In My Footsteps: West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

            West Quoddy Head Light was the reason I decided to do travel writing in the first place.  I was always fascinated by lighthouses growing up on Cape Cod.  There was Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Nobska Light, and Race Point Light among others that were familiar to me.  As I got older I still retained my interest in these guides for passing ships.  First I began by learning more about nearby lighthouses like Three Sisters in Eastham, Wood End and Long Point Lights in Provincetown, and Wings Neck Light in Pocasset.  Then I began daydreaming about lighthouses up and down the east coast.  That is when I found Jeremy D’Entremont’s New England Lighthouse website.  It is there that I first saw West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine.

            With its red and white striped façade it immediately captured my imagination. There was only one problem, from where I lived on Cape Cod it was an eight-hour drive to Lubec.  I was not exactly thrilled about the idea of a 16-hour round trip drive so it was necessary to find a spot to stay overnight.  That’s when I hit the jackpot.  My cousin Tracey and her ex-husband Steve had owned a cottage on the water in Owl’s Head, Maine.  It was nearly exactly halfway between me and Lubec.  It was a rental but as luck had it nobody was there for a week in October.  I was allowed to stay there for nothing, what a great deal.

            Now, don’t get me wrong, I was excited for a week of traveling up and down the Maine coast.  It was going to be a tremendous experience.  However, the trip was totally based on getting to see West Quoddy Head Light.

            The lighthouse itself was built in 1858 overlooking Quoddy Narrows and within eyesight of Campobello Island, a part of New Brunswick, Canada.  Lubec is the eastern most point in the United States.  It is one of the most photographed and painted lighthouses in the country.  The red stripes on West Quoddy Head come from its close proximity to Canada.  In Canada the red stripes are common to help the lighthouses stand out against the snow.  Assateague Light, located on Assateague Island in Virginia, is the only other lighthouse with similar red stripes in the U.S.  The lighthouse is now on the grounds of Quoddy Head State Park and was named to the Registry of Historic Places in 1980.

            There are a few parking spots next to the lighthouse but the main parking area is located a few hundred feet away.  This is the better parking area as the lighthouse sits down a slight hill and sets a magnificent scene immediately upon your arrival.  When I said this was a popular spot to visit I meant it.  There is only one main road, Rt. 1, leading out to Lubec once you get past Ellsworth, near Bar Harbor.  I ended up behind an SUV with Texas license plates almost immediately after passing through Ellsworth.  I stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds in Machias and so did the folks from Texas.  When I arrived at West Quoddy Head an hour and a half later I was not surprised when the four people from Texas arrived shortly thereafter.  I can’t say if they came all that way just for the lighthouse, but you never know.

            I was definitely in awe and very happy to be at West Quoddy Head.  I must have managed to take a photograph from every possible angle including wandering out into a nearby field.  I also shot a video of my time there as I was not sure if I’d ever have a chance to be there again.  I wanted to be able to cue up my memories anytime I felt like it. 

            There was a sort of guide there sharing some information.  I found out that the lighthouse was not the eastern most point in the U.S.; the guide pointed out a few large rocks out in the water technically considered to be part of the country.  Of course I shot a picture of them.  I tried hard to strike a good balance between photographing every possible inch of the grounds while also simply standing and soaking in the feeling of being there.  I try to do that at many places that I am truly excited to visit.

            I began the walk back up the hill to my car and continued taking photos looking back.  I didn’t want to leave, but knew that I had a four hour drive back to my ‘home base’ in Owl’s Head.  West Quoddy Head is still tops on my list of favorite lighthouses, although there are a few I have researched that might come close.  Of course none of those are within ten hours by car, so they will have to wait.  I drove eight hours to see West Quoddy Head, anybody who lives closer needs to go check it out.  It is a beautiful and unique piece of history.  Have fun and happy traveling!

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse:  Quoddy Head Road, Lubec, Maine; GPS (44.815256,-66.951007) – From Ellsworth, Maine take Rt. 1 heading east.  Follow Rt. 1 approx. 75 miles into Whiting; turn right onto Rt. 189, follow it 8.8 miles, turn right onto Maple Tree Rd., after a mile turn left to stay on this road.  Turn right onto S. Lubec Rd. after .6 miles, take a slight left onto Quoddy Head Rd., follow it to the end.

West Quoddy.com

New England Lighthouses - West Quoddy Head      

In My Footsteps - Lubec, Maine

Lubec on Dwellable

In My Footsteps: Medfield State Hospital

            With 130 articles written during my travels I have seen a lot of amazing places.  However, as can be the case, with showcasing a town in an article some of the places can be glossed over to make sure everything fits.  I have decided to start a series of articles each showcasing one specific place per article.  There are so many that have their own story and my experiences there deserve more than just a paragraph.  Since it is the Halloween season, or was, I have decided to begin with the scariest place I have visited: Medfield State Hospital.

            Medfield State Hospital is an historic spot.  It was a mental hospital built on Hospital Rd. in Medfield, Massachusetts in 1892.  At its peak there were fifty-eight buildings located on the grounds and could house 2,200 patients.  It was a self-sufficient property, raising its own livestock and produce while also producing its own heat and power.  The property was closed in April 2003 due to a decline in patients.  The grounds have been used for films such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s Shutter Island.

            The grounds are still open for walking as of November 2012.  When I visited I had high expectations from photos about the experience and I was not disappointed.  I pulled up and parked in a dirt area directly across the street from the imposing collection of buildings.  Sure, I had read the grounds were open but I did not see any other vehicles.  There was a white trailer located at the entrance to the grounds so I approached and a security guard stepped out.  He told me the grounds were open to be walked but there was to be no photography.  I clutched my tiny digital camera tightly in my pocket and moved on past.

            The road curves slightly and soon I was out of sight of the trailer and pulled my camera out.  I was immediately fascinated by the boarded up brick buildings.  The blood red plywood over the windows made the stoic buildings more eerie.  The sunny day added haunting shadows to these buildings.  I had the grounds all to myself and did my best to soak in this unique atmosphere.

            The deeper I got into Medfield State Hospital I began to notice something.  The silence.  It was a creepy calm.  There were no birds, no squirrels running around, nothing.  When I had parked my car there was the normal buzz of nature but not on the grounds.  It felt fitting.  The silence would eventually be broken by the howls of the wind passing through cracked windows.  The first such howl sent a chill down my spine.  It was thrilling.

            So much of my time was like something out of a suspense-filled horror movie.  I felt like I was on camera awaiting a monster or killer.  Then my fears were realized.  Okay, not really, but as I was at the furthest end of the Medfield State Hospital grounds I noticed a beige sedan slowly creeping its way up one of the roads.  There was a single man driving and scoping things out.  A perfect horror movie setup, right?  I tucked my camera in my pocket as he slowly passed.

            On the eastern edge of the grounds is a white water tower which gave me a dream vibe, like it was something you would have seen in a dream sequence of A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Perhaps the creepiest part of these buildings was the ‘crying’ windows.  The window frames were painted white and the years of weather had caused the white paint to run some down the bricks looking like ‘tears.’  In a place where mental patients once roamed it again seemed fitting.

            All of these creepy experiences are not meant to drive potential visitors away.  On the contrary, I believe that these things make it a more desirable place to see.  Some of the buildings were in great condition such as the main hospital building and the church.  Other buildings were damaged and had the red ‘X’ on the façade indicating they were most likely meant for demolition.  With roads and sidewalks there were times it felt like I was walking through a haunted ghost town; I could almost hear the sounds of the former patients on the wind.  To make the creepy journey complete if you’d like there is a Medfield State Hospital cemetery a few hundred yards west of the ground where 841 patients were buried between 1918-1988.  I did not venture that far.

            Easily the most eerie spot I have visited, Medfield State Hospital is a must see for horror fans.  I heard the howling winds, saw the creepy man slowly driving the grounds in his car, and heard the silence from the birds and squirrels.  Who knows what experiences you will have when you go?  Perhaps you should bring your running shoes though.  Have fun and happy traveling!

     My first book, In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide, is now available at SchifferBooks.com, and Amazon.com, soon to be in stores everywhere!  Follow me on Twitter!

Medfield State Hospital: 9 Hospital Rd., Medfield, Mass. GPS (42.207954,-71.335561)

            From I-95 N take Exit 9 for Rt. 1. Take 1^st left onto Rt. 27, follow it 8.6 miles. Turn right onto Hospital Rd., hospital grounds will be on the left.

Links: Medfield Patch.com - Medfield State Hospital

The hospital grounds looked like an abandoned ghost town.

Some buildings were in relatively good condition.

This look like a something dream sequence from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The 'crying' windows.

The creepy church.

           

           

In My Footsteps: Trip 130: Lincoln, New Hampshire

In My Footsteps

Christopher Setterlund

Trip 130:  Lincoln, New Hampshire

July 25, 2012

My love affair with the state of New Hampshire is very well known.  I feel as soon as I cross into it from Massachusetts that I am in an entirely different world.  That feeling was only amplified when I made a long overdue return to Lincoln in the White Mountains.

The view from Kancamagus Pass.

I say return because the last time I saw Lincoln was more than twenty years ago and I definitely did not have the understanding to appreciate what I was seeing.  This time I certainly did.

For this trip I decided to spend the night.  I found the perfect location to call my ‘home base’ in Pemi Cabins on the main strip of Route 3.  The Pemigewasset River, where the ‘Pemi’ in Pemi Cabins comes from, runs directly behind the cabins.  When I opened the door to my modest single-room cabin I immediately heard the rushing water through the opened back door.  Each cabin has a screened in back porch.  I took advantage of this by sitting out and listening to the rushing water well after dark.  It was heavenly.

The first place I chose to visit was the simply awe-inspiring Kancamagus Pass on the historic Kancamagus Highway.  My goal was to run a section of the highway beginning at the Pass.  Besides being situated in between Lincoln and North Conway ‘The Kanc’ as it is often called for the vast majority of the route is devoid of food, gas, and cell phone reception.  I was taking a risk running there but it was well worth it.

Flapjack's Pancake House

The views of the White Mountains are all around you.  The overlook at Kancamagus Pass can easily hold your gaze for hours if you let it.  I ran straight downhill until I got to the cozy Lily Pond.  The rocky shore was more reminiscent of Maine, the pond itself was small but fit the scene with the towering mountains all around.

Once I had turned around and run the more difficult uphill slope back to the Pass I stopped to appreciate the views at a pair of overlooks.  The fact that it was cloudy did not dampen the experience at all.  I only saw roughly 1/3 of The Kanc so any visitor should take their time to see as much of this incredible highway as possible.

Looking back down at Flume Gorge.

Next I went back to a spot originally visited more than twenty years ago, Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park.  Located only a few minutes down Rt. 3 the Flume is something that everyone should check out once.  Flume Gorge is a natural gorge which extends 800 feet at the base of Mt. Liberty.  It was discovered in 1808 by 93-year old ‘Aunt’ Jess Guernsey who came upon it accidentally.

You can take a tour bus from the main visitor’s center out close to the gorge or you can walk the entire way.  I chose to walk.  There is a lot more to see in the Flume Woods than just the Gorge but that is the obvious main attraction.  It feels like being in another world as you come upon the pair of granite cliffs stretching up to ninety-feet high.  The walls are anywhere from twelve to twenty feet apart and the water which runs down either cliff will periodically splash you.

It is an exhilarating hike along the wooden walkway with many steps leading you up to the overlook where you can see down into the gorge.  After that you can choose to head straight back to the visitor’s center or take a longer route.  I took the longer route.  On the longer route you will see the smaller Liberty Gorge, Sentinel Pine Bridge and The Pool, as well as the Wolf’s Den which you must crawl through to see.  I highly recommend taking the extra thirty minutes or so to hike the longer trail out of Flume Woods.

Another part of Franconia Notch State Park which is probably better known that Flume Gorge actually does not exist anymore.  The Old Man of the Mountain, a face shaped by erosion in the granite of Cannon Mountain, crashed to the earth in 2003.  I do remember visiting this spot as a child.  I was pleasantly surprised when I returned to find that the Old Man was back, so to speak.

Thanks to some generous grants and very creative thinking there is now a Profiler Plaza at the base of Cannon Mountain.  There are several steel ‘profilers’ which when you stand on spots according to height actually create a faux Old Man face in the spot where it would have been.  It is difficult to explain, it needs to be seen to be appreciated.  In fact the entire Profiler Plaza is amazing.  Profile Lake stretches toward the highway with the mountains just on the other side, the fog and mist of this day combined with the scenery made me feel as if I was in the film Jurassic Park, if that makes any sense.

With the help of a 'profiler' The Old Man lives again.

Lincoln is not just filled with beautiful places to see.  There is also an abundance of delicious places to eat.  Loving breakfast the way I do I chose to pay a visit to Flapjacks located at the beginning of the Kancamagus Highway.  By the name it is obvious what they are known for.

Now in their seventh year of operation the atmosphere is very cozy inside Flapjacks with a small counter and many tables facing the mountains.  I could tell right away that this is a townie place where folks get together daily to chat about life.  I enjoyed the atmosphere almost as much as I enjoyed a full-stack of their well known flapjacks.  I went with the regular flapjacks, but there are some interesting and I’m sure delicious options such as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Fluffernutter flapjacks.  Those two items alone are reason enough for me to pay Lincoln another visit soon.

Nestled up in the White Mountains the small town of Lincoln should be a destination for any traveler.  Whether you like delicious food in townie restaurants, beautiful scenery, or simply want to escape into some peace and quiet, Lincoln has all that you need.  I know I will be going back that way as soon as I can.  Have fun and happy traveling!

Directions:  Kancamagus Pass:  From I-93 N take Exit 32 for Rt. 112/Kancamagus Highway.  Turn left onto Kancamagus Highway, follow it 13.3 miles to destination on left.

            Flume Gorge:  From I-93 N take Exit 34A to merge onto Rt. 3, follow it ½ mile, turn right for Visitor’s Center.

            Flapjacks Pancake House:  From I-93 N take Exit 32 for Rt. 112/Kancamagus Highway.  Turn left onto Kancamagus Highway, follow it .7 miles to destination on left.

            Pemi Cabins:  From I-93 N take Exit 33 for N. Woodstock/N. Lincoln, take a slight right, continue ½ mile to destination on right.

References:  Pemi Cabins

            Flapjacks Pancake House

            Kancamagus Highway.com

            NH State Parks.org - Flume Gorge

            Lincoln, NH - Official Town Site      

Lincoln on Dwellable

In My Footsteps: Trip 129: Wareham, Massachusetts

In My Footsteps

Christopher Setterlund

Trip 129: Wareham, Massachusetts

June 14, 2012

            Though it is technically not considered a part of Cape Cod, Wareham shares many of the same qualities of a classic Cape village.  Wareham is considered the ‘Gateway to Cape Cod’ as the first town west of the Cape Cod Canal.  It was obviously once part of the Cape before the Canal was constructed. 

Tremont Nail Factory Building

            Wareham shares its name with a town in England and was originally settled as a part of the surrounding towns of Rochester and Plymouth in 1678.  Incorporated in 1739, the town mixes beautiful beaches and historic buildings with a highly developed retail center filled with stores and restaurants.  Perhaps most well known in Wareham is the Tremont Nail Factory which is the oldest manufacturer of nails in the country, established in 1819.  The Old Company Store across the street from the factory is a popular spot as well.  It is an old time gift shop with penny candy and gourmet foods as well. 

Old Company Store

            Located a few doors down from the Tremont Nail Factory is another well known spot.  The Benjamin Fearing Tavern Museum was originally the home of Isaac Bump, a local miller, when it was first built in 1690.  It became the tavern in 1747.  Besides being one of the oldest homes in Wareham it has also been the site of possible paranormal activity.  In 2008 researchers from a local show Spooky Southcoast conducting hours of tests in the old tavern.  Though the results were somewhat inconclusive it definitely will make any visitor keep their eyes and ears opened.

            If you take Route 6 west into Wareham it does not take long to find a beautiful scenic spot.  A right turn onto Red Brook Road leads you to Buttermilk Bay and the adjoining Little Buttermilk Bay.  These bodies of water are great for fishing and the Bourne Bridge hovers above the tree line which gives perspective as to how close spots like these are to major highways.  Route 6 continues west and crosses the Agawam River before hitting the retail center of Wareham.  This river has been one of the most important herring rivers in the state since 1632 and is one of the few remaining operated herring runs left in Massachusetts.

Fearing Tavern Museum

            The Wareham Town Hall is located near the retail center as Route 6 becomes also known as Marion Road.  It stands in front of the middle school and across the street from the Wareham Free Library.  It looks the part of an old government building in amongst the modern retail stores.  There is also a really nice railroad station located behind Main Street and along the Agawam River.  There is still freight rail service in Wareham but at this time no passenger service.  Of course for families coming to visit there must be a stop at Water Wizz, the popular water park located near the Cranberry Shopping Plaza on Rt. 6.

            Much like Cape Cod, Wareham has its share of smaller villages that make up the bigger town.  One such village is Weweantic.  A left turn from Rt. 6 onto Cromesett Rd. will take you out onto this tiny peninsula that sticks out into Buzzards Bay.  Bordered on the east by Marks Cove and on the west by Pattons Cove and Briarwood Beach, Weweantic is a great little detour off of the main road and sports tremendous views from all sides.

Buttermilk Bay with the Bourne Bridge on the right.

            Another beautiful spot is a little harder to get to if it is to be fully appreciated.  Stony Point Dike is a man made strip of land that stretches out a mile into Buzzards Bay.  It is what was created by the dredging of the Cape Cod Canal.  It is located at the end of Great Neck Road but can be seen on the horizon from Little Harbor Beach.  For kayaking lovers it is a perfect trip, just over a mile, from the beach to Stony Point.  It should be noted that swimming and paddling on the Canal side of Stony Point is prohibited and dangerous.

Wareham gives you all that you could want in a seaside town.  There are beautiful beaches, historic buildings with fascinating stories, and there are also plenty of shopping areas for those that are not as into nature and history as I am.  These spots are so close to the Cape but can at times be overlooked by people on the way to New Bedford or Providence.  I highly recommend taking a day trip to discover Wareham.  Have fun and happy traveling!

Directions: Buttermilk Bay: From Rt. 6 heading west, turn right onto Red Brook Rd., continue onto Head of the Bay Rd.  Turn right onto Old Head of the Bay Rd.  This gives you the best view of Little Buttermilk Bay and Buttermilk Bay through Gibbs Narrows.

Tremont Nail Company: from Rt. 28 heading west turn left at Mayflower Ridge Dr., then quick right at Elm Street.  Old Company Store is directly across the street.  

References:    Tremont Nail Company

                       Water Wizz

                       Wareham Historical Society

                       Wareham - Official Town Page

                       Wicked Local.com - Something to Fear at the Fearing Tavern?

       

Wareham on Dwellable

Wareham on Dwellable