Monthly Archives: July 2020

The Dingleton Hill Bridge – Cornish, NH

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The Dingleton Hill Bridge is another James Tasker bridge and is located a mile or so from the last bridge I visited. He did not constuct this over the river but rather built it in a local school yard and then it was moced here. Which I think is just amazing given that it was built in 1882 and this likely involved some strong oxen.

The state numbers each covered brige and posts one of these signs nearby or on the bridge.

This bridge and the Blasksmith Shop Bridge were both restored in 1983. When it reopened Tasker’s great-grandnephew came up from Connecticut to attend the opening. The cost to restore both was $30,000 and paid for by a mix of federal, local, and private funds. 

Jungle Truck

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Last weekend as I drove the backroads between covered bridges, I had amazing luck as a photographer. Several times, I turned onto a side street or into a parking lot to reprogram my GPS or to check out something that caught my eye. Each time, I found something photoworthy. This old logging truck overgrown with brush was no exception.

It’s been here a long time. When I enlarged the image, I could see the license plate expired in 1995.

What were you doing in 1995? I was in my first job after graduate school. My wife and I were together but not yet married. That year we went to Montreal on vacation.

Blacksmith Shop Bridge – Cornish, NH

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You can barely see this bridge through the trees. It’s not quite visible from the road.

The Blacksmith Shop Bridge is closed to vehicular traffic and practically in the woods, but it’s one of my favorites. Many people liked the bridge with the picnic table that I showed on Sunday, but the secluded nature and rustic charm of this bridge make it my pick for a picnic. Just bring a blanket, your lunch, and perhaps a bottle of wine.

Cornish, NH is home to four covered bridges. All four were built by one person, James Tasker, and one is the longest bridge in the United States.

The sign is a little vintage but reads “Pass at your own risk”.

It was built in 1881 by James Tasker at a cost of $873.  Tasker was a prolific bridge builder and is known to have built at least eleven bridges in this area.

It was given the name because it was located close to a local blacksmith shop. Interestingly the bridge was only used by one family. 

The Mill Brook passes beneath the bridge.

What’s in Bloom – July 28, 2020

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We still have lots of colorful lilies as well as zinnias and a few others. I’m sorry there are no vegetable garden photos this week. We’ve been eating green beans and blueberries from our garden. My wife things we may get our first tomatoes this week also. Enjoy the flowers.

And for those who stayed to the last picte, you get to see a bit of fun in our gardens.

Road Trippin to Cornish, NH

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Town centers in New Hampshire often have white, wooden buildings. In Washington, NH, they are all arranged ratehr artfully in close proximity.

These are images that I made on the way to Cornish, NH and home again. One is from Vermont from a brief stop I made there. There was nice light for color images that day.

This gazebo is also in Washington, NH and still has its Independence Day decorations.
This rather large trebuchet is in Greenfield, NH. We’ve seen it in operation. It is pretty amazing.
This and the next limage are from a lumber mill in Greenfield, NH. These logs will become lumber.
These logs were stripped of their bark and are ready to enter the sawmill when operations begin Monday morning.
This old barn is in Windsor, VT and is huge. It continued and wrapped around me.
I took this somewhere along the way. I seem to be collecting images of ways that people display their flag.

The Cilleyville Covered Bridge – Andover, NH

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What a spot for a picnic. Obviously, this is now a pedestrian only bridge.

The second bridge in Andover known as the Cilleyville Bridge because it is in the Cilleyville section of the town.  It was built in 1887 at a cost of $522.63 and also uses the lattice truss design.

The bridge was built by a local carpenter named Print Atwood. He had two assistants Al Emerson and Charles Wilson.

Local folklore is that during construction, Emerson and Wilson became upset over something and cut some of the timbers short, causing the bridge to tilt.

Modern engineers have suggested, however, that the tilt may be caused by the nature of the lattice truss design.

This style of bridge is also called Town Lattice Truss after the person who patented the design.

The town built a new road over the Blackwater River in 1959 and restricted traffic on the bridge to pedestrians only.

The Path of Life

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These remind me of the head sculptures on Easter Island but are made from charred wood, not stone.

Last weekend while taking pictures of covered bridges, I detoured over (or through) one of the bridges to Windsor, VT, the home of the Path of Life Sculpure Garden.

“Visitors experience the story of the great circle of life while traveling through sculptures of varying sizes and materials. Inspired by a famous garden in Europe, these eighteen works of art symbolize the journey from birth to death and beyond.” Source 

They had a whole band of giant musicians like this drummer but the rest were backlit and not looking especially photogenic.

I would like to have explored more but it was nearing 90 degrees Farenheit and I was in direct sun. I skipped doing the labrynth and a couple of the sculptures.

The brochure has a photo of a group of visitors reclining on these boards.

“The garden is located in a 14-acre of field of trails, wildflowers and open spaces on the banks of the Connecticut River. The path is also home to some of a 5+ mile trail network, groomed in the winter for dogsledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.“

The above images give you some sense of the labrynth. Maybe next time.

The Keniston Bridge – Andover, NH

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Andover, NH is home to two covered bridges.  The first bridge is the Keniston Bridge built over the Blackwater River in 1882 by Albert R. Hamilton at a cost of $745.57. 

The lattice work on the side is not just ornamental but also provides support for the bridge.  A lattice truss structure allows a substantial bridge to be made using planks and lower-skilled labor, rather than heavy timbers and more expensive carpenters.  It’s also easier to handle and move planks rather than timbers.

The covered bridge is next to a railroad bridge.

The town rehabilitated the bridge in 1981.  To do work on the foundation or abutments, the engineers lifted it from its foundation using two cranes and moved it to a temporary site.  The problem was that the site was only a few feet above the water level. The engineers had to work quickly to finish fixing the abutments and return the bridge to its place before heavy rains and rising waters caused the river to rise and damage the bridge. 

Franklin and Tilton Railroad Trestle

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I have a thing for train trestles. It goes back to the movie Stand By Me. If you don’t know, the clip is here.

This is an old trestle and trains no longer cross it. I drove under a modern trestle this weekend. It was all steel and as such more sparse in the supports. I like that this is all made from timbers and the pattern is more intricate.

The Franklin and Tilton Railroad Trestle crosses the Winnepesaukee River in Franklin, NH, and was used by the once-thriving paper mills there. The rail line was decommissioned in 1973.

My Morning Ride

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This summer, I’ve been riding my bike most mornings about 14 hilly miles to the next town over and back. This spot is along the way. I was waiting for the light to be right to make this image. If I’m later, the sun pokes around the trees and ruins the shot. Also, I liked the mist in this.