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We took the route 2 west and south through
Maine and such places as Bangor, Newry, Farmington, Bethel and even Mexico
to North Conway. It was a long days drive but mostly extremely pleasant;
quiet roads, peaceful villages and gentle scenery. Oh, and some nice colours
in the trees too. Maine is the largest of the New
England states covering 33,000 square miles.
Having heard all about the covered bridges of New England
I was somewhat disappointed to not having seen any to date. This was about
to change. |
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Yep, that's a covered bridge over the Summer
river near Newry.
Clear, clear water and a perfect setting,
too. They are covered because the timber of the decking was found to last
much longer when protected. I had thought it was to do with shedding snow. I
was wrong. |
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The Androscogin Ranger station was an excellent
introduction into what we were about to see in the White Mountains.
For a start, we were passing the foot of Mount Washington on
the way to our next hotel in North Conway. |
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The famous cog railway ascends it with much fire and
brimstone, but I decided to take our humble Chevy to the top. So, you buys
your ticket to the toll road and are issued with a CD of safety instructions
to which you have to listen in a special area for that purpose. |
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Then you start climbing. It's a long climb
even when petrol is the motive force.
Grinding up the never ending and sometimes
terrifying not-quite-wide-enough track we did pass some lovely coloured
trees. However, it wasn't always safe to stop or get out! |
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Here we are, about to enter the great gulf
of wilderness. How final is that? |
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A rare safe stopping point. It may not look too dramatic
here, but, oh boy, it gets quite hairy higher up. The track is not always
metalled and gravelly steep surfaces do not make for relaxed passing of
American S.U.V.'s the size of small houses. |
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Jean tries to look relaxed as we near the top.
The guide book says: 'Drivers need more than average skills
for the ascent!'
Passengers also need some skills for not looking out of
the side windows at times. |
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Finally, we reach the roof of the world
according to the mountains of New England. OK, so its just 6288 feet above
sea level, but the stress of navigating the ascent in our diddy town car. |
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This is another way that you can arrive; in
the single carriage Cog railway. Two trains are actually descending as seen
from the top. |
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This one's going down. You'll see the difference in
emissions when I show you the pics of it going up! |
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I like this picture showing the world from the top of the
mountain with a little curvy hardware in the foreground.
I like the contrast
between manmade things and nature. |
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The sign here tells of a rather windy day
some time ago.
OK, the highest ever recorded wind speed on the planet: 210
mph. The building is chained down, for obvious reasons. |
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Here's a clue to go (with sounds of a steam
engine working very hard) as to what you are about to see. |
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A few seconds later, a single yellow coach emerges in
front of a very American Loco. |
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Oh, that pollution in the name of tourists! Mind you, our
little Chevy had pumped out a few hydrocarbons in the pursuit of our
entertainment.
At least all that soot is re-cyclable. |
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You will notice that the support engineer is
not working too hard! |
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Chocorua arrives... |
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