Where do you go when you need comfort, some cheering up, an escape from reality? I think most of us have a place - somewhere we go when we need to tune out the world, be restored and refreshed, a place where we can forget our cares. Despite all we have to be thankful for, some days the news gets a little depressing, a little overwhelming. Life gets chaotic and even if the chaos includes time spent doing things we enjoy with people we love, sometimes we all just need a little calm, a little respite from the chaos of the world.
We found ourselves in that boat recently - needing a little calm, a little peaceful restoration and took a drive to a place where I always find just that. That place is Grafton Lakes State Park, although it's not the part of the park most of you are probably thinking of. John and I enjoy the quieter part of the park, the part of the park that includes Mill Pond, Second Pond and Long Pond. It is not accessible from the main road into the park. In fact, it's accessed by a later turn off now called Long Pond Road, formerly known as 'the winter entrance'. This entrance requires no admission fee but is used by folks who launch kayaks or picnic or fish from shore. There are also hiking trails throughout this park but I find enough peace and tranquility just riding this long, windy dirt road, a road fairly narrow at times, just barely wide enough for two cars to pass.
On this day, a Sunday afternoon, we saw plenty of kayakers but unless you look hard you probably will think we were the only folks enjoying the view.
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| Mill Pond |
You might think our visits to Grafton Lakes State Park would include some fishing or hiking, but honestly the view is so amazing from the entrance to the end of the driving road and back out again, we are happy to just soak in the scenery from the car. We do get out though to sit at a picnic table or two and shoot some photos.
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| Mill Pond |
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| Mill Pond |
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| Second Pond |
Our favorite time to visit is on calm days which cause the lakes to be smooth as glass, reflecting the beauty in the mirror-like waters.
Nature is at its finest here in the park, both the old and the new vegetation paint a canvas bright with beauty.
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| Long Pond |
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| This was a first for us - some visitors arrived on horseback! |
Down the road Dunham Reservoir, another part of the park, sits well hidden off dirt roads. The first time we found ourselves on its shores was quite by accident. Our GPS actually directed us down a road that delivered us right to this very spot. Although not where we were intending on going, we were happy to find ourselves at this serene spot. These days we make it a point to stop here too!
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| Dunham Reservoir |
As you can imagine, it's pretty difficult to remain stressed or weary about life's circumstances after a visit to this beautiful place. It's impossible not to be reminded that this place and the entire world we live in was created by someone who is bigger than us or our problems. We are reminded that it's important to stop running, stop worrying and take a moment to regain perspective, take a moment to be grateful, grateful that He who created this amazing world we live in has our backs and if He can create a world as beautiful as this, He can certainly hear our prayers. But first we must pause in our chaotic hurried state and take a moment to step away from the chaos. It is only then, only in the quiet that we intentionally create that we can move away from the noise and step into the peace and tranquility. It is then that we can hear the promise and feel the presence of our creator. That place may be different for you. It may not be a calm body of water, or a narrow dirt road, but wherever it is that you find your peace, that is where you should go the next time the world around you, the troubling things on the nightly news, the demands of your job steal your peace.
If you want to see more of Grafton Lakes State Park, you can check out my previous posts using these links:
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