Since I had little money to spend on extravagances this year I chose to take several free galavants through the countryside  for my vacation.

One of the places I hiked was Doane’s Falls in Royalston MA. Doanes is just at the outlet of the Miller’s River as it makes its way into the Tully Dam spillway.

The first time I walked the falls was with my grandparents when I was a little boy. I don’t think I have walked all the way through to Tully since.

Usually the head waters of the falls are broiling making it very dangerous to swim. Many a diver has jumped into the pool never to reemerge. With the little rainfall we have had the first falls are reduced to a mere trickle of their usual volume.

The second falls

The third falls

Several boasters were taking advantage of the summer heat out on the Tully Dam waterway. It was a beautiful summer day and the whole hike took me about an hour and a half. When you visit bring plenty of water, bug spray and mind the poison ivy!