Casalis Marsh & State Forest – Peterborough NH

I know I have gotten a late start in my traveling this year, suffice to say my body has not been happy with me lately so it’s made my little adventures quite difficult but I desperately needed the tranquility of the woods so today I went for a drive and meandered around until I found a trail head at the – Casalis State Marsh in Peterborough NH. As usual I have never heard of it and had to drive by it four times before I actually managed to get my car in the parking lot! The driveway was pretty damn hidden by foliage and there was quick traffic always behind me… but I made it!

I slung my camera over my shoulder, packed the extra lens in my new kick ass hip bag, and headed in. It seemed to be an old access road or maybe even a current one. The first part of the trail was beautiful but typical – just a lot of trees. Still I cannot tell you how good it felt to be out there again! I found a little garter snake sunbathing on the path and stopped to take some macro photos. It was 73 degrees out today, plenty warm enough, but he was in no hurry to get away from me, in fact besides a curious flick of the tongue he allowed me to get super close with my camera and take a few really lovely snaps.

And from there I came upon a small marsh with one bird house seemingly inhabited by a red winged blackbird. Despite being a marsh there weren’t too many bugs about and I was at complete peace here as I took photos of dead trees, dark waters, and the reflections of clouds on gently rippling water. No one else was on the trail today and I was thoroughly enjoying the solitude. When I finally picked up and continued on the trail I wasn’t sure where I’d end up or how far I’d go. I’d already passed one fork in the trail shortly after the marsh (I went straight and ignored a left turn.) Before long the trail was bisected by a gorgeous gurgling river. Another path ran upstream. Should I wade in and cross the river? It looked as if the water would be a little above my knees and I knew river rocks have a tendency to be insanely slick. Decisions. I usually don’t take any turns but I decided the photography would be stunning just following the river upstream so that’s what I did but not before playing in for a while!

Since I forgot to bring my marbles I instead took a couple shoe pictures on the banks before stripping them off and wading in barefooted. The water was cold and so refreshing. I splashed my legs and arms and muttered my usual prayer, “Please wash all negativity away from me and bring towards me only positivity.” Going on walks into the woods is a sacred ritual for me especially when I come to a river – it’s sort of like going to church. Maybe this is why I forsook my socks and shoes and when I left the river’s banks I continued to hike barefooted. Feeling the often muddy and mossy earth underneath my feet felt so right, so calming, and I once again was utterly connected to this place and moment in time. I was transfixed which is probably why I didn’t notice two joggers coming off another trail. They seemed alarmed to find me. Their black lab bounded in the water, an older German man made a precarious crossing over the river from stone to stone, and a younger American man tried desperately not to make eye contact with me which just wasn’t going to be possible when we were both heading the same direction! He was panting, trying to catch his breath, and I was refraining from making a joke about running away from bears. Instead I just said a cheerful, “Hello!” and went on my merry way. The German was far more entertained by me, he said hello back, smiling. I know, I must have been quite a sight, my hair now completely orange wearing psychedelic orange bellbottoms most people would not chose for hiking, a hip bag, and bare feet dragging my shoes at my side. I realize I must have looked ridiculous, possibly insane. I laughed. The two jogged ahead of me and I didn’t see them again. It was a wonderful little stroll back to the car. Today’s outing has made me feel whole once again.

June 8, 2019 0

Cascade Marsh – Sutton NH (Bonus dried up dam)

I needed to take an adventure today so badly that I was crawling out of my skin. With my health increasingly dogging me and other situations arising I haven’t had the pure and simple joy of just getting into the car and driving off into the wild blue yonder. Still, there’s no better medicine than doing just that so this morning I spent some time trying to figure out where to go.

A long time ago my brother used to live in this apartment literally in the middle of nowhere. You had to drive over two separate covered bridges and go back in time to get there. It was so deep in the woods that you could hear the cracking of a twig a mile away. He didn’t live there for long but I was always jealous. I should have called him and asked for his old address so I could drive right to these happy memories. Instead I googled, “Covered Bridges in New Hampshire” figuring there might be ten or so to chose from and my powers of deduction could figure out the rest but I’ll be damned, there are forty-two covered bridges listed in New Hampshire! Now what? I stared at a map to find a good cluster and decided I would head towards Merrimack and call it good.

My car is in the shop getting treated for post traumatic stress disorder which it got from it’s previous owner. Normally when this happens I borrow a Prius but the Prius I normally borrowed was scooting along it’s own adventure which means I was left borrowing my mother’s insanely temperamental RAV. If you’ve ever had the joy of holding a crazed husky on a leash you’ll know what driving the RAV is like – it pulls in both directions at once and whenever it feels like it. The gas is so outrageous that I pealed rubber trying to feather my way out of the driveway, and the brakes…. what brakes? Yeeeeeah…. this would be an adventure alright!

I ended up following a motorcyclist some 30 minutes with five separate turns from Jaffrey to Benton I think. At first this was fine but when he took an exit to shake me and I still followed him he seemed to get increasingly agitated. Another motorcyclist joined him for a while and it seemed as if he was both annoyed to be suddenly riding with someone else and relieved there was someone else here to witness the creepy RAV behind him. When the second motorcyclist took another exit and I was still following the first guy he literally just pulled aside the road on the highway and let me pass! Sorry dude, I wasn’t stalking you I swear! Truth be told I was hit with a sudden wave of fatigue and nearly stopped off myself for a short road-side nap but I didn’t because this motorcyclist was intriguing me. Where was he going? To the covered bridge I was trying to find?? What were the odds?! And by the time he finally pulled over I had woken up again. Another great roadside sight was what I could have sworn was a thunder bird swooping over the car. Biggest bird I have EVER seen. No idea what it was! Also almost ran over a suicidal hawk who swooped past my windshield.

I had been driving for over an hour by the time my GPS claimed I found my first destination. The funny thing about covered bridges is they don’t have addresses so asking my GPS is always one of those “let’s flip a coin!” sort of deals. I had “hints” downloaded from the internet but after driving in several circles the first bridge was nowhere to be found. So I started on my journey to see the second bridge on my list. I had five or six programmed into the GPS and it decided which ones were closest and what route made the most sense. I can’t say I agreed as I found myself driving the same road three times over but I digress!

As I was driving along I saw a “primitive” dirt road with a big poorly constructed sign reading “cemetery.” A cemetery on a road that looks like you need four wheel drive? What more could you do to entice me?! I ignored my increasingly angry GPS yelling at me and took a little detour. Wow, this road was gorgeous! Out in the middle of the woods, so quiet, a grated dirt road filled with only thousands of acres of woods dotted with big colonial farmhouses from time to time. Way to make my heart flutter!

And then I saw something interesting… a big sign reading, “Cascade Marsh.” I had yet to visit any marshes on my journey, in fact I am not entirely sure what constitutes a marsh. Is it just a fancy word for swamp? I decided to check it out. I parked the car and headed into the woods where a big gate went over a trail. I didn’t walk for very long before I came across a hidden utopia. This was so worth the detour! Hidden coyly behind the trees was what I can only guess was a popular local fishing spot right off of a dam. The view was astounding! I snapped photos, probably more than I needed for such a small area, but it gave me such peace and joy to do so. I realized when I was playing with the marbles that this would be another really awesome place to take whimsical photos with props. Suddenly I decided I needed a backpack – and props! just in case I came across another sight such as this! I stayed here for quite a while, not another soul in sight, just enjoying watching the birds – a kingfisher and a blue herring. I was so at peace here I didn’t want to leave!

***I apologize for any missing photos and galleries as I continue to work getting Catching Marbles fully migrated to a new host. Please come back soon for restored photos and thank you for your patience!***

If you are enjoying Catching Marbles please consider adding a dollar or two to my limited gas money fund so I can continue going on adventures and sharing them with you! Thank you!

I was thoroughly rejuvenated after that little jaunt. For being summer it was a fairly brisk day and breezy which made the water ripple all over. I wanted to see where the rest of the trail would lead but the trail turned into a dense thicket of random weeds and bushes not too far from the dam. A little sad I walked back to the car to resume my search for these elusive covered bridges I had been hearing about.

As I was driving I came across a very weird sight – an old dried up dam. I pulled over and took a couple snaps as the locals wondered what was wrong with me. I found it so fascinating! There amongst a jungle of weeds was a big gully where a river once was and the cracking crumbling ruins of an old dam.

Continue the journey to find the covered bridges in the next entry…

June 29, 2017 0

Air Boat Ride in the Everglades – Florida

I decided I should really hit the Everglades and take a look around. I’d yet to see any alligators in Florida and I thought I might see one on an airboat tour. Keren told me about the Miccosukee Indian Village. I travelled from her house to the Miccosukee Casino, the closest thing my GPS could offer. I’d had a hell of a time trying to get the GPS to recognize the address and now I was at the Casino and there was a gas station offering airboat rides. I was adamant I needed to travel further out of the city and into the swamp, that the Miccosukee probably lived in the middle of nowhere, where I wanted to be! I was right; I drove past at least eight other airboat places until I started hitting all the Miccosukee shops and their air boat tours. I was just in time for their last boat out. I forked over $32. As I waited I saw the mother of all alligators swim by, easily twice the size the Carolina ones. He or she was HUGE but swam by too fast to take a good photo. There were a few baby ones near the shore as well as an assortment of odd birds.

I got onto the boat with several other tourists, including an adorable old German woman who seemed super excited. I don’t know what she was saying but it amused me how happy she seemed. Almost everyone was wearing hats, hats that all went flying when the boat was turned on. My bandana stayed on my head almost until the very end. Bobby pins are amazing. The boat was ungodly loud and the other passengers all seemed to have earplugs but I didn’t mind it so much. For some odd reason I’d entered some sort of Zen state and was fine with everything, completely relaxed. Life was good.

I saw lots of birds, cranes and little duck like creatures who were stout and didn’t run too fast when they saw the boat headed at them. I boated past many many birds until I ended up at a mock Indian Village in the middle of the swamp. The whole place was on stilts. I don’t know how anyone managed to build it but there was only one woman there selling beadwork and various Miccosukee made jewelry. I took some time to stare at the water off the sides of the village. There were all sorts of odd little creatures, mostly tiny fish and storks. Then I saw a fish that was maybe eight inches long for a split second. It darted off into the muck so fast that all it left behind was a trail of mud clouds. It was likely a baby gar. I’m still vibrantly freaked out by large boney fish… alligator gar are one of the biggest growing in the US.

So ten minutes loitering and I was back on the boat. I sat quietly and just enjoyed the ride. I went into what I can only call an alligator nursery. Here alligators up to half grown ones were swimming around in a swarm. Some were sunning themselves. Many darted away from the boat coming at them while still others hit the bottom of the boat rushing by when it was lying still. Those suckers were strong! The driver riled them up as much as he could to drive more of them to the surface for photos. They seemed mildly annoyed. There were signs everywhere not to try petting the alligators as if this was a common concern with them being so damn fluffy and cuddly! Funny enough our driver didn’t yell at anyone attempting to do just this. He was a real laid back guy, probably figured if the dumb white boy gets his arm gnawed off by a pissed lizard it’s their own damn fault.

I was still so incredibly chill. I was lathered in a tube of sun block and despite the fact it was one hundred degrees that day I was still so happy to be there. Life just made sense here. I was with my kin – hundreds of baby aquatic lizards. I could be their queen!

When I returned I loitered on the bridge overlooking a canal that was full of life. I were very happy to see an absolutely enormous alligator snapping turtle emerge from the deep, break the surface of the water, and retreat back into the darkness. I wasn;t expecting that! I got a photo too.

On the way out I desperately needed the bathroom so I stopped at the nearest convenience store. It was empty and quiet and had no bathroom. I tried buying some ice cream just to avoid being awkward but it turns out the freezers had croaked and the candy ice cream bars were soup.

Onward I went until I found a gas station, which I know is not a great pit stop. I was wearing my long hippie skirt which very quickly got completely sopping wet with the flood of water on the bathroom floor I didn’t notice. I came out not so happy. I was two buildings away from the Jeep and Ruud was again distracted, loitering on the swamp banks taking photos of an alligator who was panting for some reason, or at least it had its mouth open. To make matters worse I had just discovered Aunt Rosie had come to me three days before her usual arrival. I was abruptly snapped out of my relaxed haze and was instantaneously cranky. I changed my skirt in the car, in an unladylike manner as we were driving. Better.

If you are enjoying Catching Marbles please consider adding a dollar or two to my limited gas money fund so I can continue going on adventures and sharing them with you! Thank you!

May 22, 2011 0