First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

There are very few days in a year at First Encounter Beach when the following events coincide: sunset, low tide, moonrise, no parking fee, not too cold, not too hot, not too late, not too many people. This was one of those days, so, I headed off to First Encounter Beach on Cape Cod.

Although the conditions were promising, the sunset was sadly flat and colorless.

I was seriously disappointed at the lack of a colorful sunset - and then I remembered the red umbrella in the trunk of my car...........

......so, all was not lost.

First Encounter Beach in Eastham is the location where in 1620, the Pilgrims had the first encounter with Native Americans while scouting the perimeter of Cape Cod Bay.

I tried a few different compositions.

A red umbrella to a photographer is like a chewed-up Frisbee to a dog. It can likely rescue any outing from disappointment.

First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Every fall after the beach crowd is gone and the town doesn't charge an entrance fee, I try to make a trip to First Encounter Beach in Eastham on a certain day.  I time it so that the low tide occurs at just about sunset (and If I'm really good, also the moonrise).  Those two events create a beautiful natural scene.  By the way, I would normally reject this image because as I panned the camera from left to right, my motion was not smooth so it looks like the horizon is not flat - but I like the quirkiness of it this time - it looks a bit other-worldly when combined with the fireball sun/cloud.

View to the north. (Panorama - click on the image to view in full width).

Digging for clams.

As the tide recedes and the sun sinks toward the horizon, the ribbons of sand become more visible.

Playing fetch with the pooch.

A stroll on the ribbons of sand.

First Encounter Beach is where the Pilgrims first encountered the local Native American Nauset people in 1621 while on a hunting expedition from Provincetown Harbor. It's a beautiful spot.

Fort Hill, Cape Cod National Seashore, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Before this was New England, it was New France. And before the intrusion of Europeans of course, the Native American Nausets had lived here successfully for ages. The French explorer Sieur de Monts, governor of New France, possessed a grant for fur trading and after a failed effort in the area that became today's New Brunswick Canada, sailed south and entered the bay of the Native American Nausets, today Nauset Bay in Eastham. This was in 1605, well before the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World in 1620.

(Panorama - click on image to view in full width). Fort Hill is a peaceful spot offering expansive views from a slightly higher vantage point - unusual for the relatively flat Cape Cod.

The area is characterized by beautiful saltwater marshes.

Ribbons of water lead to and from the sea depending on the tide.

The Penniman House stands near the entrance to the property. Built in 1868, this was home to Edward Penniman and family. As a whaler, he was quite the wanderer having traveled to the Arctic Ocean, Fiji, Hawaii, Chile, and Panama to name a few. No small feat back in those days.

Beautiful architectural details characterize the French-style design.

The large property has wooded trails as well as open trails along the marsh and through the meadow.

Nearby Collins Landing is home to some classic New England small boats at anchor.

Fort Hill is another beautiful spot on a cape filled with many such wonders.  There is a reason folks come from all over the world to visit this place on the planet - it is a natural and modern beauty.

Reflection, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

A high altitude flight arriving from over the Atlantic Ocean flies into the sunset viewed from Boat Meadow Marsh in Eastham.

Beach Art, First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Yesterday, I posted a number of other images from my recent First Encounter Beach visit in Eastham on Cape Cod. I saved this one for its very own solo post. Not to sound immodest but, I think this is a strong image. The free-spirited movement of this young child silhouetted against the beach and glittering water pleases me. If it makes you think fondly of a beach memory, then I have been successful.

First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

First Encounter Beach is so named for the arrival of the Pilgrims almost 400 years ago.  Located in present day in Eastham on Cape Cod, the beach area enjoys a phenomenon that occurs when low tide and sunset are coincident.  The view reveals a long series of sandbars that stretch way off shore into the bay. I 've only seen it in the fall after the tourist season has ended but, I assume it is visible all year when these tide and sun conditions occur.

Typical of many boat moorings in Cape Cod Bay, at low tide the boat rests on the sand.  As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats, literally.

Some folks walk out a long way as you can see from the distant vertical specks.

It is difficult to imagine the Pilgrims arriving here by boat in cold November weather. Hearty stock those Pilgrims. Of course, half of them died that first year in the New World so maybe not so hearty after all.

Meanwhile, at the last flash of sunset......

....it is impossible not to be in awe at the natural beauty of this place.

Moonrise, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

This view of the recent full moon is looking eastward from the First Encounter Beach area. It was a rare evening:  warm, clear, low tide, sunset, and full moon all together.

And a few minutes later, here's the view from the town boat landing - what you can't see are the mosquitoes the size of small birds. Bad time to be wearing shorts.

Fort Hill, Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

This is Fort Hill today. The entire cape was mostly forested in the 1600's when the Pilgrims arrived. Security was shaky, and rewards were even paid to the colonists for each wolf head. And in 1695, to further protect the enlarging farms, each unmarried man was ordered to kill six blackbirds, or three crows, while he remained single. Over-grazing and over-cutting became a growing problem in this area along with soil depletion. By the 1850's, Eastham forest had become Eastham Plains. These fields are kept open today as a reminder of those times. (Source: National Park Service, Fort Hill Trail brochure.)

The top of Fort Hill provides a commanding view of the surrounding marsh, sea, inlet, fields, and gentle hills.

The golden hues of fall start to become more visible in the grasses of Nauset Marsh.

This lone honey bee is not ready to give up on summer yet.

Sunset, First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

When a low tide, sunset, and clear skies coincide, the beach sand at First Encounter Beach in Eastham creates some interesting ripples and ribbons of sand.  Here's what it looked like this week:

Folks milling around about an hour before sunset.

More milling about.

Self-portrait while milling about waiting for the sunset.

And the color show begins......

...and deepens....

....and darkens.....

....and ends. Another beautiful spot on Cape Cod.

First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

First Encounter Beach in Eastham is the location where in 1620, the Pilgrims had the first encounter with Native Americans while scouting the perimeter of Cape Cod Bay.

Views looking north on this bay side beach......

The beach grasses waving in the fresh breeze, tourists gone, kids back in school - the only folks out and about mostly have white hair - myself included.

It's after Labor Day so dogs are permitted on the beach again.

These lost shoes will likely lead to a "first encounter" with an angry parent when the family gets home and realizes these fancy high-tech beach shoes were left behind.