On the Road: Maine to Vermont

After three wonderful weeks in Maine, it was time to move on to other parts of New England. To save time, we drove west on Interstate 95 through Bangor, since we had already driven US Highway 1 on our way up the coast. After a couple of hours, we left I-95 and took scenic backroads to our first stop, Milton Mills, New Hampshire. There we had a lovely Labor Day weekend visit with Steve’s sister Sandy and her husband Blair.

From Milton Mills, we drove north to Conway and then west on the Kancamagus Highway. Locally known as “the Kanc,” it is a national scenic byway that winds through the White Mountain National Forest. The Kanc is famous for fall foliage, but it was too early in the year for that. Still, we enjoyed the surrounding mountains, the sunshine, and a few precocious trees that had turned orange and red. We couldn't retract the car’s roof, since our luggage was in the trunk, but we stopped a few times to get out and admire the view, and the icy mountain breezes were invigorating. We didn’t encounter any moose, but large signs* reminded us that we were in moose country. At one of the pullouts, we could see Mount Washington. It didn’t seem very prominent from where we stood, but at 6,288 feet, it is the tallest peak in the Northeast. As we drove past the Loon Mountain ski slopes, we saw the Riverwalk Resort* - I had no idea there was a place this grandiose in New Hampshire. (The * means that we didn't stop to take a photo, so I borrowed one from the credited source.)

Kancamagus Highway

Russell-Colbath House

Built in 1832, designated a U.S. Post Office in the 1890's.

On a fall day in 1891, Thomas Russell told his wife Ruth that he would be back "in a little while." Ruth never saw him again. Up until her death in November 1930, at the age of 80, Ruth left a burning lamp in the window every night, waiting for Thomas to return. She believed that he would return...No one knows why Thomas left. But he ended up returning to the homestead 42 years later in 1933 only to find that Ruth had died, and the property had changed hands...He again left, never to return.

View at Sugar Hill

From left: Green's Cliff with its "glacier-plucked" face, Mount Tremont, Owl Cliff

Photo credit: "Small Town Discovery" Facebook page

View at Kancamagus Pass (elev. 2,855 ft)

Kancamagus Highway

Kancamagus Highway

Mount Washington (at center)

The scenic byway ended at the town of Lincoln. We continued on Highway 112, now poetically named Lost River Road, and it was just as beautiful as the Kanc. At Woodsville, we crossed a short bridge across the Connecticut River and entered the state of Vermont. In the foothills of New England’s other mountain range, the Green Mountains, was our next home, Moretown.