Maple Ridge Road In Brasher, New York - Part 3

Maple Ridge Road took me alongside the St. Regis River (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously):

This old barn sat back in the trees as if it hadn't been used in many years:

The St. Regis River ran beside the road for a long way, making it very scenic:

And yet there were still farms, barns and silos along the way:

Non-farmers had been building homes in this scenic, rural environment because they loved country life. Who wouldn't want to live here?:

This old cemetery suggested the settlement here was once called Carville:

A hip roofed home, set back in the pines:

A neat and tidy farm, with its buildings lined up in a row:

I came to the end of Maple Ridge Road and toward the hamlet of Helena, NY. This large dairy operation drew my attention, though, so I kept snapping photos:

Forage wagons and barns. This was a large, busy farm:

Old and new barns with silos and grain bins. The white plastic off to the right appeared to be bagged silage, a modern version of the bunker silo:

I arrived in the Hamlet of Helena and stopped at this old church, which a sign said was now the museum for the town of Brasher. I hope to find out more and possibly visit it:

Helena, New York - Part 2

I was taking a driving photo tour of the tiny settlement of Helena. There appeared to be only two businesses in town. One of them was the Helena General Store:

The other business was Bobby I's, which apparently was a bar and grill. Notice the snowmobiles parked in front of it. There were snowmobiles all over town, and apparently these guys got thirsty:

Bobby I's sat at the intersection of the county road and the bridge across the river:

This handsome home was close to the road:


And this home looked as if it had once been a general store:

It was a cold day, and icicles were hanging from the roof of many homes:

But it was time for me to head home, so I began to leave Helena, passing this elaborate Victorian on my way:

The last place I photographed was the "Helena View Stables:"

This was the farm house for the stables. I'd guess this was a former dairy farm, now converted for horses. But my driving tour of Helena was over. I put my camera away and headed for home:

Helena, New York - Part 1

I'd just watched the Tri-Town Winter Carnival parade and snowmobile races (previous posts) and, since I was in town already, decided to take a driving photo tour of the tiny village of Helena:

Helena is located at the confluence of the St. Regis and Deer Rivers. Most the houses look old and were built very close to the road:

This was house was especially close to the road and I wondered if the snow plows found it difficult there - especially this winter:

I thought this home was particularly interesting, with its gazebo and ship play-station. But I discovered, when I got home and took a closer look at the photo, that this was the Brasher Town Hall. Helena is located in the town of Brasher:

This home was built next to an old, double span bridge which was closed to traffic:

A nice front porch for summertime lemonade:

This was the historic bridge, now closed and replaced with a newer, safer bridge:

This false front building looked historic and reminded me of buildings from western towns:

And this wrap-around porch had a scenic view over the river. But there was yet more to see in Helena, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Tri-Town Winter Carnival Snowmobile Races

I'd read that the snowmobile races were to be held at the "Helena Racetrack" but Google had never heard of any such place. So I asked at the Brasher Falls general store and they had no idea where it might be either. They suggested I just drive to the tiny village of Helena and look around. It was a 10 minute drive, all within the town of Brasher. Indeed, I did notice this small sign stuck into the snow bank. I turned onto a plowed farm field, paid two dollars and parked my car:

The big attraction, and very close to where I parked my car, was the food stand. They were doing a good business selling hamburgers and hot dogs:

A man out behind the food stand was doing the grilling. The flat field out behind him was, apparently, the snowmobile race track:

Nearby, some men were cutting and splitting wood. I especially liked the hat with the Viking style horns:

There was no racing going on, but there were lots of snowmobiles parked singly or in groups, with men nearby, chatting:

Occasional riders roared by on their snowmobiles:

But the big action, I could tell, was down below - on the race track. It was a difficult walk to get down there, through deep snow. Apparently I could have driven, but I didn't know that at the time - and neither did a lot of other folks I met floundering in the snow. When I got to the plowed surface, I found this check station with a giant "1," indicating, I supposed, that it was to be the starting place for the races:

There were somewhere between 50 and 100 snowmobiles in various loud colors, shapes and sizes and I was amazed at how many people owned snowmobiles in the area. But then again, we sure do get lots of snow. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised:

I walked around, checking out the snowmobiles and making occasional smalltalk:

The deep snow on the field had been plowed, though what was beneath it was a hard surface of ice on which I had to tread carefully to avoid falling:

It was colder than I'd realized, so although I hadn't seen any actual races, I decided it was time for me to begin the long, snowy trek back to my car:

Despite the lack of any actual races, I found this a friendly and interesting event. My neighbors, I learned later, had also attended, similarly finding no real races and eventually giving up. But it was time for me to drive home and get warm. But first, since I was already there, I decided to take a photo tour of the village of Helena, which I'll post tomorrow:

The Tiny Town Of Helena, New York

I was returning to the farm after a driving tour of Massena, New York and the St. Lawrence Seaway. I was tired, hungry and missing my dogs, so had determined to get there straightaway. But as I drove back through Massena, I changed my mind and decided to stop at the Animal Shelter for a visit. I found them not yet open, but since I was already on a small country county road, I figured I'd continue on to the village of Helena, New York and then follow the St. Regis River south to my place. The scenery was rural and I thought to myself that there was some serious, large scale farming going on in those parts:

There was a bridge out of service and I at first thought I would not be able to get into Helena from the north. But I found another bridge and entered town:

I passed large old country homes and couldn't help wonder where people who live here earn their living. Massena, I guessed:

I was thirsty and stopped at Helena's general store. Besides, I knew it would be a great place to pick up the local flavor. It was surprisingly busy and a very friendly place:

Most of the houses were old and it was easy to imagine a bustling settlement there some decades earlier:

So, as long as I was in Helena, I turned the occasion into a driving tour and continued snapping pictures:

Many of the houses sat right on the banks of the St. Regis River (which you can see just behind this house):

And an old bridge, no longer in service, spanned the river near this house:

Of course I drove over to take a look:

A friendly little home right next to the road. Have you noticed that all the houses sat right next to the road? That was the smart place to build in snow country before modern snow plows and snow blowers. And it's still convenient as long as one is on a low traffic road:

Apparently Helena has its own bar and restaurant, and it sits right at the intersection of county roads and the bridge over the St. Regis River. I wish now that I'd stopped in:

I snapped one final photo as I left town. I'd somehow managed to take the wrong county road and had to figure out how to get home. It wasn't difficult, but it also wasn't the scenic route I'd planned on: