New Hampshire - Sept. 30 - Oct. 13, 2009

We spent two weeks in New Hampshire, the first in Franconia, "North of the Notch" and the second in Bristol, in the Lake Region.

Our first week was spent at Fransted Family RV Park just north of Franconia Notch in the White Mountains.  This park is heavily wooded and somewhat rustic, as one would expect in the great north woods.  It offered a perfect location to explore the White Mountains and walk quiet backcountry roads.

The Leaf Peeper Reports were promising a better than average autumn display due to the wet summer and colder than normal night temperatures.  It didn't disappoint.  However, that wet summer weather continued into fall and we had very few sunny hours during our stay.  When the sun did show her face we ran around like crazed tourist snapping pictures at everything we saw.  It was quite comical.  At least we didn't stop in the middle of the highway, or drive off the road like some leaf peepers.  Small wonder the locals breathe a sigh of relief after Columbus Day, when the season ends.

Our stay at Franconia was mostly about the leaves, and a little about the maple syrup and New Hampshire's famous cheese.  We did several scenic drives, which took us through the White Mountains with its many cascading rivers and streams and to snowy Mt. Washington. 

In addition to the 'peeping', we visited a few villages and did our usual covered bridge quest.  The White Mountains are incredibly beautiful and we were sorry that we weren't able to do any hiking due to the weather.  But winter was coming early this year so we moved out of the mountains to Bristol.

While in Bristol we stayed at the relatively new Newfound RV Park  just across the road from Newfound Lake.  This park was designed with motorhomes in mind.  Most of the park is quite open, with wooded sites along a stream towards the back.   It has wide roads and generously sized sites.   Across the highway were ample walking opportunities for our daily exercise, including stretches of wooded country roads with lake views.

We continued our obsession with trees while in the Lake District taking scenic drives or walks when the skies cleared.  Our biggest excursion was a cruise on the MS Mount Washington on Lake Winnipeesaukee. This was a five-hour expedition on the largest lake in New Hampshire.  We sailed from Weirs Beach to Wolfboro passing wooded shoreline, elegant lakeside homes, private islands and beautiful marinas.  Happily, we were blessed with good weather making for a very relaxing, romantic day.

The mercury was continuing to drop and we were experiencing morning frost on our windows.  One morning we got up to discover we were the only rig in the park.  Hmmm!  It must be time to head south.

On October 14th we bundled up and headed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for an appointment for The Beast's annual chassis maintenance.