July 7, Monday – Going Inland

With Caitlin gone and the 4th of July weekend gone it was time to reflect. In a little less than a month I’ll return to the Providence, Rhode Island airport to pickup my good friend, Melanie, who’s going to join me for two weeks in touring eastern Canada. What to do with the almost four weeks? Explore Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine??
I wanted to do more tracking down of the ancient Shrigleys, who after arriving in Boston in 1821, moved north to first New Hampshire then across the line to Vermont. So after a leisure morning, I left the mass gathering of humanity known as Fishermen’s’ Memorial State Park in the coastal village of Galilee and drove the three hours north through Massachusetts and into southern New Hampshire. I was very impressed with the land that I was driving through. The low mountains first appeared quickly as rock out croppings along side if the highway, then a low hill, then another all the time covered with beautiful hardwood forests. Towns and cities clustered in narrow valley floors. The rolling hills kept climbing and then I was in New Hampshire, the Granite State. I was greeted with a “Moose Crossing” sign and a porcupine road kill. I reached Greenfield State Park near Peterborough and settled into the largest, most empty campground that I’ve been in. The campsites were pushed back into the hardwood forest giving each site a sense of privacy. After suppertime I saw on my right arm a red swelling and I immediately thought “Lymes Disease.” After checking the internet for information on the disease, I drove the seven miles of countryside into town to buy a magnify glass to see if it were just a scab in the swelling or a deer tick. One mile down the road I was totally shocked when a young black bear came charging out of the brush across the road back into the brush on the other side. I was the only car on the road. I was the only people who witness this creature on the gallop. What a treat. It’s been years since I’ve seen a bear. However I didn’t see a magnify glass. The stores in Peterborough all were closed at eight so I’ll wait until tomorrow and keep my fingers cross.