As you’re probably well aware by now, this is a field trip issue. For one week, the company brass let us out of Concord to go explore some other communities for the sake of writing about them.
We’re basically experts when it comes to cool places and goings-on in Concord, but this trip allowed us to broaden our own horizons a bit and share some of that enlightenment with all of you.
Our goal was pretty simple: Go out and explore Penacook, Boscawen and Canterbury and see what kinds of fun and interesting things we could find. It was to be a tough assignment for sure, but one we took on with no fear.
Since our office is located very close to Penacook – at least, we think it is – we figured we’d start there. Plus, of the three communities featured here, Penacook was the one we were most familiar with.
As we pointed out on page 15, Penacook is very mysterious geographically. There are conflicting documents and stories all over the place regarding where Penacook is and what its borders are. Since we couldn’t sit around all day poring over maps and things like that, we just set out to cover areas we were pretty sure were considered Penacook.
The first sign that we were in the right place was, well, the big sign that says “Welcome to Historic Penacook Village.” When you see a sign like that, it should be pretty safe to assume that the land immediately beyond that is, in fact, the village of Penacook.
This sign is on Canal Street, which leads right to what’s basically considered the center of the village.
At the end of Canal is Village Street, whose name indicates that it’s part of the village. Going up the hill of Village Street leads you to a quaint little center of town, complete with a rotary, a general store, a hardware store, a barber shop and a pharmacy. A little farther down Village Street, you’ll find Cheney’s Apple House Furniture, “a browser’s paradise,” as its website calls itself. We planned on stopping by to take a nap on one of the beds or couches, but we sadly ran out of time to do that.
Given the types of businesses in the area, this isn’t the most hopping downtown core you’ll ever see, but it’s a nice spot for taking a leisurely stroll on a weekend morning or afternoon. And, on the upside, there’s no fee to park your car.
Speaking of cars, we heard about this place called Slot Car Corner, which is a shop specializing in 1/32 scale motorized racing cars and accessories. We had never even heard of slot cars before, but apparently they’re pretty popular among hobbyists, and Slot Car Corner is supposed to be a pretty serious store for all slot car needs.
But, as luck would have it, the people who run the shop were on vacation all last week, so we couldn’t get in there to see what it was all about.
We did, however, find a website (slotcarcorner.com) and a Facebook page full of information. It looks like Slot Car Corner – established in 2006 – stays pretty busy in the online business world, as the notice at the top of the home page announcing the vacation said they’d resume filling orders as of Aug. 31.
It’s a shame a couple driving enthusiasts like us couldn’t get our hands on some miniature racers and zip them around a track, but the place should be open again by the time you read this.
According to a post on the Slot Car News blog, the shop is located at 322 Village St., but if you’re using a GPS to find it, you may have to enter Concord as the city instead of Penacook – there’s that geographical conundrum coming into play again.
For more info on Slot Car Corner, send an email to slotcarcorner@gmail.com or call 753-6263.
After we’d exhausted all of our options for exploring Penacook, it was on to Boscawen, another town barely a stone’s throw from Insider headquarters. Unlike Penacook, Boscawen actually has real borders that are recognized by every mapping agency, so it figured to be a slightly easier place to check out.
Again, since it’s so close to us, we started our trip through Boscawen right over the border at the Park and Ride by Exit 17 off Insterstate 93.
We’d always been pretty curious as to why this Park and Ride is always so full – drive by there any day of the week, any time of day and you’ll likely see dozens of parked vehicles sitting there, despite it seeming like an odd place for people to meet up for carpools. Once we parked and got out, we discovered a couple obvious reasons for some of the traffic.
One is the Hannah Duston memorial site. Just like Penacook is steeped in confusion over its borders, the name Hannah Duston is also always a point of contention – you’ll see the last name spelled Dustin as well. In fact, the stone monument itself uses the Duston spelling while the commemorative plaque by the street at the entrance of the Park and Ride uses Dustin. Apparently you can use whichever spelling you prefer (we like the Duston spelling, since it’s literally set in stone).
The memorial site, according to local legend, is supposedly where Hannah Duston of Haverill, Mass., found her Native American captors and killed 10 of them, taking their scalps back to Massachusetts to claim a bounty. Her story is one that the New Hampshire Historical Society says remains highly controversial.
In 1657, Duston was captured by a native tribe in Massachusetts and her child was killed. In a fit of revenge, Duston tracked the captors back to New Hampshire and killed 10 of them, including children. This is the part of the story that causes a lot of controversy – some people question its validity and feel it’s inappropriate to honor a person like this with a statue, and a huge one, at that.
But putting all that aside, the site is still worth checking out, especially if you’re into history. If you park at the Park and Ride, all you have to do is go down behind it and follow the signs to the memorial site. It’s a short walk over a rusty old footbridge out to the island, which would make a nice spot for a family picnic.
The island, where the Merrimack and Contoocook rivers meet, has nothing but the statue and some out-of-commission train tracks on it, and it provides some nice views of the water. There’s also a bridge that looks like it’s popular for jumping off into the water, though we wouldn’t advise that since it’s known as a highly dangerous place to swim.
Once you’ve taken in the awe of the stone statue – which has been defaced, literally, over the years – you’ll have to cross that footbridge to get back to the mainland. But before you head back up to your car, you might as well check out the Northern Rail Trail while you’re there.
The trail is 58 miles long and starts in Lebanon, and it ends just a half-mile from the Hannah Duston site.
Some blue signs point in the direction of the trail, and it’s a slightly longer walk than you might expect, but it’s there. You’ll walk down a paved road for about 10 minutes (maybe a little less if you’re a fast walker) until you see a sign and a big gate on the right side of the road marking the trail.
We’re sure there are plenty of hardcore trail enthusiasts out there who have done the entire thing straight through, but most of us probably aren’t up for a quick 58-mile hike, so you’ll probably just want to embark on a shorter journey.
You don’t have to walk, though. The trail prohibits automobiles, but you can take a bicycle, horse, snowshoes, cross-country skis or a snowmobile if you choose (and, provided there’s snow on the ground for the latter three options).
The trail is mostly packed gravel and/or crushed stone, so it’s a pretty solid surface for bike riding or walking – you shouldn’t really get tripped up at all on this path. It also provides scenic, rural views throughout.
Come winter, this trail could be quite a mission for snowmobilers. At 58 miles, it’s long enough that walking the length of it would be borderline absurd in the winter, but short enough that it may be doable in one shot on a snowmobile. Where else can you ride a snowmobile for 58 uninterrupted miles without breaking any laws or local ordinances?
We don’t really know anything about riding snowmobiles, but a quick look on a few online forums indicated that some sleds, when ridden a certain way, can get well over 100 miles out of one tank of fuel. One rider who posted on hardcoresledder.com even reported getting 160 miles out of a tank while riding the trails “pretty hard.”
Sounds like a challenge if you ask us.
Moving on, we discovered another outdoor recreation spot that’s less daunting than a 58-mile rail trail: the Boscawen Town Forest.
As its name implies, this is a forest for and maintained by the people of the town. It’s 432 acres of easy to moderately difficult terrain, with several different loops and trails within it.
There’s also a fun little element right at the entrance to the forest.
Between a big wooden sign marking the forest and a map mounted to a piece of plywood is a newish-looking mailbox. Out of curiosity, we opened the mailbox and discovered some paper goods in there.
One item was a little trail guide, though there was only one. The other was a notebook with entries going as far back as 2000. The notebook serves as sort of a log of who’s been there. One person wrote about seeing a moose. Many people referenced the abundance of mosquitoes and ticks. Others just wrote that it was a beautiful day for a picnic, or that it was a little muddy on one particular trail. One person reported that he lost a wallet, and left a phone number in case it was found.
After checking out the log book, we wandered into these unfamiliar woods to see if we could find anything surprising.
For the most part, it was what one would expect – a forest. But after about 10 minutes of walking up the main path from the entrance, we noticed a big clearing with a picnic table right in the middle of the sunny, open area. It seemed like a great spot for lunch, though we didn’t have any with us.
Compared to a lot of walking and hiking trails we’ve been on, the Boscawen Town Forest is more rustic and natural – these aren’t finely groomed trails out here, and there’s quite a bit of tall grass. With that in mind, anyone planning a long trek through these woods would be wise to wear long pants or bring a lot of bug spray. If you have young kids who want to explore the forest, make sure they’re pretty bundled up for some backwoods exploring.
Once we found our way out of the forest, we felt like we needed to go somewhere where we might find some human beings – none were present at the Hannah Duston site, the Northern Rail Trail or the Boscawen Town Forest (whose entrance and parking area are at the end of Weir Road in Boscawen). We ended up at Eclectic Whim, a second-hand and home goods store at 241 Route 3.
The business has a fitting name, as there’s really an eclectic mix of stuff in there, and the business was started last year just on a whim.
Owner Holly Silver, who lives in the house the barn store is attached to, had some crafty friends looking for a place to sell some of their wares. She had a barn that her husband didn’t mind turning into a store, and the next thing you know, Eclectic Whim was born.
Inside the shop, we found a piano (just sold), a coffee table made out of pallets by a guy in Tilton, an American Girl doll, a vintage toilet and some tote bags made out of used grocery bags and VHS tapes, among many other things.
“I look for things made locally,” Silver said, explaining that she has a lot of friends in the Granite State who make a lot of things that she then sells. She also does a lot of custom upholstery and sewing work. When she’s not out working in the store, she’s usually inside making curtains or reupholstering a chair or making alterations to some fabric item someone brought her.
The store’s hours are generally 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, but those are subject to change as Silver is the lone employee who sometimes has her own things going on.
For upholstering or custom sewing needs, you can call her any time at 496-6345 to set up an appointment or consultation to go over what you’re looking for. You can also call that number to check on whether the store is open, or to talk about selling or consigning an item (though Silver isn’t necessarily looking for a whole bunch on consignment items at this point).
So next time you’re driving down the main drag in Boscawen, stop by Eclectic Whim and see what you find. The stock changes regularly, so you never know what you might discover.
Eclectic Whim was our last stop in Boscawen, then it was on to Canterbury, which we think is where those famous tales took place.
Our first stop was Petals in the Pines, a flowery playground of sorts located on owner Donna Miller’s property.
Miller was always into gardening, and she slowly but surely turned her 7½-acre property into a series of magical gardens and work stations that are now available for public enjoyment.
Basically, anyone who wants to check out some really cool flowers in a fantasy-like, majestic setting can come to Petals in the Pines and just walk around and explore. There are brochures by the farmstand at the entrance of the property for those looking to take a self-guided tour. You’ll also see some bowls in the shape of leaves – they’re handmade by Miller using molds and casts of actual leaves she finds – and some silk scarves for sale out there. If nobody is at the farmstand, you can use the honor system to make purchases – just know that you’ll be on camera while doing so, so no funny business.
Petals in the Pines is also an Arbor Day Foundation-certified Nature Explore Classroom, meaning kids can go there and get a legitimate education while having fun. To be certified, an establishment needs to have things like open space, a space for jumping, crawling space, creative space and more, and Petals in the Pines has them all – and then some.
One of the highlights of the place is the crafting area right in the middle. It looks like a rustic barn, only with no walls. Inside are tables and all kinds of educational and crafting supplies.
Every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Oct. 12, Petals in the Pines opens up for Spread Your Wings days, in which kids and their parents can come for some discovery time and unstructured play. It costs $10 for the day for a parent and one child and $5 for each additional child (infants get in free) with a $20 family maximum, and activities might include things like a walk through some of the trails in the woods, a session of making fairy houses, making some music out of improvised devices or learning about the plight of the monarch butterfly.
Monarchs sort of disappeared last year, but they’re making a comeback this year due to a resurgence in milkweed, the only thing monarch caterpillars eat.
At Petals in the Pines, Miller has been nurturing some monarch caterpillars to release them during the fifth annual Monarch Festival this Saturday. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., anyone can come down and check out the caterpillar rearing tent, learn about tagging monarch butterflies, games and activities for kids, visit the “Monarch Maternity Ward” and maybe even see and release some monarchs, if they have hatched by then (we assume there will be at least a few, as there were several chrysalises hanging from the top of the little tent last week). The festival will be free with a suggested $5 donation.
For more info on Petals in the Pines, go to petalsinthepines.com or call 783-0220.
All of the garden exploring at Petals in the Pines made us pretty hungry, and since we love meat and cheese so much, we stopped by Fox Country Smoke House, where they have plenty of both.
If you like fine meat snacks with some smoky flavor to it, you need to try some of Fox Country’s products.
Some of the highlights include garlic kielbasa, slab bacon (this is a huge slab of fantastic bacon, enough to last a good few days anyway), beef jerky, breakfast sausage, salmon and duck. On the cheese side, you can get smoked horseradish cheddar, smoked habanero cheddar, smoked almonds, beef sticks and various mustards. It’s really a “smoker’s” paradise.
The crew at Fox Country produces about 300 pounds of bacon per week, using one of the two 2,000-pound smokers used for meats (there’s a smaller one used for cheeses). It should come as no surprise that bacon is one of their top-selling products, along with extra sharp cheddar.
We tried a four-pack of sweet smoked beef sticks, and they were right up our alley. They didn’t have the snap of, say, a Slim Jim, but I think the Fox Country crew would consider it a win not to be compared to a Slim Jim. They were tender and sweet with just the right amount of smoke flavoring – we downed the whole pack in about 2 minutes.
While the smokehouse is in Canterbury, you can also find their products in some Concord stores such as Local Baskit, Concord Beef and Seafood and Quality Cash Market. If you really don’t feel like leaving the house at all but still want nice smoked treats, you can also order online at foxcountrysmokehouse.com – Fox Country will ship anywhere in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii – sorry, disconnected states!).
And it’s not just people food, either. We all know dogs love smoked meat products, too, so Fox Country offers bones and pig ears for the furry friends in our lives.
For more info about the smokehouse, call 783-4405.
One thing about smoky meat is that it can make you pretty thirsty. Luckily, Canterbury also has a brewery, Canterbury Aleworks, and a distillery, Cold Garden Spirits, and they’re both pretty close to Fox Country Smoke House.
Sadly, both were closed during the week, so we weren’t able to check them out. We did, however, find out all kinds of good stuff about each place.
Canterbury Aleworks is sort of a throwback to old-school times. It’s a one-barrel, water-powered and wood-fired nanobrewery with a farmhouse feel to it. You’ll find quirks like an old-fashioned telephone booth outside, farm animals like pigs, sheep and chickens, and lots of exposed brick.
The nanobrewery doesn’t serve food, and therefore can’t serve full pints of beer, either, but you can load up on 4-ounce tasters – one of each beer per person is allowed. For some beers that have an alcohol by volume content above 8 percent, the tasters are 2 ounces. You can also get your growler filled here to take home with you. Just remember – state law says you can only get a growler full of Canterbury Aleworks beer if you use a Canterbury Aleworks growler. If you bring in a growler from a different business, the folks at Canterbury Aleworks will gladly trade with you so you can get your fill.
The nanobrewery offers eight handcrafted beers, including some staples and some seasonals. We’d love to try the Granite Ledge Stout, an espresso-oatmeal stout using Canterbury’s own Granite Ledge coffee – it’s billed as “the perfect breakfast drink.”
The nanobrewery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. For more info, go to canterburyaleworks.com.
If beer isn’t quite strong enough for you, you can also try Cold Garden Spirits, home of locally sourced corn whiskey and fruit brandy. You can’t get Cold Garden products anywhere but at the distillery, but that’s part of what makes it fun. The place is only a few hundred yards away from Canterbury Shaker Village and less than a couple miles from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and Canterbury Aleworks, so it’s an easy trip to make.
The tasting room is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m., and private tours and premium tastings are available by appointment.
For more info, go to coldgardenspirits.com.
The final stop of the trip was at Top O’ The Hill Disc Golf. If you don’t know what disc golf is, it’s exactly what it sounds like – a version of golf played with flying discs (don’t you dare call it a Frisbee) instead of golf balls and clubs.
Disc golf courses tend to be set up in the woods, and the challenge is in avoiding all the trees and bushes that make up the course. Like golf, there are “holes,” which in this case are sort of baskets made of metal piping and chains. There are multiple tee boxes with varying distances and pars, and the rules are just like those of golf – you must play the disc where it lies, and the fewest “strokes,” or in this case throws, wins.
The course in Canterbury is kind of a big deal. Discgolfscene.com, the leading authority on all things disc golf, rates Top O’ The Hill as the No. 1 course in New Hampshire and No. 34 in the nation – that’s out of about 8,000 courses. It also boasts the widest selection of discs in the state – when you walk into the office/store, all you see is endless rows of brightly colored discs on every surface.
A serious disc golfer will have a whole set of them, much like a bag of golf clubs, although you really only need one or two. If you aren’t looking to buy anything because you just want to try it out, Top O’ The Hill has a big box of communal discs that can be used free of charge. This is the option we hit up when we stopped by to play a few holes.
We’re always up for a little competition, so we played five holes – 1 through 4 and then 18 – using two loaner discs each, a driver and a putter. The course was impressively well maintained and marked clearly, something not all courses can say.
Having thrown a disc or two in my day, I was pretty confident that I’d do well in this competition. There was virtually no wind, so conditions were pristine.
I really only had one bad shot – on 18 – that ended up buried deep inside a bush, but I was able to “chip” out of there and land my disc within a few feet of the hole. Embarrassingly, I missed the gimme putt from a few feet but was still able to win the five-hole match against Tim by a stroke. I carded four bogeys and a double bogey while Tim made three bogeys and two doubles.
Though we didn’t play the full 19 – this course has a bonus hole right off 13, known as 13B – we still had a great time, which is the whole point of disc golf. And, at just $5 a round or $8 for the whole day, it’s a very affordable good time.
“You can’t get cheaper fun,” owner Marty Vaughn said.
The course is open every day from dawn to dusk, and in case nobody is at the pro shop when you get there – staffers are often working on the course or, in the case of our visit last week, expanding the parking lot to accommodate more visitors – there’s a lock box outside where you can drop your money in.
This isn’t just a summer sport, either. Top O’ The Hill is open all year, including in the winter, which adds a whole other challenge to the game – those discs can be hard to find when they go through the snow.
If you’re looking for a cheap fun time, this is the place for you. For more info, go to topothehilldiscgolf.com.
We really enjoyed our trip to Penacook, Boscawen and Canterbury, and we hope you’ll check these places out, too.
