Aug 24-26, 2024 – Wolfeboro, NH

Aug 24, 2024 – Wolfeboro, NH

After showering we broke camp and drove into Wolfeboro. Parking is an issue when we’re towing the car, especially since you can’t back up. We finally found several parking spaces in a row that would work.

Casting about for something interesting to do, Sandy remembered seeing something about a free ride on some kind of railroad thing. We checked at the information center and learned that the Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club was having their annual event that offered members of the public a free ride on their antique railroad motorcars, whatever they are. The event was just a few miles away so we went.

We were a bit confused because the Cotton Valley multiuse rail trail begins in Wolfeboro at the restored railroad station. Would they actually run on rails on the trail. The short answer is, “Yes”. I, turns out the trail is supported by two cooperating, non-profit clubs, the Cotton Valley Trail Committee and the Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club. While the overall trail is twelve miles long, about half of it still has rails in place.

The Rail Trail Club is interested in the rail part and uses it for an unusual, railroading activity. They collect, restore and operate the small, four wheel devices used by maintenance workers to get to the areas needing attention. The devices they collect are variously known as gang cars, putt-putts, section cars, railroad motorcars or speeders. They are powered by small gasoline or diesel motors and replaced hand operated cars of olden days. They’ve been replaced, today, by pickup trucks equipped with retractable rail guides.

Headquarters and Maintenance Shed for Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club

Headquarters and Maintenance Shed for Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club

Maintenance Barn from the Tracks

Maintenance Barn from the Tracks

We’d dumbed on to the one day a year that the club offers rides to the public. We were directed to a parking place in a crowded lot and told to register at the far end of the barn. Then we joined the long line of folks waiting for a ride. We were surprised at how fast the line moved. It turned out there were about ten of the vehicles, all different designs. They filled up with riders and traveled more than two miles as a group before stopping for the return trip.

Ready for a Ride

Ready for a Ride

The cars can’t turn around, they simply switch gears to travel the other direction. One of the vehicles didn’t have a transmission with a reverse gear. It was powered by a two-stroke cycle engine and was started using a hand crank. The operator just stopped the engine and then restarted it cranking it in the opposite direction. Simplicity!

Lead Car on the Return Trip

Lead Car on the Return Trip

and Another

and Another

and Another

and Another

and Two More

and Two More

and Two More

and Two More

and Another

and Another

This Car Had No Reverse Gear

This Car Had No Reverse Gear

Photo of Yet Another Car

Photo of Yet Another Car

and One Final Car

and One Final Car

We enjoyed our ride and then toured the tiny museum where old railroading communication equipment was on display. The gear included telegraph keys and sounders, as well as a phone that users could hook up anywhere along the line by clipping it to the bare phone wires that were strung along the track. They used a long pole to extend the phone terminals up to the wires.

Operator Placed a Tobacco Tin to Amplify Telegraph Sounder

Operator Placed a Tobacco Tin to Amplify Telegraph Sounder

Phone with Extension Pole to Connect with Lines

Phone with Extension Pole to Connect with Lines

Donald EL Hallock Was Also Founding Member of Strasburg Railroad

Donald EL Hallock Was Also Founding Member of Strasburg Railroad

Afterwards we returned to Wolfeboro to pick up the camper and headed to our new camping spot, this one a Harvest Host Boondockers Welcome. Amy and Lindsay welcomed us to their lovely home that they built twenty plus years ago in a wooded area just a few miles from Wolfeboro. They directed us to a level open spot next to their garage with a large fire ring.

After setting up, Bill noticed Amy working on the UTV she uses as a utility vehicle for chores like hauling firewood out of the woods. There is an engine cooling issue she was trying to sort out. Bill helped out and between them they verified that both the cooling fan and the sensor that controls it were functional. They didn’t solve the problem in the end but at least eliminated a couple of potential causes.

Dinner was tacos, this time with hard shells that were easier to prepare and eat.

Aug 25, 2024 – Wolfeboro, NH

It was time to take the bikes off the car for a ride. Starting at the Cotton Valley Station, where we took the section car ride yesterday, we rode toward downtown Wolfeboro on what was supposed to be a six-mile section of the trail. Turns out that section was only 3½ miles long but it was a pleasant ride.

The mostly shaded, level, hard-packed cinder trail is an interesting one in a couple of respects. For one, the tracks are still there! For the most part the relatively narrow trail runs alongside the tracks. But whenever there is a bridge or other passageway restriction the trail surface runs between the tracks. Not only is it narrow but bicyclists need to be careful not to get their front wheel stuck alongside the rail when they cross it. Generally, there is an auxiliary surface to prevent that from happening but sometimes they are badly worn.

The other thing is that the trail traverses several ponds on causeways. So, not only are you riding between the rails but there is water on both sides. It’s not dangerous but it is unusual and also pretty. After eating the sandwiches we’d brought for lunch in a shady spot in Cate Park, we cruised a few shops. Then it was back on the bikes to ride the few blocks to the Wright Museum of World War II.

Crossing a Causeway on Cotton Valley Trail

Crossing a Causeway on Cotton Valley Trail

The Wright Museum does have a very nice collection of machines of war in their Military Gallery …  if machines of war can be considered nice. But the emphasis of the museum is on the changes in our culture that resulted from the war. The Home Front Gallery showcased how Americans lived during the period from 1939 to 1945.

Wright Museum

Wright Museum

Model T Conversion with Tracks and Skis for Snow

Model T Conversion with Tracks and Skis for Snow

Latest in Kitchens in 1939

Latest in Kitchens in 1939

Remember Belt Driven Dental Drills?

Remember Belt Driven Dental Drills?

Wartime Humor

Wartime Humor

1939 Word Processor

1939 Word Processor

What Handheld Digital Calculators Replaced

What Handheld Digital Calculators Replaced

Captain Marvel As a Ski Jumper

Captain Marvel As a Ski Jumper

The display then transitioned to the Time Tunnel where you walk through a series of seven rooms, each representing a successive year of that time. Ephemera, including covers of Life Magazine and artifacts from each year, were on display. Major events were highlighted and there were tables listing average annual income along with the prices of household items in each room. Perhaps most striking were the changes in the roles of women as they filled the voids left by men gone to war and the increased need for labor to support the war effort.

Finally, you entered the Military Gallery which emphasized mobile weapons like tanks, amphibious vehicles, half track vehicles and even a plane. Of interest is that all of the vehicles work and are actually operated on a regular basis. Bill even noticed some small sticks and bits of grass that were stuck in one of the tank’s treads that were overlooked when it went back on display.

Wright Museum's Military Gallery

Wright Museum’s Military Gallery

M7 Snow Tractor

M7 Snow Tractor

Sherman Tank Was Main Tank Used in WWII

Sherman Tank Was Main Tank Used in WWII

Only a Few Pershing Tanks Made to Europe

Only a Few Pershing Tanks Made to Europe

Jeep Namesake

Jeep Namesake

This Is a Halftrack

This Is a Halftrack

And for Our Harley Riding Friends

And for Our Harley Riding Friends

After our return ride we drove back to the camper to read, write and prepare dinner. Amy and Lindsay joined us for an enjoyable “chat” session.

Dinner was a stir fry of sweet Italian chicken sausage, red bell pepper, broccoli and onion.

Aug 26, 2024 – Wolfeboro, NH

Weather was nice but had a couple of brief showers.  Today was, first, about skiing. The area has both alpine and Nordic skiing opportunities and we wanted to see, first hand, what they were about. Closest to us was Wolfeboro’s Abenaki Ski Area. It’s a very modest slope with a rope tow instead of a chair lift. Besides the wide main slope there are two side trails. Of greater interest to us was their 20 kilometers of cross country trails. They are part of the trail systems described to us by the owner of the Nordic Skier Sports store whom we spoke to a few days ago. We considered walking some of the trails until the rain began.

Nordic Center at Abenaki Ski Area

Nordic Center at Abenaki Ski Area

Rope Tows Aren't Seen Much Anymore

Rope Tows Aren’t Seen Much Anymore

A big surprise to us was the Pop Whalen Ice & Arts Center standing in front of the ski area. Inside we found a beautiful, new ice hockey rink. Speaking to a couple of the staff members, we found that the ice is open for public skating for a couple of hours every day during the winter season.

Ice Rink at Pop Whalen Center

Ice Rink at Pop Whalen Center

Front of Pop Whalen Center

Front of Pop Whalen Center

The larger alpine ski area is Gunstock Mountain Resort. With 49 Alpine trails, 27 km of Nordic trails, tubing, snow tubing, terrain parks and lighted night skiing, it has a lot to offer. Of course, it is promoted as a year round resort with a campground, zip lines, a mountain coaster and other warm weather activities.

Gunstock Mountain Resort Has Nearly 50 Trails

Gunstock Mountain Resort Has Nearly 50 Trails

Above one of the campground areas we noticed a large, old, wooden ski jump structure. Named the Torger Tokle Memorial Ski Jump, its namesake Norwegian emigree set a hill record jump of 251 feet in 1941, unbroken for 35 years. Altogether during his six-year jumping career he won 42 of 48 tournaments and set 23 other hill records. From a distance the jump appears to be in sad condition, so it’s likely no other hill records will be set there.

Torger Tokle Memorial Ski Jump Nearly Lost in Trees

Torger Tokle Memorial Ski Jump Nearly Lost in Trees

We’d stopped in Laconia earlier during this visit to the area but decided to return. Hector’s Fine Food & Spirits seemed a likely spot for a light lunch and it was. Then we unloaded our bikes and set off to ride a portion of the combined Winnisquam and WOW rail trails along the shores of Opechee Bay, Paugus Bay and Bartlett Beach. There were a few more hills than we’d bargained for but we made it and it was a nice ride. Dark clouds were beginning to gather, again, to our north so we headed back around the lake to the camper. We ducked under our awning just as the skies dumped on us. Whew!

After showers and a dinner of BLTs, we joined Amy and Lindsay in their home for wide ranging conversation. Nice evening; great hosts.