Mystery Hill–America’s Stonehenge?

by Sean McLachlan on

In the quiet woods of New Hampshire, there lies a mystery. Strange monuments of stone are interspersed among the trees. Some look like squat houses, others like enclosures of some kind, and there’s a large, flat stone with a channel cut around it that looks perfect for some bloody ritual.

This is America’s Stonehenge, also known as Mystery Hill, and it’s been attracting the curious for generations. The owners claim it could be 4,000 years old, built by a lost Native American tribe or some unknown civilization. Others think that druids or Irish monks sailed across the sea and built this as a ceremonial center. Researchers claim to have found that some of the standing stones have astronomical alignments and would have helped the ancient builders schedule their harvest and plowing as well as religious rituals.

It’s not all ancient mysteries either. The site has 105 acres of woodlands open to snowshoeing in winter, and there’s an alpaca farm where you can pet the friendly creatures or even take one home if you’re willing to plunk down a few grand.

But is this really “America’s Stonehenge”? Professional archaeologists tend to dismiss the claims on several grounds–no ancient European artifacts have been found at the site, the structures aren’t all that similar to ones found in Europe, and in fact look more like Colonial period storage buildings. The “sacrificial altar”, according to one archaeologist, looks like a Colonial apple press. There’s also the problem that the man who bought the site in the 1930s allegedly moved around many of the stones to make it look more impressive.

But that doesn’t stop a devoted subculture of enthusiasts who believe this was one of the major religious centers of an advanced civilization whose remains can be found all over new England and beyond. Championed by the popular writer Barry Fell in his book America B.C. and a host of other authors, these folks are conducting research into America’s past that tells a widely different story than those of professional archaeologists. Their theories range from lost civilizations, visits by European civilizations before the Vikings, to stranger ideas involving Atlantis and aliens.

As a former archaeologist, I have to say I lean strongly toward the “reworked Colonial era farm” theory. Yet America’s Stonehenge is a strangely evocative place, and one cannot help feel an eerie tingle when wandering amidst the silent stones. There’s something about them that creates an air of mystery that is hard to dismiss.

And everyone loves a good mystery.

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The newest hidden cost in travel: taxes

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Cities and states are pumping up their coffers at the expense of visitors. Unemployment has led to a fall in income taxes, and with consumer spending off, sales taxes aren’t bring in what they did in the past. So, municipalities have had to look elsewhere.

And, travel is a great place to start!

How can a city or state raise money without incurring the wrath of its own voters? You guessed it – travel taxes. Hotels and rental cars are favorites, because the likelihood of nailing a resident with the tax is low. While you’d think that these additional fees would keep tourists away, it’s not likely. There are probably a handful of tax activists out there who’d rather dump tea in a harbor, but it’s unlikely to be the minority.

Last year, hotel room taxes brought in $14 billion, but the take is expected to fall this year, even with the higher rates proposed. After all, hotel occupancy rates are at their lowest levels since 1956 – a sluggish 55.5 percent – according to PKF Hospitality Research.

Who’s getting in on the action?

Hawaii: the hotel room tax hit 8.25 percent on July 1, 2009 (up from 7.25 percent) and will go up to 9.25% a year from now.

Nevada: Las Vegas is pushing the hotel room tax from 9 percent to an insanely high 12 percent! Why isn’t Reno‘s room tax being pushed to 12 percent? It can’t … because it already is 12 percent.

New Hampshire: the “Live Free or Die” state bumped its hotel room and restaurant tax to 9 percent (from 8 percent) and has stretched it to include recreational vehicles at campgrounds.

Massachusetts: look for the ol’ “Taxachusets” jokes to come back with a 50 percent increase in the hotel tax (from 4 percent to 6 percent) and an increase in the restaurant tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent. Cities can add another 0.75 percent to the latter if they like.

New York City: as if the March 1, 2009 hotel tax increase to 14.25 percent wasn’t enough, the city will hit internet reservations for a bit more tax revenue.

Get out to New England this summer

by Tom Johansmeyer on

We all know that airlines and hotels are cutting prices like crazy, but the continued recession can still leave some deals unreachable. If you live anywhere from Boston to Washington, a weekend away won’t require a trip to an airport, restoring some value to the low rates that hotels and local attractions are charging.

Need some ideas? New England Inns & Resorts suggests the following:

Story Land Water Park: North Conway, NH is home to this destination. Spend two nights in a comfy hotel room, pickup breakfast and a ticket per person to Kahuna Laguna (indoor water park) and Story Land Amusement Park – from June 11 to October 11, 2009. The package ranges from $634 to $714.

Hit It Out of the Park Camp and Vacation: At the Lighthouse Inn in West Dennis, MA, you can pick up five nights, five breakfasts, three dinners and daily baseball camp. Two adults and two kids will cost a tad over $2,900, which isn’t bad for a week in West Dennis at this time of year (June 22 to August 3).

Family Fun Package: For just over $1,000, you can nab three nights in a Classic Lodge Room at the Mountain Top Inn & Resort in Chittenden, VT. You’ll also get a hefty breakfast every day, a day of kids camp for each kid you bring, massages for the adults and a pontoon boat ride. But, you need to head up there between the beginning of June and the end of August.

Chattanooga, Portsmouth among top art destinations in the U.S.

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Who thought that Tennessee and New Hampshire would be some of the top towns in the country for art lovers. AmericanStyle magazine just issued the results of its twelfth annual arts destinations poll. Some spots are predictable. Others, like Chattanooga, will just blow your mind.

This is the first year Chattanooga made the list, shooting all the way up to second in the mid-sized city category. If you’ve been there, some of the surprise wears off. I hit Chattanooga back in 1999, and it was turning into a pretty cool small city. The past decade, obviously, has treated the city well. More shocking is the top mid-sized city: Buffalo, NY.

At the top of the small city list, Santa Fe is an utterly predictable #1 – like New York in the big city category. Portsmouth, NH, toward the bottom of the small city list, is a sentimental favorite. I had my first real job in Portsmouth and drank away many a Friday and Saturday (and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday) night on its sidewalks.

See the full lists after the jump.Big Cities (population of 500,000 or more)

  1. New York, NY
  2. Chicago, IL
  3. Washington, DC
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Albuquerque, NM
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Seattle, WA
  8. Atlanta, GA
  9. Philadelphia, PA
  10. Los Angeles, CA
  11. Portland, OR
  12. Baltimore, MD
  13. Denver, CO
  14. Phoenix, AZ
  15. Austin, TX
  16. Charlotte, NC
  17. Columbus, OH
  18. Nashville, TN
  19. San Diego, CA
  20. Tucson, AZ
  21. San Antonio, TX
  22. Las Vegas, NV
  23. Milwaukee, WI
  24. Dallas, TX
  25. Houston, TX

Mid-Sized Cities (population of 100,000 to 499,000)

  1. Buffalo, NY
  2. Chattanooga, TN
  3. Pittsburgh, PA
  4. Scottsdale, AZ
  5. New Orleans, LA
  6. Charleston, SC
  7. Savannah, GA
  8. Cleveland, OH
  9. Ann Arbor, MI
  10. Minneapolis, MN
  11. Alexandria, VA
  12. Miami, FL
  13. Tacoma, WA
  14. St. Louis, MO
  15. Athens, GA
  16. Kansas City, MO
  17. Colorado Springs, MO
  18. Providence, RI
  19. Salt Lake City, UT
  20. Honolulu, HI
  21. Rochester, NY
  22. St. Petersburg, FL
  23. Cincinnati, OH
  24. Raleigh, NC
  25. Tampa, FL

Small Cities (population of below 100,000)

  1. Santa Fe, NM
  2. Asheville, NC
  3. Sedona, AZ
  4. Taos, NM
  5. Saugatuck, MI
  6. Key West, FL
  7. Berkeley Springs, WV
  8. Boulder, CO
  9. Carmel, CA
  10. Corning, NY
  11. Sarasota, FL
  12. Beaufort, SC
  13. Chapel Hill, NC
  14. Burlington, VT
  15. Annapolis, MD
  16. Aspen, CO
  17. Laguna Beach, CA
  18. Northampton, MA
  19. Eureka Springs, AR
  20. Brattleboro, VT
  21. New Hope, PA
  22. Naples, FL
  23. Cumberland, MD
  24. Berea, KY
  25. Portsmouth, NH

Maple syrup festivals: Hit one now through May

by Jamie Rhein on

Depending upon where you live, when the temperatures are just right, it’s maple syrup time. In Ohio, maple syrup events are scattered across the state from the beginning of March until May. In Canada and elsewhere, there are maple events a plenty. Each offers something different, although syrup and syrup making is the main highlight. I’ve been to four of them. Each time I go to one of these festivals, thoughts of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House in the Big Woods come to mind.

The last festival I went to was last Saturday when we headed to Malabar Farms, former home of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and environmentalist Louis Bromfield. There we found a draft horse drawn wagon ride up a maple tree-lined-road to the sugar shack and a taste of the good stuff. On the way up the dirt road to Pugh Cabin, the site of the festival, we passed by metal bucket after metal bucket hung from the trees collecting sap–a sign of the season.

The farm, now a state park, is an easy drive about halfway between Cleveland and Cincinnati. This particular festival ties in the history of maple syrup making from Native Americans to modern day. While inside the sugar shack syrup is made with a more modern approach, nearby, set back in the woods along a trail, the sap is cooked down in a hollowed out log by hot rocks continually transferred from a fire to the sap like the Native Americans first cooked it. Down the trail from that station, there’s the pioneer version of maple syrup making using huge cast iron kettles hung over the flames. Wooden signs affixed to trees tell about the history of syrup and provide various facts.

This festival includes a tractor ride to where the draft horses head up the road. For anyone who wants to take maple products home, there’s a shop near the sugar shack, and also in the visitor’s center where other Malabar Farm products are sold and the hop on the tractor location..

We made a feast of the day by eating lunch at the Malabar Farm Restaurant that features food made from the farm’s produce and meats whenever possible. In an ode to maple syrup, I ate the maple syrup crème brûlée for dessert and enjoyed the crunch of the hardened syrup that formed a crust over the creaminess.

Although, most of the maple sap gathering process is explained through signage at Malabar Farms, at Slate Run MetroPark and Slate Run farm near Canal Winchester, Ohio, about thirty minutes from Columbus, park employees dressed in period garb take visitors on a walk through the sugar bush tour to see how a tree is actually tapped.

After the sugar bush, the next stop is Slate Run Farm, a living history working farm set in the 1880s where during maple syrup season, sap is cooked over a fire the way Ohio settlers did it. Inside the kitchen, women dressed in period attire lead visitors–mostly children, through a baking experience where they can taste maple products and be part of making food themselves.

In the southern part of Ohio at Hueston Woods, another Ohio State Park, the Maple Syrup Festival is also happening this weekend. This is a lovely area for hiking as well.

In the northern part of Ohio, Geauga County is one place that goes all out for maple syrup season. In Burton, there’s the pancake breakfast each Saturday in March. The finale is the Maple Festival April 30–May 3. Starting this weekend, there’s the March Maple Madness Driving Tour in Northeast Ohio, a self-driving venture that swings by twenty maple syrup producers in seven counties.

Along with Malabar Farms, there are other Ohio Department of Natural Resources maple festival events.

Here are 10 other maple syrup festivals and maple syrup production sites in other parts of the U.S. and Canada.