A Tranquil Time In Northern New Hampshire
By John Gilmore
A small town, almost a village in northern New Hampshire near Conway, the prime time tourist location in the winter for skiing, sledding, snowshoeing and winter sports, and in the summer hiking the many trails and pine forests, sits quietly and tranquil today.
It is rainy today, in Tamworth. I sit looking out the window in the wooded area from a small cabin in a community of people who seem to have found a way to live with all of the modern amenities, but be in a small, quiet community surrounding Moore’s Pond. No need to go to a park to walk the trails for the visitor. This small community is full of many dirt roads with beautiful cabins, all uniquely designed, close enough to see from the road.
It is rainy now. It just enhances the sleep ability factor here from the rain and most importantly, the quiet. Sometimes it is good just to be in a quiet place. To be away from the city and the roar of cars and blazing sirens, and the lawn mowers and weed wackers constantly going in the suburbs and immersed in the sounds of birds singing, wind blowing through the trees and the natural noises that we often don’t hear or even pay attention to anymore is both fulfilling and enlightening.
It is just life in it’s rawness and in its fullness instead of the hustle and bustle of living according to the wishes and demands of others and the great machine-like culture we often find in US American overcrowded cities . It is what is needed for the healing of the human soul. The human soul needs quiet, it needs solitude as well as community. The human soul thrives while immersed in nature with other human beings, not in avoidance.
As I sit and listen to the sound of distant conversation in the house in which I am staying, and look outside of windows and off of the balcony surrounded by the beauty of nature, I find that I am more relaxed and more at rest than I have been for quite some time. This seems more the real world than my small suburban town.
A Visit To White’s Lake
White’s Lake is a very large lake about two miles from Tamworth. There is a beautiful beach with a cordoned off area for swimming, many picnic tables, and a small store and rental shop where you can rent one and two people kayaks, paddle boats, and canoes. The water is warm. A lot of activity is going on.
Instead of going in the water we decided to hike the two mile trail around the lake, noticing the beautiful landscape, and resting along the edge, every so often, looking out over the beauty of the pristine looking, yet well utilized lake. The lake is large enough for people to swim in a very small section without disturbing the fisherman and people in boats and canoes, and large enough so people doing the boating don’t usually cross paths unless they want. The best part–no motor boats, or jet skis.
I realize those things must be fun, considering that almost every quiet lake where people swim, canoe, or kayak eventually gets overrun with someone loudly running up and down with a wake following so large that it can sometimes swamp a kayak if the paddler is not careful. Though it may be exciting for the few grinning speed lovers on those vehicles it usually ruins the atmosphere for everyone else. This doesn’t seem to be a problem at White’s Lake.
The major problem for me is the steep entrance fee of five dollars per person for out of state visitors compared to three dollars a car for state residents. Despite all of the fun, the water, the friendly atmosphere with music, picnic tables and children laughing and playing, I doubt that we will return there with only one day left to explore more of his fascinating area when we can for free elsewhere.
The trees, the trails, the quiet, the friendly atmosphere, all of these things add to the charm of the area. I marvel at how few African Americans and People of Color are located here, yet again, I lived in NH for several years so I shouldn’t be surprised. The greatest thing that I notice, and noticed back then, was that it is more comfortable for a black person here than it is in many of the suburban towns surrounding Philadelphia, or Boston. I think many of the people in NH believe in minding their own business and giving people the space they need.
On some issues they are quite conservative. On some they are quite progressive. They are, however, by no means moderate. I kind of like that to be truthful. Stand up for what you want, don’t hate people who don’t agree with what you want has always been my motto. Don’t water down everything that you want or need to the point that it is useless. I think we can all learn something from the state of NH. It isn’t perfect, but what is? And we can make what we learn from it perfect if we have the nerve to stop driving down the middle of the road and get to one side or the other appreciating the fact that we may need to go in the other direction sometimes if we want to get back home.
A Tranquil Time In Northern New Hampshire
A Tranquil Time In Northern New Hampshire