The Nomadic Life

It’s time to move on.  We said goodbye for now to Bob and Bobbi and headed towards the Ocean, going only as far as Portsmouth, NH.

We took the Jeep for a drive along the beach road again.  The very first stop we made we found that someone had worked very hard stacking stones upon the rocks.  That must have taken all day to do that.  We walked among the rocks and took some pictures.

Piles of Rocks Upon The Rocks

Bernie Relaxing on the Rocks

There are storms out at sea and that made for some good waves.  At least one hundred people were out with their surf boards looking for that perfect wave.  Other than the surfers and some washed-up seaweed, the beaches were pretty empty.

Surf’s Up!

There’s another Stonehenge here.  This one claims to be authentic and does not look at all like it’s namesake.  This one looks more like stacks of rocks made into chambers, walls and ceremonial meeting places.  It is most likely the oldest man-made construction in the United States, claiming to be over 4000 years old.  It has been determined that this is an accurate astronomical calendar.

America’s Stonehenge

There is a trail that takes you through the woods to various points where large rocks have been positioned to line up with the sunrise, sunset, Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice, and much more.

Part of the Astronomical Calendar

We were getting eaten up by mosquitoes, something we knew would happen when we saw the complimentary mosquito spray on a stand at the beginning of the trail.

There are Alpaca’s here too.

Alpaca Habitat

Our next stop was at the Robert Frost Farm.  He lived here from 1900-1911.  Much of the poetry he wrote was influenced by memories from this time and place.

The Robert Frost Farm

We haven’t quite recovered from the Franklin Pierce tour so we elected not to take the $5 tour to see another old house.  But there was a self-guided walking trail around the woods in the back that was free so we did that.

By that time we were pretty hungry so we stopped for a late lunch at Windham Junction, a Country Gift Shop & Kitchen.  Very good food.

Windham Junction

Inside Windham Junction. I love how all the antique table sets are different. It was mid afternoon, so we were the only customers at this moment.

Rain, rain, rain.  So nothing much to blog about today.  The wild turkey family stopped by for a visit.

Turkey Family

In between rain showers we made a run to the laundromat in town to wash some clothes.  Then later we met Eric and Danielle for dinner and a visit.

There is a trail that goes off into the woods behind the snowmobile museum.  It lead to a snowmobile trail which led to another trailed named Catamount Trail.  Catamount is the local name for cougar or mountain lion, but I don’t think there are any currently living in this park.

We came across two different old family burial grounds today, one here and another one somewhere else later in the day.  There were no individual grave markers, but the sign said that’s what was there.

A Family Burial Ground

Pretty View

The Trail

The path led up and up to the top of a big hill.  We didn’t track the distance or the elevation, but it wasn’t too severe.

The View From The Top

It’s a good day to stay home being it’s a holiday weekend.  Then we don’t have to tend with the traffic and crowds anywhere.  The nearby campground at Bear Brook State Park has no vacancy.  Bernie and I kept an eye on things here at the CCC Camp Museum while Bob and Bobbi went to town this morning.

This afternoon Bernie and I walked around the campus here.  One building is used for the museum, a few of the other buildings house the snowmobile museum and the rest of the campus is now a maintenance facility for the state.  We found some old vehicles to take pictures of.

Some Old Trucks in a Field

Two Old Snowmobile Trail Groomers

Snow Tracker

A car show in Manchester was a must do for us, so up early and off we go.  They closed off several blocks of the downtown area and filled it with cars and food vendors.  Still no cheese curds, corn dogs or mini-donuts.  We walked up and down the street a few times and admired the creativity some of these car owners have.

Manchester Car Show

Mustang

Reddenbacher’s Popcorn

Ghostbuster HHR

Huge Sound System in the Trunk

Hemi…motor is in the truck bed behind the cab.

After walking around for an hour or so we stopped at a grocery store for some supplies.  We should really stock up on lobster, I think it’s cheaper than hamburger. I think at home it’s more like $16 or $17 per pound.

$3.99 per pound

Next we went to tour the Budweiser Bottling Co. and see the Clydesdale horses. The free tour was brief, but interesting.  They do offer a Brewmaster’s Tour for $25 that is more detailed and takes a lot longer, but that required advance reservations which we did not have.

Anheuser-Busch Inc. Merrimack, NH

Beer!

At the end of the tour we went into a bar area and they served us each two free glasses of beer and a bag of pretzels.

Then we walked to where the Budweiser Clydesdale’s were housed and saw some of the horses.

New Hampshire does fairs a bit differently than what we are used to in Minnesota.  Think of them more as regional fairs.  There is even a 4-H fair.  Today we attended the Hopkinton State Fair which is an agriculture fair.  It is a large fair but nowhere near the Minnesota State Fair in size or attendance and is on for only four days.  But we enjoyed it.

There were a hundred food stands. However, there was not a deep-fried cheese curd to be found.  And no mini-donuts, no Sweet Martha’s Cookies, no corn dog stands, and (gasp) NO food on a stick except for a few candied apples.  It’s just not right.

Their fair fare of choice is fried dough.  I would say fried dough is to the Hopkinton State Fair as cheese curds are to the Minnesota State Fair.  They were everywhere.

Fried Dough

Horse Pull

Dan and Rex

Punkins

Sand Sculpture in Progress

Llama

Our outing today was to the Museum of New Hampshire History in Concord.  Admission is $5.50 each.  It’s not a large museum but very nicely done.  Inside there is a mock fire watch tower you can climb up to look out over the city.

Museum of New Hampshire History

Also inside is an actual stagecoach that was one of many built in Concord in the 1800’s.

Concord Coach

But what caught our attention was a little display about the Hutchinson Family Singers from the nearby town of Milford, New Hampshire.  Yes, it is the same family that founded the town of Hutchinson, Minnesota, where we are from!

Photo of Asa, Judson, James, and Abby Hutchinson

Museum Exhibit of Hutchinson Singers

That was it for the display.  If you want to know more about the family [click here].

And about their involvement with the City of Hutchinson, Minnesota [click here].

While the motor home was being worked on we had to find somewhere to go so we went for another drive in the country.  After checking the GPS for attractions near us we found White’s Mini Horse And Donkey Farm was the closest to where we were.

Mules and Donkeys

A man named Bob came out to show us around.  It was kinda fun hearing his stories about the animals and the history of the farm.  Many of the mules and donkeys are rescue animals brought here by the non-profit Save Your Ass Rescue organization.

He introduced us to a feisty miniature horse who thought he was the king of the farm.  He was not afraid to show the bigger animals who was boss.

Miniature Horse

This used to be a big petting zoo with lots of other animals but now it’s just the horses donkeys and mules.

The repairs on the motor home are done (under $150) so we retrieved it and moved back in to our spot behind the CCC Camp Museum.  We will probably stay here until after Labor Day.

We met Eric and Danielle for dinner and then went to their place for a while before calling it a day.

A family of wild turkeys greeted us this morning.  I got a picture through the window, but as soon as they heard a noise from us they scurried off.

Wild Turkeys

The New England states have tons of quaint little towns all over the place, many only 10 miles apart from each other.  We went for a drive to see what we could see.  In the town of Hillsborough is the boyhood home of America’s fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce, built in 1804.  We paid $5 each for the tour which lasted an excruciating two hours.  The guide knew a lot about the history of the house and the family and was eager to tell everything he knew.  My eyes started to glaze over.

Franklin Pierce Homestead

Driving from one town to the next was beautiful, hills, streams, trees and more trees.  And the communities are so interesting.  We came upon a covered bridge between towns, which was a pleasant surprise.

Covered Bridge

Near Greenfield, NH, is (or was) a nursery and farm stand whose owner needed something to draw people to his farm to buy his vegetables.  He chose to build a medieval trebuchet, a giant catapult that flings giant pumpkins, furniture, and appliances.  His plan did increase his sales 12 to 15 times what they had been before.

Yankee Siege Trebuchet

Giant Iron Pumpkin Smashing Ball

When we arrived there we found one man working on another trebuchet.  He told us how the business has shut down but how they have this new one they built that he had disassembled and was painting and re-assembling.  He told us some of the history of the place, and that some TV show will be here on Saturday to record them flinging stuff, so it does kinda live on.  They do take the newer one to a Pumpkin Chunkin competition in Delaware, and have won first place every year since 2004.

We have been having some trouble with two of the slide mechanisms on the motor home and we have an appointment early Wednesday morning to have it looked at.  So, we left the CCC Camp Museum to go park overnight in the parking lot of Camping World so we’ll be ready for them in the morning.

This morning we got up early and went exploring.  The first thing we saw was the Google Maps Street View car. . I just HAD to get a picture of it.  Of course he was looking right at me when I pointed my camera at him!  I imagine he is used to it.

Google Maps Street View

New Hampshire has 17 miles of seashore.  It only took an hour to get there from where we are so we went out there and drove down to Massachusetts, up along the shoreline road to Maine.  It didn’t take long to visit three states.  For 10:30 on a Monday morning there were a lot of people out.  The weekend must have been incredible with beach goers.

Marine Memorial to Servicemen Lost at Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Portsmouth is just at the border of NH and Maine and a fun place to visit.  The downtown area is very historic and interesting.  We had lunch at a restaurant called Popover before we went in to Maine and then drove back home.

Downtown Portsmouth, NH

Then back home and out for supper with our new friends, Bob and Bobbi.

Bear Brook State Park is beautiful and very popular, being nearly filled to capacity over the weekend, mainly with tent campers… we felt out of place.  We had to move our rig from one spot over to another one because our current spot had been reserved for someone else.  Our new spot was even more remote than our other one and internet service was nearly nonexistent. Thus, no blog for a few days.

Near the entrance to the park is a Civilian Conservation Corps Museum and a Snowmobile Museum.  The CCC was a government work for welfare program in the 1930’s until 1942, putting young men to work constructing roads and building the park facilities across the country.

Inside the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum

In the next building over is a Snowmobile Museum.

1961 Polaris Ranger, Manufactured by Hetten Hoist and Derrick Co., of Roseau, Minnesota

We got to visiting with the museum hosts, Bob and Bobbi and struck a friendship.  They have been full-time RVers for several years now and are Work Campers here along with two other couples.  The other two couples have already left for the season and Bob and Bobbi are alone.  Work Campers are given spots to park their RV with full hookups for free for volunteering their work at the Museum.  They offered us to park here for a while and see what Work Camping is all about, maybe we would come back another time and do it.  So, this morning this is where we moved to.

Camping spots behind the CCC Museum.

Goodbye Boston, hello New Hampshire.  We have moved north to Bear Brook State Park very near Concord, New Hampshire, where Eric and Danielle live.  Our campground is in a remote location of this forested park down long narrow winding roads.  Oops, we missed our turn into the campground and could not find a place to turn around.  Backing up with a car in tow is not possible.  A policeman happened by and offered to escort us down some country roads where we could get turned around and going in the right direction.

Police Escort

Once we got settled in the newlyweds joined us for a campfire and food.

Danielle snuck a picture when we weren’t looking.

This morning we explored the campground and the area around it.  There are hiking trails and a small sandy beach and a place you can rent canoes.

Swimming beach

We are dwarfed by the tall trees.

We were happy to read in the park information that there was laundry facilities here.  However we discovered it was locked up pending future remodeling.  There are coin operated showers here too, $.25 for three minutes, but I was not interested in showering with daddy-long-leg spiders and mold.  Good thing we have our own shower with us.

Verizon phone signal is 3 bars.  3G internet is extremely slow and sometimes unavailable.  Making this blog post is a real struggle.  The price to camp here without water/sewer/electricity is $25/night.