New Hampshire - Day 18 - Keene

Crow's Nest Campground
Wednesday 18 July 2018

For those of you who've already read yesterday's post, I've updated it.  I forgot to add what I learned about chestnut trees.

today's route

I was looking forward to today's sights and, sorry to say,  had my hopes unrequited.  It was a pleasant day though.  As you can see, I got fairly close to both the Mass. and VT borders and covered some of New Hampshire I haven't seen before.

My main aim was for the Rhododendron State Park, where they have 16 acres of native rhododendrons.  I figured July would be a perfect time to go, when they'd be most likely to bloom.  Apparently I missed it by a couple of weeks.

But first I had to get there.  I went down progressively more and more narrow roads, getting farther and farther into rural NH, but encouraged by occasional signs saying this way.  Then I found a log in the road.  In this photo I've already moved it off the road, but even though it's not all that thick it was waterlogged so very heavy.  It stretched completely across the road, though, and I either had to move it or turn around.  By then I'd already come too far and decided moving it was the answer. 

And the park was only a few more miles down that road so I'm glad I did, but there were other cars in the parking area and they couldn't possibly have driven over that tree so it must have fallen into the road not long before I came along.  Such luck.  At least it didn't come down while I was driving past.

As we drove into the park, there was a sign saying rhododendron bloom in mid-July.  I figure you can't get much more mid-July than the 17th, but the rhodies faked me out.  Not only no blooms but no buds.  Not a one.  Apparently they came a couple of weeks ago.  I know from my yard in Olympia they're spectacular when they're blooming but they don't last long.

what I expected to see

what I saw

It's a very nice park, though.  Looks to me like maybe a 2nd growth forest, and the rhododendrons are thick.  In that photo above all that undergrowth is solid rhododendrons.  Very pleasant and the dogs enjoyed the walk.

I certainly saw places I haven't seen before but I am disappointed.

From there I drove into Keene, partly because I've heard the name for years and have been curious what it's like.  I liked it.  It seems to have a lot of life and character.  For having only 23,000 people it feels larger. 

They've revitalized their downtown area and created a very pleasant place.  Main Street has a grassy median with lots of trees to divide the traffic; I don't think I saw one vacancy all along the street - lots of shops and businesses, very clean; Main Street ends at a traffic circle that encloses a tiny park with a gazebo that was having some kind of rally today; the circle branches the road off into 2 more main streets.  All along the street are restaurants with sidewalk tables and umbrellas and lots of people doing lots of things.  A vibrant town life.

The other reason I went to Keene was to tour the Horatio Colony Museum Museum.  It sounded interesting and I'm sorry to report I couldn't find any parking I could even think of fitting into that was anywhere close and anywhere not in the sun.  I drove around the block several times and finally decided I'd just have to give it a miss this visit.  It's been there for 200 years, I don't suppose it's going anywhere.

What I learned on today's drive is that New Hampshire has some very rural areas.  The parts I've been in so far have had rural characters but - well, there isn't much distance between towns.  Granted there's basically zero urbanization in most of these places, but I haven't seen the rural countryside I saw in much of Vermont.  Well, that changed today.  Lots of space and lots of trees between settlements, lots of large ponds/small lakes.  Reassuring, somehow.