Return to Dogtown.

Dear Diary,

The last time I walked the trails of Dogtown, a 3600 acre wilderness area between Gloucester and Rockport, Massachusetts on Cape Ann, was the Autumn of 1974. I went on a field trip with my photography class my freshman year at University. It was the first time that I learned about the "presence of place"...how a location can have a spirit and energy that is unique and palpable. The instructor didn't use the term "thin place", I'd learned that term 35 years later, but he encouraged us to absorb the essence of the place and not to subject it to our notion of what it should be.

We got a bit turned around and after a long, hot two hour circuitous hike, we finally found the stones I was searching for. The Babson Boulders are huge stones carved with words that randomly appear in the landscape. (You can see all the stones here...) We were only able to see three but that's fine...we'll come back! It is a perfect landscape for the contemplative photographer for sure!

Creating new memories from old memories...