By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
Covered bridges of all sizes and vintages cross rivers in Vermont and into New Hampshire. Why? Most likely so that horses crossing the bridges wouldn't be frightened by rushing water. Or to prolong the life of the bridge. Or to make crossing easier in the winter.
First it was the deserts of the Southwest, then battlefields in the South, then lighthouses along the Atlantic coast. Once we hit Vermont, we were seeing covered bridges everywhere. There are over a 100 in the state, according to brochures, and while many of them are inconveniently placed off larger roads or where there is no nearby parking, we were still able to walk across and photograph about 15 of them.
The word “quaint” applies to so many towns we’ve visited while in New England that I’ll ask that you just assume everything is quaint – Main Streets, churches with their narrow steeples, shops, even people.
Our last article left off while we were staying along the Massachusetts coast. Before updating you on our travels since, I want to mention a problem with seeing the lighthouses. There’s plenty of space for RVs to park, but Cape Cod’s beaches are charging $20 a day on weekends to use state parking areas, $15 on weekdays). Luckily there are National Park lighthouses, which charge less and accept the Passport America for half-price admission.
We departed Salisbury State Park Reservation following the advice of our GPS to find us the best route into New Hampshire on our way to Vermont. She (the GPS) was a bit slow in directing us at an intersecting highway, which resulted in our turning left instead of right. A detour, but it took us through the small town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, an exceedingly quaint (if you’ll pardon the expression) town that allowed us to not regret the wrong turn.
Our achieved goal was to reach Vermont to pick up forwarded mail (more on this in an upcoming blog). We then spent the next four days in “The Green Mountain State,” now rated by Monique as her favorite for touring. And remember, this is the spring. Vermont is at its best in the autumn when the square miles of lush mountainsides and villages are painted in the classic fall colors.
There was plenty to see and do. We toured Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream plant in Waterbury, Cabot Cheese Factory in Cabot, plus a quick look at an apple cider operation and sampled maple syrup, chocolate and cheese along the way. We spent almost a whole day in Vermont’s Capital City of Montpelier, although you can see most of it in a five-block area,
The Winooski or "Onion River" flows through Downtown Montpelier.
Vermont's classic State House in Montpelier
including the impressive state house. You probably didn’t know that Montpelier is the smallest capital city in the nation, but is that something you need to know?
We went from one “notch” to the next, and now know that a “notch” is a deep narrow opening between mountains. The daily journeys carried us past covered bridges; waterwheels; fast-moving and lazy rivers; grazing cows and horses; classic barns; huge houses, comfy homes and subsistence shacks.
Leaving the Green Mountains of Vermont, we are now at a campground in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. To tell the truth, they all look the same and they’re all beautiful. Sorry to say we missed both the Quechee Gorge and Franconia Gap, two spots highly touted in the tourist brochures. We see a lot, but ya can’t see it all! Bethlehem, New Hampshire, is not only the “highest elevated city east of the Rockies,” but I would guess that it’s the one with the most historical signs per block of any in the nation.
We’re now snuggled into a no-hookups site at Dolly Copp Campground in the White Mountain National Forest, where I immediately spotted moose droppings in the surrounding woods. The significance of the area is that we are practically in the shadows of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire’s highest point.
Sticking to the byways puts us up-close-and-personal with small towns and unique sights.
This state’s motto is “Live Free or Die.” A noble thought, the first part of which we are enjoying (at half-price).We see lots of weird things along the way – signs, attractions, you-name-it. I mention this because shortly after entering New Hampshire, we drove past a state-erected roadside sign on I-93 that reads: OFFICIAL STATE LIQUOR STORE. Many states would probably not let drivers know where to find booze along the interstate!
[Update: We’ve moved on to a campsite along the shoreline in Sebago Lake State Park in Maine. This blog was written while we were isolated from the outside world for three days with no Internet connection. In our next entry, you’ll summit 6,288-foot Mt. Washington with us. Oh, we bought our first Maine lobster for tonight’s dinner.]
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
COMMENTS TO RECENT BLOGS
From Trisha — Happy Tuesday to both of you, Love this recent blog post. We are at Salisbury Beach State Reservation and have been since last Thursday. So wish I had known that you were here, as I would love to have met you. Your blog is always so good.
Thanks for the info about that wonderful old car. I had seen it go by several times and was very impressed. Went to Hampton Beach yesterday and there were hardly any people on the beach–not like when you took that photo. Thanks for your wonderful posts.
From Jim — If u’r heading west thru Vermont into NY, Lake George in hosting the Americade weekend this week. Lake George Escape in Warrensburg is a great park to stay at, Good Luck!!
Barry’s response – We weren’t too near Lake George, but might have changed routes had we known. Unfortunately, for the first time in our two-and-a-half months on the road, we didn’t have cell or Internet service to get this recommendation.
And from “Maine-ne-iac in California” Donald E. Stuart — Hope you are not going to miss Maine! It is bigger and better than the rest of New England. If you only visit Southern New England you will miss the best.
Barry’s response – We’re on our way to join a caravan tour of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Before meeting up with the group we have several different areas of Maine on our itinerary, from inland to coastal. We have often heard from RVers, “You’ll just love Maine.”
Across the road from Baron Von Trapp's Estate in Stowe, Vermont, is Austrian-like scenery, but with a major difference -- the cattle are beefalo, a cross between cows and bison.
Because of the numerous Spam comments on this site, the comments section has been deactivated. Please email us at [email protected] and I will pass along your comments. Learn about Alaska and see travel photos at ontopoftheworld.bz (and much more to come when time allows).
