Quonnie solo walker

My agenda today, a reasonably warm one by the afternoon, was to walk the barrier beach at Quonochontaug, a.k.a. "Quonnie"—it's easier to spell—and channel Thoreau and Henry Beston, naturalist-writers who've penned classic and special books about their time living along and trekking the wild shore. Quonnie, a conservation area, is about as close to a beach in its pristine state as exists on the planet, so it was easy to look down the mile of almost empty coast and imagine the way it used to be in pre-tourist days. The view was stirring, but when I watched an old gent pass by and walk in the opposite direction, I was reminded that this area is also a resort filled with very expensive houses—a kind of natural history yin and yang. I don't know which camp he belonged in, so I photographed an enigma... and then resumed my walk in search of the heart of the coast.