A Curious Day Trip to America’s Stonehenge

Posted on April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 by Dusty Roads | No Comments

🪨 New Hampshire’s Strangest Archaeological Mystery

Let’s take a little trip over the state line into our neighbor to the north — New Hampshire. The Live Free or Die state has its fair share of quirky attractions, but one of the strangest sits just over the border in Salem.

If you enjoy archaeology, mysterious stone structures, or simply wandering around the woods wondering what on earth happened here, then this place is absolutely for you.

And yes — I’ve been there.
And yes — if you let your imagination run free, it can get a little creepy.

Welcome to America’s Stonehenge.

🌀 Is It Really “Stonehenge”?

Let’s be honest: the name is a bit ambitious. There are no towering bluestones or dramatic circles rising from the earth. But what is here is a sprawling network of stone chambers, walls, and monoliths that spark endless questions.

Who built it?
When?
And why?

No one has definitive answers — which is half the fun.

🔊 The Oracle Chamber: A Voice From the Stones

One of the most intriguing structures is the Oracle Chamber, the largest enclosed space on the site. What fascinates me most is the speaking tube that connects the chamber to the outside.

At the exterior end of the tube sits a grooved stone table that some speculate may have been used for offerings. To whom or what? No one knows.

But picture this:

Primitive people gathered around the stone table with chickens or goats as offerings…
A hidden voice suddenly echoing from the rocks…
A disembodied whisper floating through the air…

Tell me that wouldn’t send a shiver down your spine.

🌅 The Summer Solstice Sunrise Stone

My favorite feature is the Summer Solstice Sunrise Monolith — a standing stone placed to mark the sunrise on the longest day of the year.

It’s not as dramatic as the towering monoliths on Salisbury Plain, but it still warms my heart. I can almost “see” the wise women of the tribe gathering at dawn, welcoming the sun and celebrating the birth of a new season.

Sometimes the simplest stones carry the deepest stories.

🐍 Other Mysteries Scattered Through the Woods

The site is full of curious structures, each with its own personality:

The Watch House Chamber
The S‑Shaped Serpent Wall
The East–West Chamber

Archaeologists and enthusiasts are still documenting the site, and new discoveries continue to surface. It’s the kind of place where every stone feels like it has a secret.

🏺 A Museum of Everyday History

Before or after your walk, take time to explore the small museum. The artifacts range from the Stone Age to more recent centuries — ceramics, eyeglasses, keys, and even half a pair of scissors.

It’s a quiet reminder that human history isn’t just grand monuments. It’s the ordinary objects people leave behind.

🧭 If You Go: Practical Tips for Visiting America’s Stonehenge

📍 Location:
105 Haverhill Road, Salem, New Hampshire — just over the Massachusetts border, an easy day trip.

🚗 Parking:
There’s a small on‑site parking lot right at the visitor center. It’s free, and usually there’s plenty of space unless you’re visiting on a peak fall weekend.

💵 Admission:
Prices vary slightly by season, but expect something around:

Adults: about $15
Seniors: discounted
Kids: reduced rate

Check their website before you go for the most current info.

⏰ Hours:
Open year‑round, with hours shifting seasonally. Winter visits can mean snowy or muddy trails.

🥾 Terrain:
The paths are wooded and uneven — not difficult, but definitely “forest floor.” Wear sturdy shoes.

🕒 Time Needed:
Plan for 1–2 hours depending on how deeply you explore.

🏛️ Visitor Center:
The museum is small but worth a look for context and artifacts.

🐕 Pets:
Leashed dogs are welcome on the grounds.

🌞 Best Time to Visit:
Late spring through fall offers the most comfortable weather, and the solstice markers are especially fun to see around June.

🧭 Be Your Own Indiana Jones

A visit to America’s Stonehenge is a chance to let your imagination roam. You can be your own Indiana Jones for the day — minus the rolling boulders and snakes, thankfully.

Whether you come for the archaeology, the mystery, or simply the peaceful walk through the woods, this quirky New Hampshire site offers a little something for every curious soul.

The Mystery of the Keepers of Eilean Mòr

Posted on January 18, 2026January 17, 2026 by Dusty Roads

Flannan Isle

Wilfrid Wilson Gibson

Though three men dwell on Flannan Isle
To keep the lamp alight,
As we steered under the lee, we caught
No glimmer through the night.

…

Aye: though we hunted high and low,
And hunted everywhere,
Of the three men’s fate we found no trace,
Of any kind in any place,
But a door ajar, and an untouched meal,
And an overtoppled chair.

The Vanishing Keepers of Eilean Mòr

After writing about some of history’s most haunting disappearances, I stumbled onto another case that fits right in with the Mary Celeste and the Sodder children—a mystery wrapped in fog, salt spray, and superstition. The disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers of Flannan Isle (also known as Eilean Mòr) remains one of the most unsettling maritime puzzles ever recorded.

In December 1900, a relief ship arrived at the remote lighthouse in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. From the deck, the crew expected to see the usual welcome: a wave, a signal flag, or at least the steady sweep of the lamp. Instead, the lighthouse stood dark and silent. When the landing party reached the island, they found the place eerily undisturbed—coats missing, a meal left untouched, a chair knocked over as if someone had risen suddenly. But of the three men—James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald MacArthur—there was no sign at all.

Theories: From the Practical to the Paranormal

A Rogue Wave or Sudden Storm

The most widely accepted explanation is that a violent wave swept the men off the cliffs while they were securing equipment during bad weather. The western side of the island is notorious for unpredictable surges that can rise dozens of feet without warning.

A Fight or Accident Gone Wrong

Some speculate that tempers flared in the isolation, leading to an accident or struggle. But with no bodies, no blood, and no signs of conflict inside the lighthouse, this theory feels thin.

Abduction or Foul Play

A passing ship, a criminal act, or even a staged disappearance has been suggested. Yet nothing in the logbooks or supply records hints at outside interference.

The Sea Monster Theory

And then there’s the theory that refuses to die—something ancient and enormous rising from the depths. The waters around the Flannan Isles have long been tied to Celtic sea lore: kelpies, serpents, and creatures said to drag sailors beneath the waves. The overturned chair and the half‑eaten meal have inspired storytellers to imagine a sudden terror—a shadow at the window, a roar from the cliffs, something so shocking that all three men rushed outside at once. It’s dramatic, improbable, and yet somehow perfectly suited to a lighthouse perched on the edge of the world.

A Mystery That Still Echoes

More than a century later, the Flannan Isle disappearance remains unsolved. No bodies ever washed ashore, no equipment was found, and no definitive explanation has emerged. Like the Mary Celeste, it lingers in that strange space between history and legend—a reminder that even in our modern age, the sea still keeps its secrets.

If you enjoy mysteries that refuse to sit quietly, this one belongs on the list.

Are Aliens visiting Earth?

Posted on April 15, 2023April 15, 2023 by Dusty Roads

Aliens? Really?

Well no, according to the eminent physicist Stephen Hawking. “If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans,” Link

May be an image of text that says 'Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for November 08, 1989 SOU WAS READING ABOUT HOW SPECIES ARE BEING PUSHED TOWARD EXTINCTION BY MANS DESTRUCTION OF FORESTS. SOMETIMES I THINK THE SUREST SIGN THAT INTELLIGENT LIFE EXISTS ELSEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE 15 THAT NONE OF IT HAS TRIED το CONTACT US. ets @1HsAaheSyncir Sgne-Cate'

Calvin & Hobbes

The Phoenix Lights

Are the Phoenix Lights UFOs? They are unidentified and they are flying so I guess they are UFO’s. The first sightings showed up in March of 1997 over the southwestern states of Arizona and Nevada. There were two distinct events involved in the incident: a triangular formation of lights seen to pass over the state, and a series of stationary lights seen in the Phoenix area.

Illustration from USA today

Hudson Valley UFO’s

Lets leave the southwest alone for a minute and head east, Long before the Phoenix Lights in 1997, the Hudson Valley in New York State was having their own run of unidentified lights. During the summers of 1983 and 1984 the Hudson Valley was plagued by sightings of a gigantic craft, black as the sky, rimmed with bright lights in white, red, or green. It would drift over towns with a steady hum, witnessed by many. It traveled over the Taconic Parkway, Westchester county and parts of Connecticut. The UFO was seen by hundreds of eye witnesses.

The object was described as extremely large, 300-400 yards wide. Often described as triangular with a series of lights. As I read this description all I could think of was the Phoenix Lights.

0095052 Granger - Historical Picture ArchiveUFO: LUBBOCK LIGHTS, 1951. <br />Flying formation of lights photographed by Carl Hart, Jr. on 30 August 1951 in Lubbock, Texas.

The FAA and law enforcement blamed local pilots flying in formation but witnesses said is was 1 large craft, not a series of planes and traveling too slow for a plane. It couldn’t be a formation of helicopters because they would make a lot more noise than this craft.

For more details I recommend reading “Night Siege” by J. Allen Hynek, Philip J. Imbrogno and Bob Pratt

Conclusion

So what is the truth about the fantastic light formations in the sky above the Hudson River Valley? Were they aerial stunts performed by sophisticated pranksters? Or did the flying objects come from somewhere beyond the stars?

Maybe Calvin’s got the right idea

I’m with Stephen Hawking. I don’t think I want to be around to meet our Alien Neighbors. Its fun in Science fiction but I can think of so may things that can go wrong in real life .

Monsterland Massachusetts

Posted on April 1, 2023March 31, 2023 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Monsterland!

Did you know there is a place called Monsterland in Massachusetts? It’s located in Leominster, MA in the state forest. Here you can look for Bigfoot and other strange activity. Legend has it that the activity goes back to the 1800’s. Leominster is not alone with a reputation for strange happenings. We’ve also got the Bridgewater Triangle and New Hampshire has the Betty and Barney Hill Alien abduction.

Sasquatch Sighting bigfoot stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images

Bigfoot in the forest- Internet

Ronny LeBlanc

Ronny LeBlanc is a Native of Leominster who has made it to the little screen in the Travel Channels’ series “Expedition Bigfoot.” LeBlanc tells of an experience in Leominster state forest when he was a boy that has impacted his whole life. He was 11 years old when he experienced his first Bigfoot.

“Within seconds the forest erupted in front of me. Trees and shrubs were moving. I started to feel these reverberations in the soles of my feet of something walking.”

“The experience of seeing that impression in the ground, six footprints. Something I’ve seen in a lot of books of the pacific northwest and here we are in Massachusetts.”

Stock photo

Bigfoot In the Berkshires

In the 1980’s 4 friends were having a cook out on the shore of Lake Felton near the small town of Washington, MA. Apparently their BBQ had attracted something large. They could hear trees moving and branches snapping. When 2 of the friends decided to investigate. “It stood on two legs, silhouetted on the trail in the moonlight, and it was huge.” One of the friends told the Berkshire Eagle a few days later, “I don’t scare easily, but it scared me.”

The Whitehall Bigfoot

But Western Massachusetts isn’t the only Bigfoot Hotspot. For years there have been reports of Bigfoot in Whitehall NY. Whitehall isn’t that far from the Western MA border so some speculate that the Bigfoots have a migration trail that runs through Whitehall, NY and into Massachusetts. I’m feeling kind of left out. I grew up very close to Whitehall in the Adirondacks and now I live in Massachusetts but I’ve never run into one of the hairy monsters myself. But then again, I am not sure I want to.

Newport Tower

Posted on April 9, 2013April 9, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Our Mystery photo from Monday was the Newport Tower. Located in Touro Park in Newport, RI. The tower masquerades under many names : Round Tower, Touro Tower, Newport Stone Tower and Old Stone Mill.

I got to thinking about this tower because it was recently featured on a program on the History Channel called America Unearthed. In AMERICA UNEARTHED, forensic geologist Scott Wolter, trys to reveal that the history we all learned in school may not always be the whole story.

For years the tower was thought to have been built in the 17th century as a windmill but more recently there has been speculation that the structure is really centuries older. Some of the current theories are that the tower was built as an observatory.

Another theory by the author Gavin Menzies is that the tower was built by a colony of Chinese sailors and concubines from the junks of a Chinese explorer. This theory is said to have been debunked.

There’s also the theory that Portuguese navigators built the structure as a watchtower.

But my favorite theory is not the most popular but maybe the most “romantic” and it is the theory that Scott Wolter tries to prove in his episode about he tower. That theory is that the remnants of the Knights Templar came to the New World and built the tower as a signpost for other to follow. He highlights the astronomical alignments and draws comparisons with known Templar built structures .

I have a soft spot for the Templars and would love to have this theory proved true however remote the chance. But even if the tower is eventually proved to be something as mundane as a windmill it will have been fun speculating about its origin.

Tag Archives: mystery