I woke Mollie up at 0900 because she'd asked to could come with me to West Lebanon for some errands. We shopped at several places for supplies and groceries and were going to head home. On the way, though, I pointed out the Powerhouse Mall to Mollie. It usually doesn't have a lot of activity near it but today the parking lot was full (until now, I’d thought it was closed for COVID-19). Mollie suggested that we look inside and I must say "Wow - what a place!" We explored the Eastern Mountain Sports and LL Bean (both were huge) and several other boutique stores. Our favorite place was Lemon Tree Gifts - they were selling hand made pillows with State, City and College themes. We found one for Cape Cod! The place reminded us of Union Station. We both agreed that we should definitely return. As we were leaving, I commented on how the weather so clear and sunny - I asked Mollie if she was open to exploring some trails that appeared to be connected to the Mascoma River Greenway (she said she was). Driving a short distance to the Skatepark, we parked and continued our search for the elusive western terminus of the old WRJ-Boston railroad route. We found what appeared to be the track bed near the Skatepark - a well-worn gravel path paralleled it, so we took a pleasant stroll to the west. The woods trail followed the Mascoma River (some good rapids!) and took us (by foot) back at the Powerhouse Mall. While backtracking to the car, I decided to follow a different route - it was much more reminiscent of a "railroad berm," so I thought it was the Northern Railroad route. However, when we reached the Skatepark again, it became clear that the main railroad track crossed the road and river nearby at a height that was too high to meet the walking trail. Mollie decided that she wasn’t interested in bushwhacking (she got back in the car) but I kept going. After some effort (steep climb up the high embankment), I managed to get up on top of the high berm and found tracks on ties. I quickly figured out that the eastbound track was inactive because the trestle was overgrown with trees. Following the old tracks, I was able to cross the river and retrace my steps to the bridge I’d found a few months ago (when I walked into the woods from the Mascoma River Greenway). For some reason, the rail trail hasn’t been finished - but it appears that it could be someday. Now I’m even more intrigued - I didn’t see any “no trespassing” signs so maybe I can follow the tracks across the Connecticut River (...remembering how we used to do that on the Bass River trestle...) someday. Glad I got a break from work and that I could spend some more time outside with Mollie!
