Category Archives: New Hampshire

In Search of the Perfect Christmas Card

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Its hard to believe another Christmas has come and  gone and the count down to the new year begins.   One of my favorite parts of the holiday traditions is making my special Christmas Cards.

The photos I use are always from the year before. In other words, I will use a photo from this year for next year’s card and so on. I do this so I won’t feel too stressed out looking for a last minute holiday picture. Usually I have something in mind. Last year I planned a trip to Disney World with the sole intention of finding a picture for my card this year. The result was the train.

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A few years ago I wanted to use one of the decorated homes in town.

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One year I was trying to get a good candle picture for my cards.

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So with a possible card theme in mind I took off to Jackson NH for a day trip.  Now a drive to Jackson from Taunton is about 4 hours.  I figured I’d have about two hours there to get the  special picture and then I’d need to head back home.

What I had in mind was a sleigh ride drawn by a team of horses. “Dashing through the snow”…but when I arrived in Jackson, there was no snow! Oh Oh. Strike one.

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Strike 2 was that to go on the Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour you had to be staying at one of the Inns. There was no room at any of the Inns, not that I really had time to stay overnight.

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Strike 3 was no sleighs (since there was no snow) well, in a way there were sleighs. They were mounted on wagon frames.

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To make a long story short, I didn’t get the photos I had visualized and at this point I don’t think they will make the cut for next year’s card but you never know. It all depends on what other shots I come up with. I had a good time and met some nice people and that’s what’s really important.

When is a Bridge more than a Bridge?

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When is a Bridge more than a bridge? When it’s covered , of course.

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Pennsylvania is supposed to have the most covered bridges. It is also supposed to have had the most covered bridges of any state throughout history. Estimates say there was at least 1500 during the height of bridge building. But don’t forget Vermont.

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Vermont has the most covered bridges per square mile or at least it did have before the bad weather in recent years started taking them out and turning them into matchsticks. I’m not sure where the count stands now.

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New Hampshire has bunch and I got to see some of them on my vacation to Waterville Valley.

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The one I want to talk about here is the one in Rhode Island. Up until I started researching this bridge I thought it was the only one in Rhode Island. Most articles say Rhode Island has just the one but there’s a rumor that there’s a newer bridge in Lincoln Woods State Park. I may have to check that out.

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But back to the bridge of the day, little Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge in Foster , RI. This little bridge was a real labor of love. A replica of an early 19th-century structure, it was built by volunteers back in 1994. The timber was logged from nearby forests and the 40-foot-long bridge straddles Hemlock Brook, north of the small town of Foster, just off Route 94. It uses the lattice-truss method of construction and was rebuilt in 1994.

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It’s officially listed as part of the “leaf-peeper trail. A true treasure to see.

I saw a documentary on covered bridges on PBS and that show mentioned that the Swamp Meadow bridge had burned down. It was determined it was arson and the cuplrits, 3 village youths, eventually were identified and apprehended. But that wasn’t the end of the story. The community banded together to rebuild the bridge. The bridge burned on September 11, 1993 and was rededicated in November 1994 and stands to this day.

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New Hampshire

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In my alphabetical review of the states I’ve visited and the ones that remain we have reached New Hampshire. New Hampshire gets a resounding YES!

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Since New Hampshire is our  neighbor state to the north, I have made many day trips, from beer runs in my youth (Massachusetts had blue laws which have since been relaxed) to tax free shopping, to multiple  visits to Canopy Lake Park (An amusement park), until I finally broke down and spent a week in the White Mountains.

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Salem, NH is not only home to Canopy Lake park but a more mysterious location known as the American Stonehenge. I visited the American Stonehenge several times. I found it interesting but I didn’t get any “vibes”. Lately it’s been featured in several TV programs including America Unearthed. Maybe it’s time to plan another day trip.

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Also on my list is a visit to Portsmouth, NH where I would take a boat trip to the picturesque and history-filled Isles of Shoals, six miles off the New Hampshire coast.

The  48-foot tower of Portsmouth Harbor Light, built in 1877, overlooks the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor from historic Fort Constitution and the U.S. Coast Guard Station in nearby New Castle. I haven’t got any pictures of New Hampshire Lighthouses so I need to include a trip there.

But those are things I still need to do. Let’s review things I’ve done so I can check the state off.

I remember spending a vacation in a rustic trailer in North Conway in October .. The only heat was a wood stove. My brother Jim had a beautiful Gold Wing Touring Bike and we rode the bike over the Kancamangus  Highway, very scenic trip through the White Mountains. Since it was October we were treated to vibrant foliage and sparkling waterfalls.  Riding this road on a motorcycle was an outstanding experience.

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No car roof to interfere with the awesome views. It was cold but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. It was a terrific trip.

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More recently I spent a week in Waterville Valley in mid summer. That was an activity packed vacation. I rode the tram to the top of Canon Mountain,

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explored the Flume Gorge, went on a Moose Tour…and saw moose….in Lincoln, NH. I took a scenic train ride and rode the Famous CogRR 019 copyCog railway to the summit of Mt. Washington. I also drove the Kancamangus Highway again and met a group of bikers peddling the mountain roads.

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For details on my adventure in the Flume Gorge you’ll want to read my post about it. It was a “Freshly Pressed” post and one of my most popular. https://aroundustyroads.com/?s=flume+gorge

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I looked for Covered bridges.

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There are said to be 54 in New Hampshire. Under one bridge I found an old fashioned rope swing with kids swinging out and jumping into the river. Boy did that take me back!

I almost forgot! I took a nature cruise on Squam lake to look for loons and Eagles. (We saw both) Squam Lake was the location where On Golden Pond was filmed. I highly recommend this lake. It was a beautiful ride and the lake has limited development so you aren’t staring at hotels and motels all along the shore.

Another New Hampshire experience was a photographic journey I took 2 years ago that the Massachusetts Railroad Enthusiasts puts on the first Saturday in January. It’s a train ride for photographers.

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The train stops several places and lets the photographers off. Then it backs up and does a “run by” so we can take pictures. Then it’s all aboard until the next stop where we repeat the process. The train runs from North Conway to Notchland. It’s a long day starting about 5am for the drive  up and getting home around 9pm but another great experience.

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So what’s the tally now? 10 states visited, 19 still to go and the countdown continues…

Read Any Good Books Lately?

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Anyone read any good books lately? I just finished

  • Knock Out…….Catherine Coulter
  • Delusion in Death……J.D. Robb
  • Queen of the Night….J.A. Jance
  • The Whisperer……Carla Neggers

There seems to be a trend in my choice of novels. Some folks like Romance, some like Thrillers, some like Horror(you’ll never catch me with a Stephen King Novel…way too scary), some like biographies and so on.

I think you can call my choices Mystery with maybe a touch of paranormal tossed in.

dresses 013aKnock Out is one of Catherine Coulters FBI “Thrillers” but this one has more than a little paranormal/psychic thread to the plot. Fiction yes, but it does get you thinking about the so called “Power of the mind”. Its plot moves fast as 2 story lines keep our FBI heroes racing between bad guys in a desperate attempt to save everyone.

dresses 014 copyDelusion in Death by J. D. Robb is part of a series featuring a female homicide detective (Eve Dallas) for the NY City Police department and her  super rich husband (Rourke) set in and around 2058. Each book in the series is a murder mystery as well as moving you through Dallas’s growth as a person. So far there are 34 books in this series.( J. D. Robb is a pen name for Nora Roberts.)

dresses 012 copyQueen of the Night a novel by J.A. Jance brings back some of her earlier characters. Located in Arizona there is the underlying theme of the Indian Reservations and Spiritual Beliefs. The novel is often sad when man’s inhumanity to man spills over to the youngest and most innocent of our society. But unlike “real life” there is someone there to rise to the challenge…good over comes evil but not without hardship and loss.

dresses 011 copyThe Whisperer by Carla Neggers also brings back characters and plot themes from earlier novels but each story can stand alone if necessary. What I like about Carla Neggers is so many of her stories are set in New England…the Maine Coast, New Hampshire, Southie, Jamaica Plain, Beacon St, Boston…all real places to me. Her stories, including this one always have a heavy does of Ireland and Irish Folklore along with Boston PD, FBI and spies. So I recommend her to anyone who likes a bit of fairies and leprechauns thrown in with their murder investigations.

I don’t have the chance to read as much as I used to and stealing the time for these 4 novels has been a rare treat. Since some of my stolen time was time I would normally spend writing, it seems only fitting that I share these books with you. What have you been reading?