VOLUME 37, NUMBER 7 JULY 19, 2012 FREE THE WEEKLY NEWS & LIFESTYLE JOURNAL OF MT. WASHINGTON VALLEY Now offering guided photo tours Biking Kayaking Hiking Outfitters Shop Glen View Café The Healing On the Garden Links Rt. 16, Pinkham Notch www.greatglentrails.com The Ear welcomes Kathy Lambert July Champs! PAGE 30 www.mtwashingtonautoroad.com to our family of writers. PAGE 14 (603) 466-2333 A SALMON PRESS PUBLICATION • (603) 447-6336 • PUBLISHED IN CONWAY, NH Summer Family Outing By Darron Laughland By Darron Laughland Kids love to feed the residents of the Polar Caves Animal Park and Duck Pond. The Lemon Squeeze is the grand finale, tightening down to only fourteen inches. Polar Caves a Subterranean Adventure for the Family By Darron Laughland The trails are marked with nat- The walkways make their way As the last of the most recent ural history, human history, and partway up the cliff to a great glaciers receded fifty thousand geological items of interest. view of the Baker River Valley, years ago, after ice sheets many Throughout the park, signage framed by rolling hills and the hundreds of feet thick had identifies plant species such as Sandwich Range to the scoured the northeast, masses of ferns, trees, and even the lichens Southeast. boulders and talus piles lay at that cover the rocks. The walkways and ladders the base of some cliffs. These Humans have been using the were fine for the boys to negoti- piles of huge boulders were caves for a long time. Artifacts ate and they were able to move stacked on top of each other, from native people, early through the caves safely. A few with smaller boulders and pul- European settlers, and evidence sections required some spotting, verized bedrock mixed between. of use by slaves escaping to the for example at the bottom of a Mass wasting and the freeze north using the Underground ten-foot metal ladder and mov- thaw action of water contributed Railroad have been found in the ing down steeper steps. chunks of rock as slabs peeled labyrinth of boulders. Several of Constant reminders to move off in erosion processes. Caves the named caves accessed during slow, watch their footing, and be formed in the spaces left the tour have signs describing aware of the rocks overhead between them, as soil, vegeta- items found in them, like arrow- surely helped keep them safe, tion, and erosion filled in much heads and a stone axe head in but the fact that kids are smaller, of the surface. Some of these the Indian Council Chamber. shorter and much more rubbery holes and passages are deep Other caves include one than adults, enables them to By Darron Laughland enough that residual snow pack allegedly used by rumrunners move through the different The boys head out to the caves on the boardwalk that winds through the and ice from previous winters during prohibition and before challenges with great agility and talus piles. can be found, well into summer. that by slaves enroute to without incident. Polar Caves Park in Rumney is Canada. The Lemon Squeeze is the after a few minutes, we contin- notable characteristic of the built around an area of these The cave tour is self-guided tightest passage in the cave sys- ued back out to the duck pond park is their restrooms. Rather caves, and is a great destination and there is a boardwalk con- tem, and requires a little spot- and animal park. than having men and women for families, especially those necting all of the caves, includ- ting for younger children as they The entire visit lasted about bathrooms, they have several with energetic kids who like to ing a bypass route connecting move up into it, but both boys, two and a half hours, and we unisex restrooms with single toi- explore and climb around the boardwalk around the caves as well as the group ahead of us chose not to visit the maple-sug- lets. Many have changing sta- things. for those who choose to avoid with several kids under ten, all aring house, or walk the full tions and a counter. Anyone vis- The park dates back to the the tighter spaces. The well- did really well. It is a good chal- length of the nature trails. We iting with multiple kids or early 1900’s when some local developed path surfaces inside lenge for adults, and hints to spent a little time in the gift shop infants will appreciate this con- residents “discovered” the the caves are a combination of what “real” cavers experience and briefly checked out the figuration. dozens of caves and connecting natural and laid stone, wood exploring tight subterranean Klondike mines, where a bag of passages in the talus heaps. The steps and walkways, metal stairs, spaces. soil mixed with fossils or gems For information on Polar park opened in 1922 and has and wooden railings. Fencing After exiting the caves, we can be purchased then sifted Caves Park, go to www.polar- since developed into a tourist and placed stones provide a played in the Rock Garden. using a mine sluice and water. caves.com or call 603-536-1888. attraction that includes much degree of safety, especially for This is a set of boardwalks that Polar Caves was quite an Polar Caves is located in more than just the caves. Deer, children, and it would take con- zig-zags through a boulder field adventure for the boys and their Rumney, on route 25 off exit 26 colorful pheasants, and a pond scious effort and a headlamp to downhill of the caves, with signs beaming faces and excited sto- on I-93. with several different duck get off the trail. Moving explaining geological processes ries about climbing through the species fill the front of the park, through the caves does require and naming different plant caves, feeding the deer, and their Darron Laughland enjoys writ- and a large network of trails great care and purposeful walk- species. The boys were chal- conquest of the Lemon ing about whitewater and other meanders through a beautiful ing and climbing though, to lenged to find the way out of the Squeeze, indicated that the trip paddlesports, and family outdoor stand of cathedral white pines. avoid a slip or a head bump. maze, which they enjoyed, and was a successful mission. One adventures. On the Cover Inside Index Money Matters News ......................................................3, 16 Face Painter By Myles J Crowe, CPA, CFP®, Page 9 Critter Corner .............................................5 Business........................................................8 Ann-Marie Beecher, of North Conway, NH, a profes- Out N About Money Matters ............................................9 sional face painter, made her skills available to visitors Photos By Dennis Coughlin, who do you Freedom Column ......................................10 attending The Annual Gigantic Book and Art Sale, at know? Page 20 the North Conway Public Library, on July 14th, 2012 Thoughts while Weeding..........................11 Nooks and Crannies On the Rockpile ........................................12 Photo by Dennis Coughlins The three “S”s of Mount Stanton. Page 31 Valley Education........................................17 Page 2 | The Mountain Ear | Thursday, July 19, 2012 News Boaters And Anglers: Help Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! As you’re out enjoying ponds, choking waterways the plant, just 2-3 inches in One particular invader, rollers where the boat is seat- recreation on and near New with explosive growth. Once length, is enough to cause a Didymo, more commonly ed on the trailer. Hampshire’s beautiful waters established in a waterbody, new infestation, so good old- known as "rock snot" has now this summer, do your part to aquatic nuisance species are fashioned visual inspection is been found in the Connecticut * WASH AND DRY all keep "aquatic hitchhikers" like nearly impossible to eradicate. an important precaution for and Mohawk rivers in prime equipment before reuse. Hose variable milfoil from spread- New Hampshire, with the boaters and anglers," says trout fishing areas. It is critical off the boat, diving gear or ing to and threatening the addition of two recent infested Scott Decker, Fisheries for anglers and paddlers to be trailer. quality of our lakes, rivers and areas, now has a total of 78 Program Supervisor at Fish aware that Didymo is on the ponds. The N.H. Fish and infested waterbodies. In most and Game. move and is easily spread by * DRAIN AND FLUSH Game Department and the of these, variable milfoil is the Some 500 "Lake Host" vol- even just one microscopic cell the engine cooling system and N.H. Department of primary invasive plant; in oth- unteers are stationed at 92 of the alga breaking off and live wells of your boat, your Environmental Services ers, invasive plants like fan- boat launches across New drifting downstream in infest- bait buckets and the buoyancy (DES) urge you to check your wort, Eurasian water milfoil, Hampshire lakes to provide a ed reaches. It is also very easi- control device from diving equipment for milfoil and water chestnut and Didymo courtesy inspection and edu- ly spread by waders, fishing equipment that's been in con- other nuisance species before (also known as rock snot, an cate boaters on how to prevent gear and other gear that tact with an infested water- you launch. Aquatic nuisance invasive algae) are becoming the spread of exotic species. touches the bottoms of body (to protect against the species can easily be trans- established, according to Amy "There are not enough Lake streams in infested areas, so it spread of zebra mussels). ported on boats, motors, trail- Smagula, DES’s Exotic Host volunteers to cover all is essential to check and clean ers, fishing equipment, bait Species Program Coordinator, our lakes and rivers, so we rely your fishing gear to prevent For a list of exotic aquatic buckets, diving gear and other who tracks the spread of exot- on boaters and anglers to be the spread of Didymo and plants that are prohibited recreational equipment.