Watch Hill, RI - part II

Here is a second set of photos taken from Tuesday's trip to Watch Hill.

After walking past the small harbor, part of Little Narraganset Bay, with its collection of anchored boats, we walked out along the barrier beach of Napatree Pt., along one of the beach paths.  The marsh grass was a vibrant green and a recent rainstorm had texturized the sand along the path and broken up some of the footprints present.

Sandy path with lone tree

The shore of Stonington, CT is seen in the background, and the distal clouds catch the afternoon sun along their edges.  The storm cloud that dumped the rain on the area had retreated far east over the Atlantic.  Further along the beachway, another path traversed the dunes, leading to the "breaker" side of the spit.  Along the side, and present throughout the area, was this colorful, salt-tolerant rosebush, a native of Asia:

Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa)

The end of Napatree Pt. leads to the ruins of Ft. Mansfield, built in the early 1900's.  Unfortunately,  we weren't aware of them at the time, so we didn't walk out the the end of the point.  The waves aren't exactly surfing material [and the water was quite cold], but the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing on the sand is relaxing and nostalgic.  

Towards Napatree Pt.

Turning back towards Watch Hill, the lighthouse and its associated buildings were visible on the point.  Lighthouses have the potential for being incredibly trite and kitschy in artwork, but I was drawn to the simple, bold shapes of the buildings.  A telephoto lens would have been really swell for this shot:

Watch Hill Lighthouse

The Napatree Pt. beach is a public beach and the Watch Hill area is absolutely packed on summer weekends.  On Tuesday, however, only a few scattered people were to be found.  The lone lifeguard tower frames this family enjoying the beach to themselves:

Beach goers

After heading back over to the business district of Watch Hill,  we sat down for some dinner.  As we were walking back to the car, the wind had picked up and the sun was headed closer towards the horizon, casting its sparkling afternoon light on the harbor.  Scattered backlit cumulus clouds add some additional drama to the view.

Late afternoon on Narraganset Bay

A nice way to end the day.