Sunday, 24 July
Moose River Campground, VT
Left Troll Valley Campground at 9:46 am.
We drove US-2, a very scenic drive through the White Mountains. Though more curvy and hilly than an interstate, the ride was fairly undemanding.
We arrived at Moose River Campground around 12:30 and got a beautiful back-in site next to the rocky Moose River. The campground was small, with only 49 sites, and catered to RVs and adults. They did not have a playground or a central bathhouse. The grounds were well-maintained and had several beautiful flower beds. One had a half-buried tractor. The office had a deck with chairs and provided free coffee and donuts every morning. Some of the sites were irregularly spaced, and we did not have a lot of green space in front of our trailer, but that was ok since we were rarely there and enjoyed the view from the back better anyway.
The owner also gave us a welcome bag full of local brochures and information, a campground sticker, and a reusable cloth bag with the camp logo.
We set up the camper quickly, and because the weather was good, we decided to get tickets for the Mount Washington Cog Train, which was about 50 minutes away. Fortunately, We got tickets for 3 pm, so we headed that way around 1:25 pm.
Mount Washington Cog Train Ascent
The Mount Washington Cog Railway is the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway and has operated since 1869. It has both steam and biodiesel-powered locomotives. It is the second steepest rack railway, with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37%. The railway is approximately 3 miles long, beginning at an elevation of roughly 2,700 feet and ending just short of the mountain’s summit peak of 6,288 feet. The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 miles per hour and descends at 4.6 mph. Steam locomotives take approximately 65 minutes to ascend because they have to stop for water halfway up, while biodiesel engines can go up in as little as 36 minutes. Both took around 40 minutes to descend because it is essentially just braking.
Four locomotives were operating when we were there, two steam and two biodiesel. Each locomotive pushes one coach up the mountain. We had tickets for a biodiesel locomotive. All the coaches had beautiful woodwork inside.
During the ride up, we could stand up if we wanted, except when they had to travel across switches. At the halfway point were the water tower and a platform used during the winter when the cog trains could not reach the summit.
The vegetation changed from tall trees to shorter and shorter trees. Our brakeman (who also acted as our guide and the engineer’s eyes) informed us that the shorter trees were very old, except the climate at the higher elevations just stunted their growth. Eventually, there was no vegetation and just lots of broken rock. We saw several hikers walking along the various trails, including the Appalachian Trail that crosses the mountain. On both sides of the train, we saw pyramid-shaped piles of rocks or cairns, marking multiple trails. The first sign that we were near the summit was when the large Sherman Adams building came into view.
After we stopped and were given the “all clear,” we were released to walk alone for one hour around the summit.
Mountain Washington
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft and is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. The mountain is notorious for its erratic and extreme weather. An example was that in 1934, the Mount Washington Observatory recorded a wind speed of 231 mph. Mount Washington State Park is a 60.3-acre parcel perched on the summit.
The Sherman Adams building is at the summit, including the Sherman Adams Visitor Center, a cafeteria, restrooms, two gift shops, a rooftop observation deck, the Mount Washington Observatory, and a museum.
The historic 1853 Tip-Top House is adjacent to the summit building and steps away from the highest crag. The Tip-top House was the second hotel built on the summit. The original building was expanded, abandoned, burned down, rebuilt as an annex, and then abandoned again. Today, it was restored close to its original form but closed to the public when we were there. We did get pictures with the Mount Washington Summit sign next to it.
There were several transmission towers, old tower platforms, and a generator building.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway ascends the mountain’s western slope, and the Mount Washington Auto Road climbs to the summit from the east. The Appalachian Trail also crosses the summit, and we saw several hikers with backpacks on the trail and in the visitor center. On the north side was the Great Gulf, a large glacial cirque that formed an amphitheater surrounded by the Northern Presidential Mountains: Mounts Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison.
The weather was cool but not as cold as expected, and though windy, it was not very harsh. The Cog Wheel Conductor warned us that a storm was brewing, but we were fortunate to have high clouds that did not block our views. We enjoyed walking around and looking out at the incredible views.
Mount Washington Cog Train Descent
As we left the summit, we saw the Lizzie Bourne memorial for the first woman in recorded history to have perished on the summit after being forced to hunker down at this location during a devastating storm. While the route down the mountain is the same, the vista seems wider. We appreciated this sub-arctic terrain’s ruggedness and vast expanse as it unfolded around us. As the tracks curve to the left and onto Long Trestle and Jacob’s Ladder, we can see the entire length of the railway – Halfway House, the Waumbek passing loop, Marshfield Station, and beyond. When we got to the station, we walked around the several old steam trains before returning to the camper.
The mountains around us were incredibly beautiful, and we looked forward to our next days here.
We got back to the camper around 7:45 pm.
Monday, 25 July
We left the camper around 9:30 with the intent to check out some local attractions east of us in Vermont.
Goodrich’s Maple Farm
Our first stop was Goodrich’s Maple Farm. When we walked into the large gift shop, we were immediately greeted and offered a free tour of their sugar house where they make the maple syrup.
The sugar house contained a giant evaporator and some historical items around the walls. She was very proud of the evaporation equipment that her husband had designed. She gave us an excellent overview of the entire maple production process. We learned quickly that Vermont was proud of its maple industry.
Afterward, we bought some little maple candies and suckers before we left.
Bragg Farm Sugar House
We then drove to the Bragg Farm Sugar House near East Montpelier, just 16 miles further east on US-2.
When we entered the gift shop, they directed us to the sugar shack with a 15-minute educational video. They had several antique sugaring tools around the condenser, which was much smaller than the last store. A notable display compared real maple syrup against other syrups that you would find in a grocery store that contain different types of sugars.
Afterward, we walked over to their ice cream parlor and had a maple syrup creemee. We learned that a creemee is the same thing as soft-serve ice cream except that it has a higher fat content making it creamier.
Rock of Ages
We then drove south into Graniteville to the Rock of Ages granite manufacturing company that offers tours of the world’s largest deep-hole dimension granite quarry.
The tour began at the 5,000-square-foot Rock of Ages Visitor Center, built to handle the popularity of these tours. After purchasing our tickets for the 1 pm tour, we walked around the center with a theater where we watched a short film and various displays of their granite sculptures, computer-based exhibits, and a gift shop. They had a nice outdoor patio area with tables where we ate our lunch, waiting for our tour to begin.
At 1 pm, our guide gave us a brief introduction and then had us follow her in our cars to an observation area above the quarry. There were about a dozen cars in the convoy. Our guide told us to look out for the piles of granite along the way, often in backyards. These granite piles were scrap pieces of granite that had fractures or cracks called “grout,” which comes from the Scottish word for scrap (many Scots worked in the quarry in its early days).
Though the quarry is 600 feet deep, approximately half is underwater. The newer pits were bright turquoise, while the older pits were dark blue. There was not as much activity in the pit as I expected, but we could see some work. Our guide pointed out the major parts of the quarry, including the large boom. We were there for about 30 minutes when it started to rain, but we were ready to leave anyway.
Pre-COVID, we could have taken a self-guided factory tour of the 160,000 square-foot factory floor where they fabricate traditional and cremation memorials, mausoleums, columbaria, features, and civic memorials from an observation deck. Unfortunately, this was currently not available.
Barre
Graniteville is a census-designated place in the town of Barre, and granite can be seen everywhere in the town, from granite posts and even a bank called Granite Savings and Loan.
We did stop downtown to see the “World’s Largest Zipper.” The granite zipper, named “Unzipping the Earth”, was located in a narrow alley 74-ft. long and a little less than six feet wide. It was decorated with perennials that were planted in the zipper openings.
We also drove by a 1924 Soldiers’ and Sailors’ memorial called “Youth Triumphant” and a monument dedicated to Italian-American stoneworkers.
Ben & Jerry’s Factory
We then decided to drive up to Waterbury and check out the Ben & Jerry’s Factory.
A curvy, steep, and narrow road went up to the gravel parking lot. I was surprised that the factory was not very large for being the US’s best-selling single-brand ice cream label. I learned later that the St. Albans location makes at least 2/3 of the ice cream they distribute globally, and Waterbury is just their corporate headquarters.
Near the parking lot was the Flavor Graveyard, where we enjoyed reading the epitaphs and seeing the flavors they decided to discontinue.
We then walked down the hill to the factory which was crowded with people either waiting in line for ice cream or for their factory tour to begin. You had to book online for a tour and there were none available for that afternoon. We decided not to wait in the long line for some ice cream and just briefly walked around the small area, enjoying their posters before we headed back to the car.
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
We then went about a mile up the Cold Hollow Cider Mill which is one of the top producers of fresh apple cider in New England. It was located in an 1800s farmhouse and dairy barn. It still has a 1950’s maple syrup boiler and old school rack-and-cloth cider press.
There was a restaurant, a large gift shop, informative signs, and a window where you could look into the cider press. We even enjoyed some free samples of cold cider. We walked through their gift shop and enjoyed looking at all the Vermont products and smelling the cider donuts. We laughed at the labels on some of their maple syrup: Jack Frost’s (in a Jack Daniels bottle), Northern Comfort (in a Southern Comfort bottle), and Whistle Pig (Rye Whiskey Barrel-aged Maple Syrup in a Bourbon Bottle).
Green Mountain Byway
We then traveled north along VT-100 or the Green Mountain Byway between Waterbury and Morristown. This route followed the northern Green Mountains to the west and the peaks of the Worcester Range to the east. The route is known for its stunning views of open meadows, farmland and forests, all with a spectacular mountain backdrop.
Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge
We headed east on VT-15 in Morristown and stopped at the Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge. This bridge was the last covered bridge in Vermont to carry railroad traffic. It was built in 1908 and carried the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad line over the Lamoille River. This was the first covered railroad bridge that we had seen.
We eventually intersected with US-2 where we once again had beautiful views of the White Mountains. I saw a sign on US-2 calling it the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. I learned later that before the US highways had numbers, they had names, and US-2 was called the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. US-2 connects Portland, Maine, with Portland, Oregon.
We were back at the camper around 6 pm.
Tuesday, 26 July
We left the camper around 9 am and headed east toward the White Mountains in New Hampshire.
VT-18 & NH-135
We drove VT-18 south to the New Hampshire border, where it turned into NH-135. We stopped briefly at scenic picnic area near Littleton and the Moore Reservoir formed by the Connecticut River.
NH-302
We then followed the Ammonoosuc River east on US-302. We detoured briefly to drive through the Sugarloaf Campground in the Zealand Recreation Area.
Mount Washington Hotel
We saw the beautiful Mount Washington Hotel a couple of miles later and took a moment to drive through the grounds and past its front entrance.
The Mount Washington Hotel and Resort is one of the last surviving grand hotels in the White Mountains. The hotel was constructed between 1900 and 1902. At its completion, the hotel boasted over 2,000 doors, 12,000 windows, and over eleven miles of plumbing. In 1944, it hosted the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Willey House Historical Site
The Willey House Historic Site was the location of a morbid sort of tourist attraction for White Mountain tourists where an 1826 avalanche killed the Willey family but somehow left their cabin intact. People began to visit the site, drawn to the scene of devastation, human tragedy, and the miraculous survival of the structure itself. In addition to boosting the tourist industry in the area, it became a source of inspiration for artists and writers. The site of the house and the landslide is now an interpretive center within Crawford Notch State Park.
We stopped at the parking area across the street, where there was a small pond created by a dam across the Saco River. The mountains on either side of the pond made it all very scenic.
Ripley Falls
Around a mile down the road, we came across the trailhead for Ripley Falls. The sign said it was only a ½-mile hike, so I decided to pull over and check it out.
The trail to the falls was very scenic and followed a hillside above Avalanche Brook. It was very rocky and steep at some points, especially at the end, where you had to grab roots to steady yourself. It crosses the Appalachian trail, which has a steep rocky staircase.
Ripley Falls is a beautiful 100-foot waterfall flowing over a smooth rock wall. The rock wall is at about a 60-degree angle, causing the rushing mountain water to maintain contact with the rock during most of its descent. There are only short, temporary periods where the water jumps away from the rock wall. Because of this, Ripley Falls, as an entire structure, is one of New England’s steepest-angled slides.
Bartlett Covered Bridge
After we drove through the Crawford Notch, we came to the Bartlett Covered Bridge that had been converted into a gift shop. The bridge was built in 1850 and is 183 feet long. This bridge carried traffic traveling on Route 302 over the Saco River for more than 80 years until it was replaced by the steel bridge in 1939. In 1965, the bridge and the land around it were sold and a 12′ x 80′ gift shop was built inside the bridge.
We stopped and walked around the shop with country home decor items such as throws, pillows, wall art, pottery, flags, chimes, and plush animals. We saw a little boy walking around with a stuffed moose his parents must have bought.
Intervale Scenic Vista
When we entered the town of North Conway, we saw a sign that said Scenic Outlook near a Tourist Information Center. Since it was lunchtime, we decided to pull over and enjoy lunch while enjoying the views of the Presidential Mountain Range.
Kancamagus Highway
From Conway, we turned down the Kancamagus Highway.
The Kancamagus Highway is a 34.5-mile scenic drive along NH-112 and is designated an American Scenic Byway for its rich history, aesthetic beauty, and culture. It takes you through a path cut through the White Mountain National Forest to an elevation of just under 3,000 feet at its highest point. No gas stations, restaurants, hotels, or other businesses are on the road. The Kancamagus Highway, also known as “The Kanc,” is pronounced Kancamagus is “Kank-ah-mah-gus.”
Albany Covered Bridge
The Albany Covered Bridge is 120 feet long and spans the crystal clear waters of the Swift River. It was built in 1858 but was destroyed by a flood. The bridge was quickly rebuilt and remained usable for over 100 years before needing to be renovated in 1970. It is still used today to access a campground, though trailers have to use a different route because of its height and weight limit.
Lower Falls
We drove past the Lower Falls, which was full of people swimming. Here, the Swift River drops many feet over smooth granite rocks into a large pool. Because the stones are soft, they make a great rock slide.
Rocky Gorge Scenic Area
We stopped at the Rocky Gorge Scenic Area, where the Swift River narrows as it cascades into the gorge. A footbridge went over the gorge, providing a great place to take photos. There were signs everywhere stating that swimming in or jumping into the gorge was prohibited, but we saw people jumping from the ledges into the gorge.
Russell-Colbath House
The Russell-Colbath House was built in 1832 and is the only original structure left of Passaconaway. The timber frame barn was constructed in 2003 and is used for interpretive programs. The house was not open, but we still enjoyed walking around the grounds with its flower gardens and information signs.
Sabbaday Falls
We then stopped at Sabbaday Falls Trailhead, where I walked an ADA-accessible 0.7-mile out-and-back gravel pathway that led me to the bottom of the falls. Sabbaday Brook runs alongside you the whole way. The three-story falls have a 45′ total drop, and stone and wood stairs and platforms that take you to the top for a better look.
Sugar Hill Scenic Vista
At about the halfway point, we pulled over to the Sugar Hill Scenic Overlook, which gave us beautiful views of Mount Tremont, Owl Cliff, Bear Mountain, and Sugar Hill, among others. There was a small pavilion with historical information as well as a photo identifying which peaks one can view from this overlook.
C.L. Graham Wangan Grounds Scenic Vista
We then drove a short distance to the scenic C.L. Graham Wangan Ground area, east of the Kancamagus pass. Interpretive signs describe the various vegetation zones and the Swift River Water Shed. It was a “Wagan Ground” or “meeting place” of the Native Americans who lived and hunted in New Hampshire. It was also the site of a historical lumbering camp.
Pemigewasset Overlook
This overlook gave us a beautiful view of the Osceola Mountains and the Pemigewasset Wilderness. A pavilion provides interpretive signs describing the views.
We then continued down the Kancamagus highway until we reached the town of Lincoln.
Beaver Pond
We continued west down NH-112 to Beaver Pond in the Kinsman Notch on the lower slopes of Mt. Moosilauke.
Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge
We connected up with NH-302 into Haverhill,, stopping at the Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge.
The Haverhill–Bath Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge over the Ammonoosuc River, joining Bath and Woodsville, New Hampshire. The bridge was built in 1829, with funding provided by both towns. The road bed is 256 feet 8 inches long and 14 feet 4 in wide, and the roof is 277 feet 8 in long and spans the Ammonoosuc River close to where it flows into the Connecticut River. It is believed to be the oldest covered bridge in the state and is now open to foot traffic only—the falls caused by the hydroelectric dam under a covered bridge added to its charm.
We then crossed the Connecticut River into Vermont and drove north on US-5, which followed the Connecticut River. We were back at the trailer by 5:30 pm.
Wednesday, 27 July
Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour
We had bought tickets for an 11:30 tour of the Ben & Jerry’s Factory online. It was about 1-½ hours away, so we left the camper around 9:45 am.
We got there early, so we played around in the gift shop before our tour. When the tour began, they gave us an overview of the company and told us we were not allowed to take pictures of the factory floor. We were then brought into a glass-enclosed viewing room where we could see the factory floor, but unfortunately, they were not producing ice cream. Instead, we saw them scrubbing the factory equipment with lots of soap and water. The suds were flying! The tour guide did point out the various parts of the assembly.
We were then brought into their test kitchen. After a brief overview, we were given a tiny cup of “Sweet Cream & Cookies” ice cream before we were shown the door and the tour was over. It was a pretty disappointing tour.
We bought some t-shirts from the gift shop, ate lunch outside on a picnic table, and then headed out to explore more of the area.
Middlesex Center Cemetery
We drove to Middlesex Center Cemetery, where a grave site had a giant granite clothespin marking the final resting place of the owner of a clothespin factory. We also found an interesting etched gravestone with a truck and some granite benches. It was a relatively small cemetery, so there was nothing else to see.
Montpelier
As we continued south, we went into the capitol of Vermont, Montpelier. One of its claim to fame is that it is proud of being the only US state capital without a McDonald’s.
We drove by the capitol building and then tried to find a parking place near the Vermont Historical Society Museum. We could not find a convenient parking place, so we lost interest and continued on to Hope Cemetery in Barre, VT.
Hope Cemetery
Hope Cemetery was established in 1895 and originally contained 53 acres. Since that time, it has expanded to a total of 65 acres. Every one of the monuments and crypts is carved from Barre Gray Granite (except one which is pink granite).
Though some traditional headstones exist, the cemetery is filled with masterworks of custom figures, bas-reliefs, and ornate crypts. Instead of the usual name and date slate, these museum-quality works of art and imagination capture the essence of the individual in the form of a hobby, a career, a love, a memory… in a manner that is amusing, curious, inspiring, sentimental ….
Barre was known for its Italian stone carvers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These master craftsmen were artists of incredible talent and ingenuity. The cemetery includes where many of these craftsmen and their families were ultimately buried.
We drove around the cemetery, marveling at all the monuments, when another driver stopped next to us and started telling us stories about the various monuments. I am not sure if they were true, but they sounded believable. He pulled up to us several times as we drove around the cemetery and seemed to be an endless source of stories and history about the people in the cemetery, the cemetery, and the local town politics. We really enjoyed them. We met some groundskeepers right before we left the cemetery and they said that this person was there most days talking with people but no one knows anything about him. Weird, but fun.
Youth Triumphant Statue
We then drove downtown Barre and stopped at City Hall Park to see the “Whispering Statue” up close. We had driven by the park before and seen the “Youth Triumphant” granite statue, but it is said that one can stand or sit on one side of the statue some distance away, whisper something, and be heard by someone equally far away on the other side. It was just after 3 pm when we arrived, and the traffic noise at the busy interaction made it very difficult to even talk directly to each other. We tried standing in various spots around the statue but did not get the whispering trick to work for us. The statue was beautiful, though.
Ezekial Farm Barn Bridge
We may have driven over many covered bridges and seen many barns, but we have never driven under a barn. When I read that there was a barn that we could drive under a barn, we had to seek it out. We had to drive way out into the country and down some dirt roads to find this 19th-century Ezekiel Ball Farm barn to find out that you do not drive under the barn but under an access ramp that goes into the barn’s second floor.
Millers Run Covered Bridge
The Bradley Covered Bridge spans Miller Run, a tributary of the Passumpsic River, in Lyndon, Vermont. Built in 1878, it is the last of Vermont’s many 19th-century covered bridges to carry a numbered state highway (first Vermont Route 122 then later Vermont Route 122 Alternate).
It was 61.0 feet long and 14.4 feet wide, with a clearance of 10.5 feet.
In 1995, as a result of irreparable damage due to a storm, the bridge was replaced entirely. The new bridge still allows for one-way traffic and has a covered pedestrian walkway. Because of its low clearance, it is often damaged by trucks that are too tall trying to cross.
We drove directly south after we left the bridge and was back at the camper around 6 pm
Thursday, 28 July
We did some laundry at the campground and then took off at around 10:35 to take another drive through the beautiful New Hampshire mountains.
Lyndonville
We first went 15 minutes north to Lyndonville to see some folk art made by welding propane bottles together. These fun sculptures were created by a business called Bob’s Welding, but now the building is gone, and a few remaining sculptures sit alone in a field along US-5.
Connecticut River Byway
We then headed south along Hwy 5 and the Connecticut River Byway. This route consisted of river valley farms with the White Mountains off in the distance.
Mount Moosilauke Highway NH-25
At Haverhill, we turned off and drove down the Mount Moosilauke Highway into New Hampshire. This route took us alongside mountain brooks south of the White Mountain range to the lake region of Lake Winnipesaukee.
Warren Redstone Missile
We were driving through Warren when we suddenly saw a rocket ship in the middle of a public park. When we stopped to take a look, we discovered that it was a shell of a Redstone missile that was obtained, shipped, and donated by a local native of the city. A nearby information board had the following story posted:
Why Here in Warren?
In 1970, while stationed with the army at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, I noticed a number of Redstones lying in a field. I found that they were now obsolete and were surplus. The Redstone that is now in Warren, had been stripped of its engine, guidance control package, etc., and had been used for display purposes. I thought of the children who were far removed from America’s space program, except for television, and that seeing the real thing might interest some child in science or the space program, and the fact the Astronaut Alan 13. Shepard Jr. was originally from New Hampshire – why not take one to New Hampshire!
Checking with US. Army at Redstone Arsenal, I was informed that they would release the Redstone for display purposes to a town. The Army stipulated that it would bear no costs in preparing or transporting the system. I then decided that if the Town of Warren did accept the Redstone, that I would bear the costs of getting it to Warren.
In 1971, the Town of Warren voted in the affirmative. After many starts & stops, Irving MacDonald of Dorchester, NH, as driver, and I began the trek south with a semi-tractor and a 60 foot trailer loaned to us by Lew Brown of Wentworth & Holderness, NH. Arriving at Redstone Arsenal, the Post Engineers, after receiving a cashiers check, loaded the Redstone onto our trailer, with my past fellow employees just shaking their heads.
We immediately began the 1300 mile trip north. After a stiff fine in Ohio for not having a permit; sucking it up while passing through other states for which we had no permit taking the wrong route into New Hampshire and missing our escort breaking down on Main Street in Concord, the Capital, and having to be towed to the New Hampshire State House, the Redstone finally arrived in Warren, April of 1971. It should be noted that the welcoming committee in Warren had a false start when informed that the Redstone was approaching Wentworth, they jumped into vehicles, and racing south they soon discovered that the Redstone sighting was a local septic tank pumper from Wentworth! I knew at that point, that I had indeed been correct in bringing America’s space program a little closer to Warren!
With the efforts of many, many volunteers, local organizations giving their time and funds, the Redstone was finally erected and dedicated by then Governor, Walter Peterson in July of 1971.
Ted Asselin
Wentworth Village Common Covered Bridge
This bridge originally began as the Goffe’s Mill Pedestrian Covered Bridge in Bedford, NH. Constructed in 1962, it connected the Wayfarer Inn to the Convention Center at the Wayfarer Inn complex in Bedford. The inn and convention center closed in 2010, and the site, including the bridge, was slated for demolition to make way for a shopping center complex.
Wentworth acquired the bridge to replace a condemned 1909 steel truss pedestrian bridge. At 106 feet, the covered bridge was 10 feet longer than it would be replacing.
In 2017, the covered bridge was moved to this location, which spans the Baker River.
Big Daddy Joes
It was around 1 pm when we pulled into the Big Daddy Joe Country Kitchen and Saloon for lunch. The restaurant was cute inside with wood slab tables and an excellent view of the mountains and a pond in the back. They had a bar and dance floor in the back and a stage and picnic tables out back. There were plenty of funny signs hanging to make it appear to be a fun place.
We got a table inside, and I ordered a ½ lb Rodeo burger topped with cheddar cheese, onion rings, and BDJ BBQ sauce with hand-cut fries, and Lisa got the potato pie with corn and cheddar cheese.
Castle in the Clouds
In Plymouth we turned onto NH-175 and entered the east-central part of New Hampshire known as the Lakes Region. It is named for the numerous lakes in the region, the largest of which are Lake Winnipesaukee, Lake Winnisquam, Squam Lake, and Newfound Lake.
We then headed to the Castle in the Clouds (or Lucknow Mansion), which is a 16-room mansion and 5,294-acre mountaintop estate in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. It overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee and the Ossipee Mountains from a rocky outcropping of Lee Mountain formerly known as “The Crow’s Nest”.
The home was built in 1913–1914 in the Craftsman style by the millionaire shoe manufacturer Thomas Gustave Plant (1859–1941) for his second wife. He also built a stable/garage, gatehouses, a greenhouse, farm buildings, and a golf course.
Castle in the Clouds is today owned and operated by the Castle Preservation Society, a private 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. The Castle, Carriage House, gift shop, art gallery, Cafe, and Patio are open from late May to early October.
In 2021, a large meadow near the mansion began hosting “Concerts in the Clouds” which is a music venue managed by Great Waters.
We parked up near the mansion and walked around to the scenic viewpoint in the back where we could look down on Lake Winnipesaukee and the Ossipee Mountains. We were also able to look upon the outside of the mansion where people were eating out on its patio.
I-93 & Franconia Notch
We then headed back to Plymouth, where we connected with I-93 to head back north. Normally, we avoid highways, but I wanted a fast route back, and I wanted to go through the Franconia Notch.
Franconia Notch is a prominent mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain to the west and Mount Lafayette to the east, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park. The notch is located primarily in Franconia but extends south into Lincoln.
The Cannon Cliff, or the rocky face of Cannon Mountain, on our left, was the most dominant landmark. This cliff used to have the “Old Man of the Mountain” rock formation. This is the only interstate that has been allowed by Congress to have a section where there is only one lane in each direction.
We stopped for groceries on the way home and arrived back at the camper right before we got a heavy rainstorm at 5:30 pm.
Friday, 29 July
We packed up and left the campground around 9:30 and headed to Burlington, VT.