Campground Spotlight
Western-Style Family Camping At Circle CG Farm Campground
Picture a campground with a regular ribs cookoff, hayrides, and live country-western performances at its own music venue. The property is liberally sprinkled with shade trees and other natural features, and campsites sit on avenues with names such as Cripple Creek, Cimarron Trail, and Six-Gun Road. Guests can wet a line in a little fishing pond.
By the way, the RV park you’re imagining is not out West — it’s Circle CG Farm Campground (FMCA commercial member C13079) in Bellingham, Massachusetts.
Cliff Grover (his initials are in the park’s name) and his wife, Marion, loved so many aspects of horse riding and Western showmanship that they bought land in Bellingham to create a riding academy and equine competition ring. Campground- and horse-owning friends suggested that they also put a campground there. In 1968, Cliff opened the first 25 campsites.
Camping now is the focus, but the Western hospitality remains. A Thanksgiving dinner is shared with campers each year, as is a Christmas party. Kids love the many summer activities, which makes sense for a place whose motto is “Put Family Back in Family Camping!”
The 150 sites include all kinds of spaces, from tent-size to RV pull-through. Some are open year-round. And Circle CG is not far from Boston, Cape Cod, and Providence — making it a base for fun day trips all around this historical and scenic region.
Today, the Grovers’ daughter, Linda Daley, and her husband, Rob, plus two grandchildren and their spouses, continue the family campground tradition. Grandson Pete Daley, who handles daily operations, has seen the evolution of families on the visitors’ side also. “I remember when people’s kids were in diapers, and now their grandkids are coming here,” he said.
Details
Circle CG Farm Campground, C13079
131 N. Main St.
Bellingham, MA 02019
(508) 966-1136
www.circlecgfarm.com
Bookshelf
100 Things To See In The Night Sky
Does the night sky seem like one big mystery to you? A book called 100 Things To See In The Night Sky: From Planets and Satellites to Meteors and Constellations, Your Guide to Stargazing can help you solve it.
The heavenly sights it includes are illustrated and rated on how easy or hard they are to find. Even if you aren’t sure where to look for the Big Dipper (rated as easy), the book has plenty of clear drawings, featuring one topic at a time.
100 Things To See In The Night Sky
Very simply, you decide how far to go as the author, Dean Regas, leads you from one star or group of stars to the next. Confidence grows with each discovery. Yes, you can find that Summer Triangle, with its star called Vega, and (bonus) its related swan constellation! Cool!
Mr. Regas did not plan to be an astronomer. He led nature walks at a Cincinnati park, until one day he was transferred to the park’s planetarium. A group of Girl Scouts would be there in a week, expecting an astronomy presentation, and he couldn’t even find the North Star. The incident helped guide him to become a great educator. Mr. Regas has been the astronomer at the Cincinnati Observatory since 2000 and the cohost of the syndicated PBS-television astronomy program “Star Gazers” since 2010.
Astronomical wonders that are not stars, such as comets, meteors, auroras, and eclipses, also are explained in the book. Objects you can see with a small telescope are given some attention, too. This well-rounded introduction is jargon-free, well-organized, and about as down-to-earth as these guides get.
The only thing you may want to buy along with this book is a flashlight with a red lens. Use it to periodically check the guide while you’re out in the dark, hunting down those stars.
And, as Dean says, “Keep looking up!”
100 Things To See In The Night Sky by Dean Regas is published by Simon & Schuster and available through online booksellers. Sturdy paperback. List price $15.99.
Explore
Get Outdoors, Kids!
Fourth-grade students can take the learning outside with a free annual pass that grants them access to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas with their families, classmates, and friends. Through the Every Kid Outdoors Program, the youngsters can explore, learn, and recreate in national parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, and forests. And did we mention that it’s free?
Every Kid Outdoors passes give fourth-graders access to federal lands.
Why fourth-graders? Research indicates that children ages 9 to 11 are at a unique developmental stage; they begin to understand how the world around them works in more concrete ways, and they are more receptive to engaging with nature and the environment. By focusing on this age group year after year, the program aims to ensure that every child has the opportunity to visit U.S. federal lands and waters — thus establishing a lifelong connection with America’s outdoor heritage.
To obtain the free pass, fourth-graders can visit the Every Kid Outdoors website (https://www.nps.gov/everykidoutdoors/), where they’ll participate in a short educational activity and download a voucher. The voucher is good through the current traditional school year — September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020. It may be exchanged for a keepsake pass at participating federal lands.
Each voucher or pass grants free entry to the fourth-grader; all children under 16 in his or her group; and up to three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks). It can be used at most federally managed lands and waters. Additional fees for camping, boat rides, etc. are not covered.
Seven federal agencies participate in the Every Kid Outdoors program: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Forest Service; National Park Service; U.S. Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
App File
Emergency Radio Bands
Are you curious every time you hear a siren? You can get the scoop firsthand by listening to live radio traffic from police and fire departments, as well as from many other sources.
5-0 Radio Police Scanner: The app provides access to live police, fire, aircraft, railroad, emergency, news, and ham radio feeds. A feature called “feeds with active alerts” shows bands with ongoing activity and breaking news. Each band shows the number of current listeners. Developer: Smartest Apps LLC. Free; iOS only. A paid version removes ads and offers additional features.
Scanner 911: Police, fire, EMS, and airport scanners in your area are sorted by distance. You can listen while using other phone apps. The sound can be adjusted with built-in equalizer and amplifier effects. A list of police “10 codes” helps users follow the action. (An example: 10-4 means “understood.”) Developer: XYWARE. Free; Android only.
Scanner Radio: Police & Fire: Bands include police, fire, amateur radio, aviation, disaster event, marine, public safety, railroad, special event, and weather. Filters allow bands to be selected by their popularity or the source’s proximity to the app user. Users can receive an alert when a band has more than 3,500 listeners, indicating a major event. Developer: GordonEdwards.net LLC. Free; iOS and Android. A paid version removes ads and offers additional features.