The first day of autumn. The official end of summer and the official beginning of crisp nights, football, leaves changing colors, and everything pumpkin. It also, sadly, marks the last few weeks of my Interpretive Ranger season. So I wanted to focus my final blog around something else that has changed in the park. It […]
Historic Site
A Hidden Gem in the Notch
In the shadow of Cannon Mountain, lies a resident of Franconia Notch State Park that is hidden away. It doesn’t get all the glitz and glory of the Flume Gorge. It doesn’t have an aerial tram leading up to its majestic beauty. It doesn’t even have a museum that talks about its past. But still, […]
Going Back in Time at the Pierce Homestead
New Hampshire is fortunate to be home to many great historic sites. One of these is the Franklin Pierce Homestead. Built in 1804 by Benjamin Pierce, the house sits on a beautiful piece of property in Hillsborough New Hampshire. Today it serves as a museum for Franklin Pierce and his family. During my visit I […]
Hidden History At Odiorne Point
Odiorne Point State Park is a beautiful park tucked into the seacoast of New Hampshire. Many people come here to picnic or to explore the tide pools at the waters edge. There are many reasons Odiorne is a paradise by the sea. Yet there is also so much more to discover here. Odiorne Point has […]
Start with Parks: Lessons from the Trail
01.20.15 “I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.”- John Muir For the fourth consecutive year, New Hampshire State Parks hosted “First Day […]
Inspiration and History: Robert Frost Farm
The Robert Frost Farm in Derry, NH is a historical hidden gem. While the famous poet lived in many other places, this farm is where much of the inspiration for his work came from. The farmhouse and grounds are now beautifully restored as a State Historic Site. As I learned from the highly knowledgeable staff […]
Franklin Pierce Homestead
I had the opportunity to visit the Franklin Pierce Homestead Historic Site recently in Hillsborough, NH. This historic village was incorporated in the late 1700’s and soon became the family home of Benjamin Pierce, twice governor of NH and father of our 14th president, Franklin Pierce. The house is beautifully restored to its Federalist roots, […]
Ashuelot River Inspiration
“Over the River they beckon to me,/Loved ones who crossed to the further side; The gleam of their snowy robes I see, But their voices are lost on the dashing tide. There’s one with ringlets of sunny gold/ and eyes the reflection of heaven’s own blue; He crossed in the twilight, gray and cold/ and […]
Pickerel spotting at Annett Wayside Park
At the end of April, I had the opportunity to visit Annett Wayside Park in Rindge, New Hampshire in the southwest part of the state. This tiny park within a 1,494 acre protected state forest has an easy 1/4 mile stroll option to the edge of a reservoir. My family has enjoyed this trail many times. As a lesser known destination, it offers […]
The Bedell Bridge
Bedell Bridge State Historic Site – July 28, 2011 Rising above the water in the Connecticut River, right on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont, the ruins of the Bedell Bridge still stand commemorating what was once the second longest covered bridge in the United States. Destroyed by heavy winds in 1979, all that […]