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Day 9 - Sunday, July 6, 2003 East Kingston, NH to East Kingston, NH 101 miles for the day, 4,268 miles traveled so far. 2:04 in the saddle, 3:15 total time check-out to check-in. Average speed while riding was 48.8 mph. Parks visited this day:
Stamps: Daily Journal: Since Lowell NHP was only about 30 miles away, and it didn't open until 9:00, and I wanted to get going earlier than that the next day, I decided to hit the Massachusetts sites on Sunday. I left around 10:00. Lowell had 10 mill complexes in the mid 1800's, with about 10,000 looms. It was on the Merrimack River, where the Pawtucket falls dropped the river 32 feet over a mile. This ready supply of power made the town a centerpiece of the American Industrial Revolution. By the early 1900's, the old mills closed, facing competion from newer, more modern mills elsewhere in the country. Riding through the town center, I felt a bit of nostalgia. I was born in New Jersey near Newark and lived there until I was 11. Seeing an old eastern city like Lowell always brings back memories of home. The architecture of the west is nothing like a cramped east coast industrial city. I cut across a bunch of small roads and made my way to Concord and the North Bridge, where the fledgling militiamen made their stand and forced the British to withdraw to Boston. I got my stamp for the Minute Man NHP at the North Bridge VC. I took the walk to the bridge. No photos, I didn't take my bag and had no way to carry the camera. I followed the battle route through the park to I-95. The militia had harassed the British all along this road as they made their retreat. I made my way back along I-95, I-93, and I-495, and finally local roads to East Kingston. I did get a chuckle out of a sign in Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border. It was on a small road. It said "Thickly Settled." I guess thickly settled to these people meant 1 driveway every 100 feet. I got back around 1:00. I helped my friend move his mailbox (it is on a granite column and very heavy) back from the road a bit. He is hoping that the snow plow won't hit it this winter. Afterwards, we relaxed in the late afternoon. Map: |
