This is the road you have to drive if you visit the White Mountains.
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The Notch was famous for The Old Man in the Mountain, a natural stone outcropping that resembled a face. Sadly, it crumbled years ago but there’s a museum devoted to it at the Canon Mountain gondola sight where you can grab a glimpse.
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Peak foliage was long past when we drove through and everything looked very grey.
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But it’s still an impressive sight.
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And a huge tourist destination.
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This was the road the day we drove it. Below was the road two weeks before…
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There’s something to be said for traveling off season. No traffic jams for us.
When you’re in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, you drive.
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Here, there and everywhere if you’re with us.
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And though peak foliage had passed, the faded colors still retained a certain beauty.
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Anonymous mountain road?
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Sure, we’ll take it. Up and over…
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Until it narrowed down to the dirt path to nowhere and we had to implement a nail biting 3 point turn. Hey NH… would it kill you to post a dead end sign now and then?
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The Bump Bridge.
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Yes, that’s really it’s name.
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Spanning a small stream it was less impressive than some…
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With a redone roof which killed the historical appeal for me. But we didn’t plan on finding it, so no time was wasted.
One of the nicest things about our resort in the mountains? Beautiful fall foliage right outside our door.
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We were a little past peak for this trip but it was still a lovely palette of color to wake up to.
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This quirky coffee house right down the road only opened the day we left which was disappointing. I haven’t been half baked in decades.
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First day of our trip? We drove…
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Here.
There.
Wherever the leaves took us.
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And if you’re driving with my husband that means traveling on some pretty obscure back roads. Often ones that turn to dirt.
Miles and miles, up and over mountains where there’s nothing but glorious foliage, nature….
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Bear warnings….
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And a randomly placed portapotty.
( Spellcheck kept changing this to portal Otto. I may have missed a prime Tardis opportunity there.)
Here’s a short clip of the splendor. Yours truly is announcing the sighting of turkeys on the left, repeatedly and quite loudly. I do this when I spot cows as well, though in the deeper audible resonance they deserve.
This is one of the timeshare resorts where I’ve been wanting to stay for some time and we were lucky to grab a few days in the fall because they’re usually booked solid.
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Located in the White Mountains, right off the Kancamagus … you couldn’t ask for a more perfect spot.
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Pro..
Nestled in the trees, on the side of a hill with mountain views from every side….
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It was blissfully quiet yet within walking distance to town.
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Our condo was nice. Comfortable furniture in muted autumn colors, a fireplace…
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Full kitchen…
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And two comfortable bedrooms.
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No, the husband and I don’t sleep separately…
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But booking a two bedroom unit means we have two bathrooms as well…. and that my friends, is the secret to a happy marriage.
Con…
Over looking the master bed?
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A moose whose eyes followed you around the room. Very disturbing, that.
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Pro…
The whirlpool bathtub was in the bathroom.
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Con…
The fixtures were outdated and the only soap offered was in this environmentally friendly dispenser.
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Ever try to shave your legs with liquid soap ladies? I don’t recommend it.
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Pro…
Glorious foliage and mountains right outside our balcony.
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And terraced rocks all around the property.
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There was even the namesake Pollard Brook running right down the middle.
Results of review – adding it to my “would stay there again” list, I’ll just have to remember to bring my own bar of soap.
Yes, it’s true. We took another mini trip and I’m about to flood you with more travel photos.
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This time we just jumped across the border and headed to the White Mountains of north western New Hampshire.
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It’s one of my favorite areas… filled with scenic beauty and wondrous natural places to explore.
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These photos are from the famous Kancamagus highway. A 30 odd mile stretch of road cut right through the mountains.
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In peak foliage season it’s divine and while we were two weeks late for that, there was still some residual color.
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Until you reached the top.
But back down the other side it brightened up again.
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The resort we chose this time around was literally right off this road at the end of the National Forest.
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And for us, you can’t get much better than that.
Since check in wasn’t until 4:00pm, we headed to Woodstock.
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A quaint New England village…
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With a big brewery/restaurant/inn.
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You knew that was coming, right? The autumn beer on the far right was my pick. A rich, creamy amber with notes of pumpkin and nutmeg. Perfect!
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And right above my head, teasing me with every glance? A vintage ale crate, damn it. The husband was determined to purchase it for me but the manager didn’t care how much beer we drank, the answer was always no.
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And though our lunches didn’t appear appetizing?
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They were both delicious. Baked haddock, garlic smashed red potatoes and squash for me. Charbroiled mushroom Swiss burger for the hubs.
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A good start to the vacation… except for this uber creepy spare parts facsimile of a doll hovering alongside the bar.
I always see news reports of the traffic jams in California and sigh. While I grew up in New Jersey and saw my fair share of highway clusterf*cks, I have to admit the traffic issues in rural Maine are much more pleasant to deal with. Like this one we came upon the other day…
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Someone got loose and decided the grass was indeed greener on the other side of the fence.
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While it wasn’t a heavily traveled area, that section of road was a straightaway and people tend to fly by. Not wanting to see a large pile of hamburger on our return trip, we tried to coax the soon to be road block back into the field.
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That did not go well so we knocked on the farmhouse door. No one was home, so we tried a neighbor.
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No luck there either, so we tried again to convince the bovine to rejoin the herd.
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Ever try to argue with a cow?
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We lost the battle, but left a note on the farmer’s door.
The road was happily pot roast free when we came back from our appointment so that’s a good sign.
Every fort needs a kitchen and while this one probably didn’t contain many time saving appliances, it was large.
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This box was used for dough.
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And this was the table to knead it on.
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That’s a serious amount of bread.
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The enlisted mens quarters seemed to go on forever, but ironically construction of the fort was never completed and only 20 to 54 troops were garrisoned here during the Civil War. When 575 troops were stationed here during the Spanish-American War, they bunked outside the fort in tents.
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The powder magazine was found behind an extremely thick door and was heavily guarded.
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I’m hoping there was a no smoking sign posted as well.
One last walk around outside, past the D Battery cannon mounts.
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And we were done.
So that was Fort Knox. Impressive, well cared for and a big tourist draw.
These strange discs were lined up on the parade ground so the husband had to investigate.
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Having had my fill of stairs that day, I let him.
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Turns out they were storage vaults for ammunition.
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Alongside of that wall was a room with a broken water line that fed from a 27,000 gallon cistern…
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And next to that…
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A room with a giant rock. Because who doesn’t love that?
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The officer’s quarters were far from luxurious. Geesh, look at that lumpy mattress.
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But as cold and damp as Maine can be, at least they had a fireplace.
Now let’s take a strange turn here shall we?
Please note the mock up of a Revolutionary War officer seated on the right and the blanket draped over his chair. I wanted a better look at him and took this untouched photo from his other side.
Notice anything strange?
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*cue the Twilight Zone music*
You. Can. See. Through. The. Blanket.
What the Hell!
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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 