bostonwhalesnew hampshiremaine

We left Boston at about 12:30 p.m. and drove straight to the New Hampshire coast at Hampton Beach. Our mission was to find lobster. We stopped at the first place we passed that looked like it had lobster: Ashworth By The Sea, "Fabulous Oceanfront Dining, Lobster & Seafood Specialties." After our lobster fix we headed up I-93 to the White Mountain National Forest, about 750,000 acres of granite mountain ranges with hardwood and alpine forests and the highest peak in the northeastern United States, Mount Washington.

There is a 34 mile route, highway 112, from Lincoln to Conway, called the Kancamagus Highway. It stretches from the Pemigewasset River at Lincoln to the Saco River at Conway. The highway climbs to about 3000 feet as it flanks Mt. Kancamagus near Lincoln. We started along the route in late afternoon, and it was cloudy, foggy, and intermittently sleeting. It was nevertheless stunning. We pulled into North Conway at about 6:00 p.m., and went to Horsefeathers on Main Street for clam chowder and a beer. We stayed at a Best Western along with a couple of tour buses full of seniors.

Tuesday 17 October 2000

The room came with a buffet breakfast, which was quite good. The dining room overlooked the valley and the mountains beyond and we watched a skein of geese fly by as we enjoyed Belgian waffles and bacon. I had passed up several photo opportunities the afternoon before because of the poor lighting and sleet, so we went back along the Kancamagus Highway about two-thirds of the way to Lincoln. About 6 miles west of Conway, the Albany covered bridge crosses the Swift River. All along the highway are moose crossing signs, which admonish "hundreds of collisions." We missed moose. We did get about 15 White-winged Crossbills, a life bird for us. From Conway, we took highway 302 across Maine to the coast at Portland and then headed north on Highway 1, bound for Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.

New Hampshire Photographs:
Autumn in New Hampshire
Lilly Pond, Kancamagus Highway
Pemigewasset River
Country Road
Pemigewasset River II
Riverside

bostonwhalesnew hampshiremaine