Fall Colors 4^th Report

On Monday, our pace of activities seemed to slow down a little.  We drove to Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire and went on a 75-minute boat ride.   The ship is the M/S Mount Washington is a large ship 230 feet long with a capacity of 1100 passengers.  We experienced a deliberate ride.  The lake has 240 habitable islands and was by glaciers.  The lake is 283 miles around its perimeter and is NH largest lake.  We saw residences on the shore and it appeared to be fully housed around its entire perimeter that we could see.  We disembarked at Wolfeboro.  We then took a slow ride in the bus back to our hotel visiting a number of locations on a river to admire the terrific fall leaf.  Our hotel for two nights is the Mountain Club on Loon, Lincoln, NH.  

Our guide for the trip is Roy who at age 73 is a veteran tour guide and has a pleasant sense of humor for us older people.  Our group has representatives from many states and countries outside of the U.S.A. (England, Australia).  

Tuesday, October 1, 2019, we started our day by busing to Fadden’s Sugar House for a presentation on the processing of Maple Syrup.  It was extremely detailed and very informative.  A maple tree must be 50-60 years old before the maple sap can be harvested.  That is when there is sufficient sap available to harvest.  Our instructor is the owner of a 10,000 maple tree farm, which is on 125 acres of land. To conduct the harvest requires 5 employees, 25 miles of tubing.  The instructor used a real maple tree to demonstrate the techniques involved.  The roots for the trees are on the surface of the ground and run 5 feet past the longest branch.  To generate one gallon of maple syrup, it requires 35 gallons of sap.  We saw the processing equipment.  The whole process was fascinating and there was a store run by the family where many items related to maple syrup and general merchandise could be purchased.  Wild turkeys have started to invade the maple tree forest and they have introduced ticks in the area. These ticks affect the moose, which are known to rub up against the trees and disrupt the tubing.  Also, recently an Asian longhaired beetle has affected the safety of the trees, which were introduced by pallets of items shipped into the area.  I took many pictures of the maple syrup process area.  

We then loaded the bus and went to Concord New Hampshire to visit their state house.  I was impressed with their statue of Daniel Webster who was the U.S.A. Secretary of State for three U.S. Presidents and also was state Senator.  I have read many history books where he was an outstanding debater and ran against Lincoln for President.  Linda and I ate lunch in the State building cafeteria and wondered its hallways.  

That evening we were treated to a special dinner where were given a lecture of the family history of the family owners.  

Please go to binghamevent.blogspot.com to see the pictures.