A Living Magazine - Day 344 - Homecoming - Peterborough to Milford

The rain ended at just about the time I woke up, with spurts still coming every now and then, until the sun began to break through again. When I'd judged it safe to disassemble the tent, I did, and then hung the various parts up to dry on surrounding branches. But they were not given much time.

It was Memorial Day and I saw cars pulling into the Miller State Park parking lot--families visiting the park. It was time to leave. Things weren't very dry, but I had to go. I packed up and, once again, hit ole' Route 101 traveling East through Temple, then Wilton, and into Milford... 

This is a look back toward the west at an ad for The Black Swan in Peterborough.

I thought to myself that if I had a bike I could get on it and coast the whole way there down

that massive hill, without ever touching the pedals.

Poor lost license plates. They seem to fall off an inordinate amount of New Hampshire cars.

Fragrant horse chestnut blossoms on a large tree.

Due to a fungus in the 1800's that wiped out billions of trees,

there are essentially no more edible American chestnut trees in New England,

and none at all in Maine. That may change in the future.

When I reached Wilton, I had a sandwich at the first gas station I got to, then continued on...

1997 BMW Z3 1.9 L Roadster Convertible 2 Door - About $7,000

I may be a wallker, but I do appreciate a fine car.

Classic! The guy even has a red neck.

Ahhh... The first sea rose I'd seen in almost two years. Ayuh, getting closer to the coast...

Wilton had gone by quickly. This was going to be another 14 mile trek. And, the last four miles into Milford were a bit of a drag. It was another hot day like the first two. The day before had been great weather for climbing that long hill. I guess I could be thankful for that. When I reached the very last bit of Wilton, I stopped in at a Dunkin Donuts to cool off, dry off and rehydrate. I was also able to get online and actually published a post. But as the the hours grew late I knew I had to leave.

I didn't really care if I slept in Wilton of Milford. Yet, I was so close to Milford now, that I figured I might as well get within range of the McDonald's there if I could. I'd seen it online and it was all the way across town.

Just after leaving Dunkin Donuts I heard a wack!, and saw an object fall in front of me, rolling over with yellowish orange showing on top. I thought it was a full can of something, then it looked more like a large wallet or small purse. Then, within a few feet I knew exactly what it was. An upside down turtle!

He had been clipped by a car tire and flipped in the air. I checked for breaks on his shell, but there were none. He was fine, but obviously in hiding mode...

A rather large painted turtle.

Well, I was certainly happy that he was unharmed. Now it was a matter of getting him back down near the river. I was just about to go straight down into the riverbank, when I saw hundreds of poison ivy plants lining the roadside. I'd done a really good job of avoiding this plant so far, and I wasn't going to find out just how bad poison ivy could be for me (I'd never been afflicted with its effects, and meant to keep things that way!).

So, my turtle in hand, we walked about 200 feet farther down the road and into Milford. There, the river  had a sandier bank, with a small path that led down to it. I brought my new friend down near the water's edge, and gently set him down facing the water. I really wanted him to just come out of his shell a little for a picture. But he was just too shy. Not sure how long turtles remember things, but, getting run over, and being airlifted to safety were probably still fresh in his mind.

As I began to walk away, I turned and saw his little head begin to poke out for a looksee. I took a few  pictures, but unfortunately (as I discovered the next day) these remaining turtle pictures would be casualties of my friggin laptop's USB port problem. I am very glad that I have at least the two above to show you. A turtle story without pictures, might have sounded a bit more like a fish story--the one that got away.

The density of houses increased, and the typical small city attributes began to come into view. It was sunset now. And, I saw in east (opposite direction of the sunset) a huge pyramid shaped shadow, with pink and orange light on either side, and above it. It was as if I was in Giza, Egypt seeing the Great Pyramid's shadow projected onto a giant screen. I turned and saw that an immense cloud had covered the exact center of the sunset. I was really quite astounding.

Immediately I pulled out the camera  and took three full panoramic shots across the field to the northwest of me. They were magnificent. I couldn't wait to show you them, but again, they never will be seen because of the same technical problem that deleted the other turtle pictures. Shit happens. It is a shame, but I would rectify the situation with the help of my friend, Jeff in a few more days.

It was fully dark by the time I reached the other side of town. I still had not found the McDonald's (which I'd planned to make a morning headquarters). But, there appeared on my left a cemetery. It's gate was open. I've noticed that most cemeteries don't really stick to the "Closed at Sundown" rule. It was a promising find, since I had tried to go up on some guy's lawn about 20 minutes earlier, only to find that the brush along the side of treeline was too thick to enter.

Cemeteries are fairly reliable places to investigate. This once was relatively large, and had no lighting. The good thing about cemeteries is that they usually abut open woods, and this was no exception. The woods, though, was actually a very steep hill for most of the way around. On the far northwest corner I found a trail leading down to a back road. I crossed the road and found a place that was far from ideal, but probably would work. The only problem now, was the preponderance of raspberry bushes, with their little thorns. Laying the tarp out was a major challenge, since the bushes kept grabbing at it like velcro. But, being the tenacious little bastard that I am, I didn't give up. Instead I took out my little multi-tool saw and began cutting away the roots, then pulling out the plants, I was able to clear a small ellipse.

There was a chance of rain the next morning, but I resolved to get up very early. So I didn't even use the fly. It was hot out anyway, and I was happy to have the extra airflow of an open screen. I lay there for a little while watching the thin clouds cover the stars. It was surprisingly comfortable. As long as no curious joggers passed by at 5:30 a.m. I calculated that I should be out of there before 6:00 a.m. I don't even remember falling asleep.

Milford Sleep Spot.