Among the White Mountains of New Hampshire

Among the White Mountains of New Hampshire

Sunday, March 6th

The beauty of staying on the border of two states is that you get to enjoy the charms of both of them. Bradford, VT, is a few minutes drive away from New Hampshire - and we're lucky enough to be very near the White Mountains. When we took our hike up the Wrights Mountain the other day, we could see Mount Washington (the highest peak in the range) from the bench where we sat for a while, taking in the spectacular view. 

Blue skies, punctuated by white clouds, beckoned us eastward across the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. Our home-owners had kindly given us lots of pointers with places of interest to visit and today, we decided to start exploring. 

Within half an hour, we were in the pretty little town of Bath, where we encountered the first of the covered bridges (for which New England is famous). 

These small constructions were born out of 19th century America and attract artists and sight-seers from all over the world. We intend to visit as many of them as possible during our 6-week stay in this awesome area. 

Here's a short video clip of us driving through the bridge. 

The town of Littleton, NH, is a must-see for anyone visiting the area. Dubbing itself as 'The Glad Town', it certainly lives up to its trademark! (Zoom in to see the banner on the lamp post).

This picturesque town, which was built alongside the Ammonoosuc River, has some interesting buildings including the Thayers Inn, the Beal House Inn, and Chutters - which boasts of having the world's longest candy counter!!  

Beal House Inn

Thayers Inn

Chutters - has the longest candy counter in the world!

Obviously, we had to go in to take a look - and we did end up getting a few candies for the journey!

A few steps took us down to the riverside and to the pedestrian covered bridge. The river is fast flowing - even though partially frozen over. We thought that the rapids must be awesome to see during the Spring run-off. 

The Littleton Grist Mill and Miller's Cafe and Bakery hug the river and one can imagine what a treat it would be to sit outside overlooking the river and enjoying a coffee and treat in warmer weather. 

Turning south, we bypassed the townships of Franconia and Sugar Hill - reknowned for it's skiing resorts - and made our way to Flume Gorge, as we knew there was a pedestrian covered bridge there.

The vistas on the way were breath-taking (can't think of another phrase to replace this over-used one!)

At last, we had reached an area with an altitude that would give us some snow for our pics!! We had no idea just how beautiful this place would be. The short walk to the covered bridge is surrounded by views of the mountains, and the Pemigawasset River below. 

The bright red colour of the bridge stands out against the snow - the very image we had been hoping to see. Truly wondrous, with Liberty Mountain in the backdrop. 

Some hikers we passed told us that there were some ice-climbers beyond the bridge, further along the Flume Brook, in the Gorge, itself. This was not to be missed! We traveled to the end of the trail where it met the boardwalk. Although covered with snow and ice, we were able to get quite close to watch the climbers do their thing. 

The climbers are part of a group called 'Rockspot Climbing', and this was part of the 2016 Ice Fest. There were times when my heart was in my mouth as we watched them! This video clip will show you why.

Returning along the southern route via Rumney, we got back to Pot Luck Farm in the mid-afternoon, thoroughly appreciative - not only of the scenes we had taken in - but of the gorgeous home where we are staying. The joyful welcome home we received from Sam and Molly, with whom we have the privilege of spending time over the next few weeks, made us feel like a million dollars! 

From left to right - Sam and Molly

(Not to mention the contented purring of Pot, the pussy cat!)

Pot - a beautiful 'apple-faced' Siamese cat!

Honestly... can life get any better than this?