Massachusetts - Newburyport - Mountain Laurel

A couple years ago Barbara letterboxed at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts. 

Formerly a country estate dating back to 1805, the park is famous for its remnants of formal gardens, as well as, one of the largest naturally-occurring stands of mountain laurel in Massachusetts. Barbara thought some day she would have to go back there when the mountain laurel and rhododendron were in bloom.

Well this past week we were staying just a few towns away. A friend of Barbara’s graciously let us stay at her house in the North Shore area of Massachusetts for the week while they were on vacation. We house SAT, dog SAT, and SAT our trailer in their driveway. It was a nice change from campsites. Thanks, Kathy!

We decided to hike around Maudslay State Park hoping things might be in bloom.

As it turned out it was the perfect time for the mountain laurel. We enjoyed the hike there: lots and lots of mountain laurel in bloom, views of the Merrimack River, rhododendron but none blooming, remnants of various types of gardens with a smattering of booming flowers, and the foundation of the former house. 

While house-sitting, Barbara also letterboxed close by at Bradley Palmer State Park with a friend. They found many boxes even bushwhacking through dense ferns for one particularly challenging box. Here's a butterfly we spotted.

After our jaunt on the North Shore Bill and Barbara headed back to central Massachusetts camping one night at a private campground. The plus in staying here was a delightful mile-long trail around the pond. We enjoyed the hike and seeing even more mountain laurel.

New Hampshire - Another Monadnock

So far we hiked Pack Monadnock and Little Monadnock, and Bill hiked Mount Monadnock. We knew of one more Monadnock to try – North Pack Monadnock.

The map below shows the area. We’ve been camping by the blue marker south of Winchendon, Massachusetts. The red markers are southern New Hampshire’s monadnocks. The western most monadnock is Little Monadnock. The red marker with the white circle around it is Mount Monadnock and the two easterly markers show the location of Pack Monadnock and North Pack Monadnock.

NORTH PACK MONADNOCK

This was our first hike up North Pack Monadnock. We picked a beautiful day with very few other hikers along the well-blazed trail. We got some views at the top and saw again the peak of Mount Monadnock. Once at the summit, Bill hiked an additional 1.5mi on the Cliff Loop Trail.

 

view of Pack Monadnock from North Pack Monadnock’s Cliff Loop trail

view of Mt Monadnock from North Pack Monadnock

We’ve enjoyed our monadnock hikes. Here’s how the hikes compare:

    Little Monadnock 1900ft, 1.4mi to summit 700ft

    North Pack Monadnock 2276ft, 1.5mi to summit 878ft

    Pack Monadnock 2290ft, 1.4mi to summit 840ft

    Mount Monadnock 3166ft, 2mi to summit 1750ft

CATHEDRAL OF THE PINES

And yet one other glimpse we got of Mount Monadnock was when we stopped by Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge NH, an outdoor wedding venue with a backdrop of Mount Monadnock.

Barbara attended a friend’s wedding there in the early 80s. We liked the inscriptions in the rocks at the entrance.

Massachusetts - Moose Tracks

We first noticed “Moose Tracks” ice cream back in 2004 at a gift shop in Yellowstone National Park. That was very fitting as we saw a moose near there. Now our local Market Basket sells it.

 

Well this week we just had to buy it and this is why. We went to Birch Hill Dam entering the gate that was just for us!

The ROO gate

Birch Hill Dam is a flood control project of the US Army Corps of Engineers in central Massachusetts. It was completed in 1941 at a cost of $4 million. It is used, along with other dams in this system, to control the flow of water into the Connecticut River.

The two campgrounds where we stayed most recently are both part of  the Army Corps of Engineer’s Birch Hill Flood Control Area. We thought we’d check out the dam and find a couple of letterboxes.

We noticed some things as we walked along the road to the dam. One thing we saw was a tree with lots of ball-like things hanging from it. We haven’t figured out what they are yet. 

 

The other thing we noticed was some fresh tracks that were too large to be a dog or deer and some fresh dung to go with the tracks. 

 

Googling the image, we think they were moose tracks! There are lots of moose crossing signs in the area, so it’s not too surprising. Too bad we missed the moose.

And wouldn’t you know it?! Our pastor even mentioned Moose Tracks ice cream in his sermon today when talking about important decision making.  So we decided … we had to have some Moose Tracks ice cream.

Massachusetts - Farm Work Part 1

Our daughter, Kate, joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture Farm) this year where she and her boyfriend work weekly on a farm in exchange for fresh produce. 

We decided to contribute to some of their hours of labor and share in her experience, so yesterday we did some farm work.

We joined Kate at the farm at 8am with about a dozen other workers. We felt like farm hands when we rode in the back of the beat up pickup truck through the bumpy field to the rows of crops. Lucky for us, the ominous cloud we saw didn’t turn into a storm, because they work rain or shine. Along with 2 interns, Bill and Barbara harvested a row of a type of early spinach. We started at one end and the interns worked from the other end. We picked out weeds and bad leaves while filling crates with good leaves.

the interns at the end of the row of spinach

Bill carrying a crate of spinach

the spinach

In the meantime, Kate had a different harvesting assignment.

Kate

Afterward the three of us joined some other workers and harvested pea tendrils. We hadn’t heard of them before, but they can be used to make a pesto. The field was endless, but the work was done when we made enough bundles for all the CSA members.

Bill and Kate

New Hampshire - Mount Monadnock

HIKING MT MONADNOCK

Bill hiked a 4-mile loop at Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey NH, going up White Dot trail and down White Cross trail – a 1750-foot climb. It rained the previous night, so the steep rocky trail had some slippery spots. Wispy clouds shrouded the peak during the climb but burned off by the time he reached the top. The reward was a 360-degree panorama with puffy clouds creating a patchwork of dark and light on the forest below. He had the top to himself for a bit before other hikers started arriving.

 Here’s a guy he met along the way.

SEEING MT MONADNOCK?

In the meantime, Barbara letterboxed with friends at Gibbet Hill in Groton MA. A hike we’ve done previously. The grass topped hill offers good views and Barbara wondered if the very distant mountain she saw to the Northwest was in deed Mt Monadnock where Bill was hiking.

Gibbet Hill is known for its “castle.” The  remains of the castle-like structure hold an interesting history. It was the initial stage of an intended mansion, turned sanitarium, turned hunting lodge, but careless fireworks burned it down.

MONADNOCK CHURCH

And to round out our Monadnock-themed adventures, we went to Monadnock Congregational Church. This church host's a Community Bible Study (the same Bible study Barbara attended). Interestingly the church is not your standard New England church -- it was obviously an old barn with exposed beams in the sanctuary.

New Hampshire - Little Monadnocks

Back in our dating years we hiked Southern New Hampshire’s 3165ft high Mount Monadnock.

Mt Monadnock from Little Monadnock

We jokingly remember missing a trail and making the hike a little longer than planned. We’ve hiked it several times since.  A monadnock is an isolated hill or ridge rising above a plain. Mount Monadnock stands out, though some smaller mountains surround it. This past week, we hiked two of these smaller mountains.

The first was PACK MONADNOCK at 2290ft. Pack Monadnock means “little monadnock.” Pack Monadnock holds good memories for us, as we’ve both hiked and driven to the summit with special family and friends. When our daughter, Carrie, was just 3 years old, we were proud of her for hiking all the way up; then she slept all the way down the mountain on Bill’s shoulders.

with Barbara's parents 1998

with Bill's parents 2006

This week we hiked up the Marion Davis Trail – a 1.4mi hike with an 800ft elevation change. Barbara liked this mountain, considering it more her level than the larger monadnock.

Barbara on Pack Monadnock

ladyslippers

Bill at Pack Monadnock summit

 

Our second monadnock hike was the somewhat redundantly named LITTLE MONADNOCK, the smallest of these mountains at 1900ft. This was new territory for us. The trail we took to the top started at Rhododendron State Park with its 0.6 mile handicapped accessible loop trail through an amazing grove of rhododendrons. Some day we’ll have to come back in mid-July when the flowers bloom. Then we took the 1-mile spur trail 700ft up Little Monadnock and, like our previous hike, got a view of Mount Monadnock near the top.

Bill at trail entrance

Barbara on Rhodoodendron Loop Trail

Barbara at Little Monadnock summit

In the meantime we are enjoying our lake view home while still looking at real estate when things come up.