Tag: peterborough NH

Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail – Peterborough New Hampshire

Today was just one of those days that everything I touched did not work so I decided to stick close to home with this one and when I told my mother of my plans, she decided she wanted to come along too so off we went!

The first adventure was finding the parking which I did not find on Cheney Street as promised. Then I went to find the parking on East Mountain Road and again failed. Then instead of using my GPS I just asked google maps on my phone which brought me to someone’s yard on Old Street Road. Obviously, that wasn’t it either, so I kept driving and then I noticed some cars parked on the side of Old Street Road. There and behold there was a small kiosk blending in with the woods. I probably drove by it several times trying to find it.

ANYWAY, as I got out of the car several other hikers came out with a series of very happy, very wet dogs. This was a good sign! This path must be both beloved and dog friendly! A sign at the beginning told us this path cuts through private property and as such we should be respectful. No problem! We just wanted to see this beautiful pond it spoke of.

The beginning of the trail was a fairly long boardwalk that brought us over a bog (cranberry bog? Maybe…) It was a mostly flat and well-marked but there were a lot of roots jutting up, which my mother tried very hard to trip over but this time she came prepared – with a walking stick! Luckily all these trails are getting her in better spirits with loser joints and less overall physical problems. That’s why I walk too! Well, that’s one of the reasons…

The trail is 2.2 miles and not a loop so if you take the whole thing, you’ll walk 4.4 miles from beginning to end, back to the beginning. Mum wasn’t up for that, and I wasn’t sure if I was either, so we walked to the pond which is just about the center between both ends of the trail. We had to walk up a small incline to get there and that was enough! Beyond it was a little cut off that showed a fantastic view of the pond and had a little place to sit. A couple was there but they scattered when we showed up which is fortunate as mum needed a rest. It was quiet out here. You couldn’t hear anything from the nearby town and neighborhoods, just the rusting of the wind through all the dead leaves of fall. This scenic outlook was well worth it. Absolutely gorgeous. And it was at the perfect point in the trail to turn around.

I would absolutely encourage others in the area to check out this serene and peaceful place. It might even be worth a little bit of a drive if you want a mostly river path and a view of a breath-taking pond.

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Sheiling Forest – Elizabeth Yates McGreal Wildflower Garden – Peterborough NH

I had to go back to Peterborough today to pick up either my medical records or the first draft of Moby Dick, I can’t tell you for sure, point is once I finished this chore it occurred to me there was a trail nearby I had passed the last time I was up here. So off I went to check it out!

The sign you can see from the road

Now the sign denoting this little forest path is HUGE but it’s oddly located outside what appears to be a hall of some sort and an orchard and some other random houses. Once you’re in the parking lot you’ll see a bench, a big green field, and a bulletin board type thing describing nearby trees. The entrance to the path itself is past this big board and over the field out of sight of the parking lot. It feels…. awkward…. to get there…. but I did it anyway.

Entrance ot the path

I don’t know if many people use this place. The path was a bit gnarly from the get-go but it is fall and I suspect less people go out hiking when the weather gets cooler. I don’t know why. It’s way more pleasant to hike now than it is in the 80 degree heat of summer! But hey, if you want to dissolve into a puddle of sweat be my guest…

The path started to diverge into dozens of other smaller tributary paths. All of them were marked as trails but there seemed to be no logic or deeper meaning to the markers which were spread like confetti randomly through the trees sporting every color for no reason I could tell. Normally this sort of thing would make me head back but it was a small area surrounded by roads and since I knew the roads I figured I was safe enough to wander.

PINE TREES.

This was a somewhat unusual hike for me as it was straight into a pine forest. Most of the places I hike are decidedly deciduous or at least mixed. They’re arguably prettier but pine forests are definitely creepier… and I am not the only one to say so. It’s no surprise to me that years ago when I was chasing the Jersey Devil he was said to live in the pine barons. Today wasn’t disappointing either. Once I got to the river I could sense the presence of a teenage girl but I couldn’t see anyone at first and then at three separate points I noticed in the corner of my eye someone in an ankle length historical dress darting behind the trees 100 or so feet away. I know what you’re thinking, this seems like a great reason to head back to the car and pretend nothing was out there. I however am not that easily swayed. Whoever it was seemed to be watching me, yes, but they seemed to be doing so in a playful manner so I took a different option – I just started to talk to them. “Hello there! I can see you and I don’t have a problem with you if you don’t have a problem with me…” And maybe she just wanted to be validated because I didn’t feel or see her again. I have no idea if this place is known for such encounters or if today I witnessed something special.

I spent some time sitting on some rocks over the little brook but there were also picnic tables nearby and despite the trails being a total rat’s nest this did seem like a sweet little nook in the woods, perhaps a great place to take a date for lunch. Although you might not want to take dating advice from me considering my idea of a date involves far more death than desserts. Stroll through a cemetery? Sounds like a Gothic dream to me. Winding down unexplored “roads” with a Prius where you might be attacked by Bigfoot or get mired in a mud puddle and die? AWWWWE. Going to an abandoned asylum at midnight looking for ghosts? Fuck, if that’s your idea of a date I’m marrying you! This is probably why I’m single… I mean I think it’s hilarious I have the audacity to bum rush a bobcat without thinking (to protect my bunnies) but most people find this at the very least intimidating. SIGH.

ANYWAY, back on track… This was a lovely little outing. If you happen to be in the area with a bag lunch by all means check it out… otherwise it’s tiny. I guess historically these paths used to go everywhere in Peterborough but they’ve been chopped up by the purchase of private property. Some of the trails did lead to longer ones if you didn’t mind crossing the road (I wasn’t about to do that…) Anyway, here’s the photos I managed to take – including a couple of a FUZZY CATERPILLAR, the perfect distraction!

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East Hill Cemetery Peterborough NH

Yesterday I passed this cemetery and noted that I had to go check it out because of all the slate stones I could see from the road. Had I not been running errands I would have stopped right then and there but alas I had to wait until today to satiate my curiosity.

The cemetery is easy to find. It’s on Old Street Road between East Hill Road and Glen Drive. It’s marked by a large green historical marker and has space for a few cars to parallel park in the front of it. The numerous plaques and markers denote this is the resting place of a great many Revolutionary War soldiers, including a famous drummer by the name of William Diamond. It was also Peterborough’s first cemetery and wow, did I hit the jackpot here! This had to be the largest gathering of slate stones I have ever seen. This was a sizable and old cemetery. I would have never guessed Peterborough was this bustling so long ago!

But first I had to get in. A sign out front said the hours and a few limitations (no pets or stone rubbings allowed) but when I got to the gate it seemed to be welded shut. It was weird. There was already a car here so someone was already in the cemetery but I couldn’t see them. How did they get in?? I tugged at the gate. Nothing. I contemplated jumping over the wall but there were too many cars going by and I am rather recognizable with neon orange hair and psychedelic bell bottoms. After getting frustrated I said, “OK. I will be back!”

Later that day I was talking to my mother about all this and she said there had to be a way in. “I bet you that gate opened somehow.” So I put her up to the task and we both headed out for attempt number two. As it turns out the gate isn’t welded shut it’s just stuck – quite stubbornly. With enough wiggling and pulling it finally opened.

By now I had gone online and realized that this cemetery was only 77% photographed and there were five open requests out to find five separate grave markers:

William Wallace (1698 – ??) Jane Mitchel (1721-1791) Jane Chamberlin (1820-1822) Benjamin Chamberlin (??-1819) and William Robbe (1692-1791)

Two of these were babies during their deaths about a hundred years ago. Who is searching for the grave markers of long dead babies!? I mean I understand the adults – it’s probably a genealogy thing, but babies never grew up to have descendants and with almost a hundred years since their death there’s no one in living memory to want to see their memorial either… It sounds really crass but often times the memorials of infants and babies are… ephemeral. They’re small, often lack a lot of information, sometimes they don’t have any writing on them at all. In the case of stillbirths they’re frequently buried without a name. Today the death of a baby is a tragedy but a hundred, two hundred years ago? It was just another every day event.

Possible gravestone stump to the right…

Still – knowing someone was looking I was determined. I WILL FIND YOU! EVEN THE BABIES! I looked to see if there were any more information on any of these individuals and came up pretty empty handed. In fact the information online about everyone here seemed shockingly scarce for what I felt to be quite a historic place. But alas even the revolutionary war soldiers had only the shortest and most cryptic of descriptions online – birth place, birth and death dates, time of service, if they were married or had kids, and nothing more. Pretty basic stuff. I also found no pennies here. These historical figures were…. completely and utterly forgotten.

It was weird. The cemetery seems like it’s kept really well. Some of the stones were repaired or replaced but most were still in pristine condition. This made the missing stones all the more confusing. It was a bright hot day and almost the whole cemetery is in full sunlight with no shade. I started in the corner and made a beeline for the back where I figured the oldest stones may be. And sure enough I found the Robbe family plot which spanned two centuries and seemed to have all the Robbe’s… except for William. Where are you hiding William? Do you even have a stone here? Or did you ever get one? Or did it somehow get destroyed? There was a rock in the ground which I couldn’t tell if it was just another random rock in the ground or a part of a gravestone that no longer had a top. Hmmmm. The mystery thickens!

And by now the mugginess and heat where getting to the both of us so I had to call it a day. I’m not done yet though. I will be back… perhaps with a map of plots in hand to help guide me. And in the meantime I joined Find a Grave and will offer my photos and finds as they are warranted since I am already touring these places anyway. Might as well make myself useful!

There’s also a two trailheads on the same street and well… I am going to need to check those out too…

TO BE CONTINUED…

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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.

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The Common Pathway – Peterborough NH

DSC_0702I love going to the feed store – mostly because I rarely ever end up there without distracting myself first. Today was no different. I took a long, winding, and nonsensical route to my destination trying to find prime foliage for a nice snap or two. Indeed I got a good look at the mountains but the foliage was pretty dismal. After waiting weeks for it’s late arrival we immediately got rain afterwards… for several days. Now the trees are mostly bare. SIGH. Still, I did manage to find a trail…

DSC_0708I’m struggling to figure where it was exactly but I believe I just found the tail end of the Common Trail off of Grove street. There was a turn off right next to the bridge so I decided to check it out. As usual it was where I needed to be, a serendipitous and joyful experience. It wound close to the river and provided a wonderful flat walk for most of the way.

DSC_0786Rivers have become a source of great spiritual connection for me. Whenever I am down, hesitant, or anxious I seem to serendipitously find a river to play in. There’s nothing like a good river. Today I found a little bench halfway up the path that denoted a sweet little spot to while away the hours. There were some rocks jutting out clear to the middle and I forsook the bench to crawl out upon them. Here I sat with the gurgling of the water blocking out all other noise, the smell of the crisp autumn air mixing with that of the fresh cold water, allowing the sun to kiss my cheek as the water flowed beneath my feet. Nothing else mattered anymore, I was instantly overtaken by a sense of absolute zen.

DSC_0739It has become a custom of mine to splash in the water of any river I come by, reciting the closest thing to a prayer I will ever utter as I bathe my arms and hands in the brisk churning waters. “May you take away all negativity in my life and wash it down stream. May only positivity flow towards me.” Perhaps this is why rivers have gained such spiritual meaning for me. Rivers don’t stop for anything. Whenever they come across an obstacle they still a find a way, making a space for themselves even when there isn’t one. It’s a lesson I try to keep close to my heart as I overcome obstacles in my own life.

DSC_0780I watched the river for probably an hour. No other people came by but a squirrel and a chipmunk did visit for a while and a frog tried to commit suicide darting under my feet in the same second I was stepping down. How he escaped that I don’t know but I nearly took a header into the river trying to avoid crushing the poor little beast!

After I had finished lollygagging I was once again off into the forest, overjoyed with each bend of the river as I took another snap… Sadly I had my camera on the “night” setting and it was a very bright day so much of what I took came out very washed out but it didn’t take away from the beautiful experience I had here. As I walked farther into the forest I started to come across the ruins of something… a bridge? A home? I couldn’t tell but it was jutting out over the embankment, a small upward hike. Before I knew it I was behind the Noone Falls building. Apparently there’s a restaurant there, probably has been forever, but I had no idea. The smell of their food drifted to my nose and immediately made my stomach gurgle and churn! It did smell good! But it was across the river… alas! The trail went on for a little ways and ended in someone’s back yard with a straight shot to another street. I returned to my car. It was a pretty short trail, maybe half a mile, a mile at the very most, but I don’t think it was that far. It was the perfect amount of activity for me as my body has been punishing me hard for everything I do lately. Anything more and I would suffer a pretty bad crash, with this little jaunt I got only the positive – the experience, the joy, the exploration, the thrill of something new, without any of my usual negative consequences. I returned to the car relaxed, joyful, open, and returned home far happier than when I left.

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!


 

 

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Gallivanting in Peterborough NH

Today had drop dead gorgeous weather but being a holiday weekend it was coupled with an inordinate amount of insane drivers so I didn’t really want to go too far… and I did have to go to the feed store to pick up a bag of food for my lovely bunnies. So I decided I’d got to Peterborough, which was two towns over, forsaking the feed store in town and the one that was one town over. Peterborough is about twenty minutes away but why just go directly there when you can meander? Little was I to know I was about to take a four hour ride into the most beautiful bits of nowhere.

I decided I would forsake all main roads and start going down a few rural dirt roads which I felt were going in the right direction. My hunch proved right! But before I made it to the feed store I started seeing the most wildly beautiful things. The first little discovery I found was on Sharon road. It was an abandoned bridge attached to a road that the wilderness has taken over. I stopped the car and parked on the shoulder of the road so I could explore further on foot. The bridge itself was beautiful made with intricate stonework. The river it spanned was even more stunning and I was delighted to see that it was still connected to an abandoned road. Of course I had to know where it led so I sauntered across the bridge and walked into the forest. This place was wild. Clearly there had once been a paved road here but over the years the plant life had grown up and reclaimed the land as it’s own. This place reminded me of a fairy tale – wild, mysterious, overgrown, and the smell of the river was absolutely heavenly. The “road” didn’t go very far, it just attached itself to another road running parallel to the one I had left not too far away. Still it was a wonderful little find and in 80 degree weather it was probably just long enough!

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!


 

 

From here I wandered badly on a bunch of little roads that I found interesting. I criss-crossed the river several times and found another adorable bridge – though this was far more modern I had fun crawling under it. Judging by the tags an dthe empty beer bottle I wasn’t the only one to find it!

As I crawled back up to my car I couldn’t help but feel so lucky in having found this whole area. It was so quiet, alive only with the gurgling of the river. Occasionally I’d find a farm here and there, or other properties that clearly used to be farms, places that owned vast acreages. It was breath taking and I was often rewarded with the sight of deer, wild flowers, and views of Mount Monadknock.

Eventually I made it to the feed store. I bought my bunny food. I came out feeling like I still needed to poke around for a bit. So that’s what I did. I turned into a plaza I had driven by hundreds of times and learned all sorts of things aout Peterborough’s history! Here there was a sign that told of the founding of the town, badly damaged with age, apparently no one has paid much attention to it for some time. Here, right aside the road, was another view of the river which was choked with water lilies. As I walked  back to my car I noticed another car drive around the building. I pondered this and decided to go for it. That’s when I found myself transported through time. I had no idea this building was an old mill but it’s backside made t his obvious. Even more stunning was a dam and a waterfall which must have been used once to generate electricity. Who knew this was in cute little Peterborough?!

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Thiền Viện Bảo Chơn Meditation Center Peterborough NH

Lately I have been doing a lot of “Sunday driving.” That is whenever I go anywhere for an errand I decide to wander aimlessly…. for miles… in any direction I don’t know. I do this for a lot of reasons. For one I am on the look out for abandoned houses and cheap large acreage properties. For another I am learning my surroundings and exploring places I have never been. I was doing really good as of late, bothering no one as I ambled about. Today however curiosity tried to kill the cat again.

Just to let you know Sunday driving can be deadly. My worst story is actually from my trip across the US. At some point in Nevada, or Utah, or one of those crazy desert states, our GPS decided to kill us. It wound us through the desert on a long “primitive” road that must have stretched for 40 miles into the middle of nowhere. The only hint of humans we saw the entire time was a large oil rig surrounded by a handful of very pissed Native Americans who were probably wondering who these damn white people were. We didn’t stop and ask for directions. They looked like they might be armed…

Today was almost as cringe worthy. I drove by a couple white stone lions perched next to the road. I wondered what they were so I turned off thinking it was maybe a cemetery. And that’s when I found myself driving up to a Buddhist temple… Ever have the thought, “And how did I get here exactly?” go through your head? I do a lot and I do mean a lot. Sometimes it’s when I find myself in a stranger’s apartment with a friend gluing down my eyebrows. Other times, like today, it’s just because I drove into a different realm just down the street from where I live!

My mother was with me. She saw the beautiful stone gardens and wanted to get out to look…. So I parked, looked shiftily up at the temple itself and watched for people. There was no one, thank God, or Buddha. So she walked up to the statuaries. By now a whole ton of people suddenly appeared, mostly laughing Asian women. I clicked a few photos as I was walking, pretending not to snap photos, because I don’t know the rules of this place. I was super curious – what’s up with the giant bell? And the gardens? And the temple? Do people come here all day or was this a service of some sort? So many questions, unanswered, because I didn’t have the balls to go into the temple and ask. Partially because I didn’t want to be the blundering white person again and partially because… well if I am honest my mother is the most embarrassing person on the planet. It’s funny, as a teenager I didn’t notice this much, but as an adult I am constantly face palming and pretending we don’t have a shockingly similar appearance. Today she was asking me to read the “Chinese.” I told all Asians aren’t Chinese. “I know that!” Did I mention she’s also loud? (PS this in no way means I don’t absolutely love my mom, I do, it’s just I like to do so quietly.)

***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!


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Peterborough Farmer’s Market

Decided to check out the Peterborough Farmers Market to see if it was worth setting up there sometime. They only had a handful of vendors but they were very nice people and with a surprising range of products you may actually buy (not three tables worth of toilet cozies which is more normal.) They had people there selling all manner of plants – flowers, vegetables, herbs, and plenty of sellers of organic and free range eggs, sheep, and beef. I was pleasantly surprised! They also had a woman selling granola… which is soooo Peterborough to me. All and all it wasn’t bad. I still don’t know if it’s the appropriate venue for what I have but maybe. Doesn’t hurt to try I guess.

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!


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