Fall Foliage Weekend 2012- Day #1

I recently found hundreds of unedited photos from a trip we took in 2012. For the past seven years, my husband and I have gone up to New Hampshire to see the foliage in the beginning of October. We used to go up and back in a day but we soon realized that was too much time spent driving. Its about 300 miles round trip from where we live, to the White Mountains and back.

We started to stay over night a few years ago. In 2012 we went during the work week because it is cheaper and on weekends there are usually 2 night minimums.

We left on October 2nd and headed up Interstate 93 in Massachusetts headed for Franconia Notch.

We were looking for Tripoli Road. I'm not sure why but I must have read about it somewhere. Our GPS  was taking us all over the place. We went by this pretty river that was in Woodstock.

Next we found ourselves near Indian Head Resort. We parked and walked around because the area was really pretty.

We got back in the car and I decided to try the GPS on my Iphone. We were way off! It sent us back to where we had been before, back to Woodstock where we finally found Tripoli Rd. My Iphone said we were in Livermore NH while we were on Tripoli Road. We had no idea at the time, but that is a ghost town. The only bits left of Livermore are foundations in the woods. I assume Tripoli Rd runs through the old town? I am just guessing about that though.

Tripoli road is closed in winter.  The entire road was not paved. It was awful, so many bumps and nowhere to turn around! I seem to remember driving up an incline too. I remember thinking if we got a flat tire we would be screwed because I couldn't imagine a tow truck rescuing us! That's IF there was even any cell service to call them.

We turned into what I believe was a camping area and there was a sign that said "Russell Pond"

The area was very pretty. It was very quiet and secluded.

We met a friendly local resident

They had this sign hanging up. Maybe the nearby campgrounds are like those manly, camps that don't have bathrooms and running water? Otherwise what would possess someone to get in the pond with a bar of soap and wash themselves? That's pretty gross! You know it must have happened enough if they had to hang up a sign!

We spent a while there exploring the beach and paths and we headed out. There were scenic views that we pulled over for.

It was a really pretty area but if you go, make sure your car is up for the bumpy roads. Our minivan wasn't handling it so well. I read that this fall (2014) that they are paving the road. I don't know if that means the entire road or just a portion of it.

We pulled over again in Lincoln on route 112 (where the Kancamagus highway begins), I am pretty sure the pull off was across from Loon Mountain. There was a small bridge that took you across to the ski area. It crosses the Pemigewasset River (or "The Pemi").

We headed East on The Kancamagus highway towards Conway. The Kancamagus is a scenic byway that is about 35 miles long. It cuts through the mountains and the road through the forest twists and turns in some areas. There are many campgrounds and scenic pull offs but no stores, gas stations or businesses along the highway.

 Lincoln Woods were close by. They have a large parking lot and there is a suspension bridge over the Pemi River. There are many trails you can hike on but we never have strayed very far from the bridge. A day pass is $3 at the self service pay station and you can use it at all the stops along the Kancamagus highway for the day.

Views from the suspension bridge. Its a little creepy walking across the bridge. You can feel it slightly moving.

After a while we got back on the road and headed East again.

We stopped at several scenic rest areas. Some had large parking lots and some had only room for a few cars on the side of the road.

Our last stop on the Kancamagus highway was the Rocky Gorge scenic area and waterfall. You pay a small fee to park ( we used our pass from earlier in the day). From the parking lot there is a paved path along the swift river. There is a lot of rocks next to the gorge that you always see some people standing on but I prefer to view the gorge from the foot bridge that was built across the river.

Here is a view upstream of the Swift River.

 

The view of the gorge from the foot bridge.

The view looking downstream.

After you cross the bridge you can walk along a path in the woods that brings you to Falls Pond.

When we finally got back to the van in the parking lot it was after 5:30 and we were already losing light. We headed east once more and drove through North Conway up Rt 16 to check in to our overnight accommodations. We stayed at the Nordic Village Resort in Jackson New Hampshire. Nordic Village is pretty much a resort made up of townhouses. It's really nice there. We have stayed 4 times so far. Each unit is very similar. They are pretty big and every suite we ever stayed in has had a fireplace, jacuzzi tub and a small kitchen area with a sink, coffee maker and microwave.

Here is the view from our suite .Taken from my cell phone in the fog.

Read about Day #2 of our trip! Click Here

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