Today has several “two” occurrences. Two states, hikes, waterfalls, Woodstocks, covered bridges. I’ll get to those but the BIG thing today: Papa and I completed our decades-long goal of traveling through all lower 48 via car! New Hampshire and Vermont were our final two. What a way to wrap things up!
All day we drove on two-lane, curvy, tree-lined state and county roads through the hills of New Hampshire and Vermont. We didn’t see peak foliage but it was vivid enough that I had shivers at one point. So beautiful here. We didn’t pass through cities with malls, only villages with small local bakeries, restaurants, churches with tall steeples, and gift shops.
We started the day with a hike at Diana’s Baths in North Conway, New Hampshire. Absolutely the most beautiful easy hike with the reward of waterfalls at the end. I think I gave Papa a scare as I climbed the large rocks to get close to the water. No, I didn’t dip my toes in, but sitting there listening to the soothing water was wonderful.
I said there were two of things. The second waterfall was at Quechee Gorge Bridge in Quechee, Vermont. Well we saw the stream at the bottom of the gorge and the bridge (top center left pic) but not the waterfall. It was a more challenging hike than Diana’s Baths and the trail was blocked under the bridge due to ongoing renovations. Still a very pretty hike.
There were two covered bridges and, yes, we drove through both. The top one is the Packard Hill Covered Bridge in Lebanon, New Hampshire. There is even a walking path on the bridge, which I used to view the water below. The second bridge, Arlington Covered Bridge in Arlington, Vermont was so pretty. It was located near a country church with a picnic area. There were fly-fishers in the River. So pretty!
There were two Woodstocks. North Woodstock, New Hampshire, where we did a little souvenir shopping but not much was open. Woodstock, Vermont was very busy with traffic being directed to control the crowds. It slowed us down a bit but not too bad. I’m glad we are through just before the peak crowds descend in the upcoming weeks.
Just outside Woodstock, we stopped at an organic maple farm. We had to go through another covered bridge and drive a mile on a narrow dirt road to find the farm. It was so country, pure. We sampled different syrups and, of course, purchased some. The barn, the leaves, it was an idyllic setting and fun adventure.
There is something soothing about the sound of water. Waves. Waterfalls. Streams. I love them. Here is a quick 1-minute clip of three water spots today.
No comments:
Post a Comment