lake in Woodstock, CT, I had to settle on a spot pretty far away, get the canoe stable in the weeds, and then whap off a lot of frames with the 300mm, hoping for a few that would be in good focus. Same goes for eagles and oprey up here. Turtles are easy though.IMG_0567c IMG_4228c IMG_4229c IMG_4240c IMG_4249c IMG_4261c IMG_4265c

Posted in Nature, Paddling, Photos mostly | 2 Comments

A&W–the last one in Vermont

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Ron Haines

The mug was frosty and the ice cold root beer tasted just as good as I remembered. This A&W stand, complete with carhops and the trays that attach to your window, is in Middlebury, VT, and is the last one surviving in the state.IMG_0544c IMG_4222c

Posted in Photos mostly, Road trip | 4 Comments

Old Gas Stations (Sometimes) Don’t Just Fade Away

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Ron Haines

In my meanderings around the eastern half of the US lately I have taken photographs of old gas stations.  Some are being used by other businesses—auto repair is a popular repurposing, but they run the gamut from thrift stores to funeral homes.  Some are vacant but still reusable.  And some are plain just falling apart.

You can see them all here.

Posted in Gas stations | 1 Comment

You’re Invited!

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Ron Haines

Hi Friends.

If you’re in Southeast Florida and want to hear and see more about the 75-mile, 2012 River of Grass Canoe Expedition, May 10 at the Palm Beach County Library in Lantana is where you want to be.  Yes, you will see me, presenting some photos about the trip, but BETTER YET, you will hear from the leader of the expedition and representatives from the sponsoring Marshall Foundation and the South Florida Water Management District, telling you about the larger picture of these multi-year expeditions and the details of the Everglades  Restoration program.  There will also be a short video about the voyage and plenty of time for questions. It should be a great educational program.

WHEN: Thursday May 10, 2012. 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Palm Beach County Library (Lantana Branch) 4020 Lantana Road, Lake Worth.

Posted in Everglades, Paddling, Sierra Club | 1 Comment

Once a canoe camper always a canoe camper (but it gets tougher as you get older)

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ron Haines

I am continuing to paddle, mostly limited to day trips around town, but I decided recently to get adventurous again and I was accepted to be a participant in the week-long, 75-mile 2012 River of Grass Canoe Expedition, sponsored by the Marshall Foundation. This is a multi-year educational project to spread the word about the importance of the Florida Everglades and the restoration of that important ecosystem. I hope you enjoy my account of the voyage, and the photos, and follow the links for more information.  It’s all here.

 

Posted in Everglades, Paddling | Leave a comment

A Nice Note

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Ron Haines

I received the following letter last week regarding Day 4 of my 2003 Mississippi River canoe trip and thought it worth sharing.  It gives me a small glimpse of the thoughts of a person I encountered along the way and what he thought of that encounter. That’s a perspective one doesn’t often get.  My only contact with George Weidig after the day he helped me out was my ‘arrived safely’ postcard from New Orleans, but I never knew if it had reached him.

Here’s the background: On July 1, 2003, I had battled the rice swamps and had given up and retreated to my campsite at Bear Den Landing with plans to stay there the night and walk out the next day and seek help. Before I got around to setting up my tent, along came George Weidig and Dean Jones to do some fishing and they volunteered to go get a pickup truck and help get me and my canoe all my stuff to Bemidji.

And here’s the letter:

Dear Mr. Haines, 

George Weidig was my husband and I am writing to let you know how much I appreciate you sending the information for your website.  George passed away later in the same year you made your trip.  It happened shortly before your postcard arrived, so he did not get to find out you made it through.  He mentioned you several times and hoped you were having a good trip. He would be delighted to know that you still think of him. He and Dean were both happy that they happened to be in the right place at the right time to help you. 

Thanks, Gayla Weidig

Posted in Mississippi River Canoe Trip | 1 Comment

Eight years ago today I was in Oquawka

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Ron Haines

Hello family and friends. I have FINALLY completed the Canoeing The Mississippi River section of my website. I paddled the entire river in 2003 and it’s taken me this long to put the journal and photos in a form for others to see. That’s true procrastination! I hope you enjoy reading about what I enjoyed doing. I could have summed it up in one sentence, however: I paddled yesterday, I am paddling today and I will paddle tomorrow. That would be true of every day except Day 1 and Day 106!

To see everything go here.

Pulling ashore in New Orleans. Do I look happy or what! (Photo by Maurice Coman)

 

Posted in Mississippi River Canoe Trip | Leave a comment