Teressa and the kids slept in on Saturday morning – Rocky roused me out of bed at the normal 6:30 AM “walk” time. Brian and Laura did a little homework and then we hit the road at 1:00, traveling north along the Connecticut River which divides Vermont and New Hampshire. The leaves are moving rapidly towards peak fall color, which according to the locals is early this year. We aren’t complaining. As we entered the White Mountains in New Hampshire the forests were ablaze with reds and yellows for as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately the cloud cover prohibited us from seeing any of the mountain peaks, but the views were spectacular none the less.About 5 miles before our RV park in the small town of Twin Mountain, a black bear and her two cubs sprinted across the road in front of our car. The owner of the RV park indicated we were lucky to see them, since bear season started September 1st. She said they had a huge black bear eating out of their dumpster most of the summer. Nothing they tried to secure the dumpster's lid worked, but when September 1st rolled around, the bear mysteriously went into hiding. I’m guessing he found a copy of the hunting season regulations in the dumpster!
After setting up camp we headed for Sugar Hill to visit a maple syrup and candy store. We arrived a few minutes before it closed, and the kids bought postcards while Teressa and I loaded up on maple products and smoked cheese. Theoretically these are intended as holiday gifts, but I doubt most will last the week! From the store we drove through Franconia to Robert Frost’s house. It is located in a secluded wooded setting part way up a hill. With the stunning fall colors, the kids convinced themselves even they could create beautiful poetry here. It was another one of those magical evenings where we were the only ones there and the light and clouds created an almost mystical atmosphere.
After setting up camp we headed for Sugar Hill to visit a maple syrup and candy store. We arrived a few minutes before it closed, and the kids bought postcards while Teressa and I loaded up on maple products and smoked cheese. Theoretically these are intended as holiday gifts, but I doubt most will last the week! From the store we drove through Franconia to Robert Frost’s house. It is located in a secluded wooded setting part way up a hill. With the stunning fall colors, the kids convinced themselves even they could create beautiful poetry here. It was another one of those magical evenings where we were the only ones there and the light and clouds created an almost mystical atmosphere.
We left the Frost house and took back roads to Bethlehem, where we found a nice restaurant for dinner. Brian was especially happy as he got another couple of hours driving in a new state. At Laura’s request we watched two episodes of Seinfeld when we returned to the RV.While the rains subsided for most of the drive up from Dartmouth and the trip to Sugar Hill, they returned Saturday night and lasted for the entirety of our stay. In spite of the weather, we decided to spend an extra day here, as the forecast for Bar Harbor was for 2 inches of rain accompanied by 35 – 50 mph winds. They were catching the brunt of hurricane Kyle moving up the east coast, but the White Mountains just caught the edge.
It rained off and on the entire second day. We did laundry at the campground in the morning, and then drove to Polly’s Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill for a late lunch. The restaurant is written up in Teressa’s “1000 Places to See Before You Die” book, so we had to give it a try. They offer five different types of pancakes – plain, cornmeal, oatmeal, buckwheat, and whole wheat. You also have the option to add “extras” to any pancake such as walnuts, Maine blueberries, chocolate chips, etc. And of course everything has the potential of being smothered with maple syrup! My favorites were the cornmeal and oatmeal (with chocolate chips)! It was a little expensive for breakfast food, but a fun experience.
From the restaurant we headed south towards Franconia Notch State Park. The clouds continued to cover the peaks of the White Mountains, but we enjoyed the vibrant fall colors (see the picture of the kids above, taken in the park). We went on a walk to view “The Old Man on the Mountain”, a rock outcropping similar to the sleeping giant in Montana. He too was obscured by the clouds, and we got caught in sudden downpour. The kids thought it was fun to play in the rain, and as you can see from the picture, they got soaked. They were nice though to hike back to the car and get umbrellas for Teressa and me! We found out later last night that the “Old Man” came crashing down from the mountain in 2003, so even if the clouds had parted, we still wouldn’t have seen him!
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