On Grafton Pond

Not to be outdone in the "idyllic canoeing" category, New Hampshire has it's share of terrific paddling ponds. One afternoon, I drove down a couple of gravel roads to get to one such gem...Grafton Pond. There were a couple of houses at the put-in, but the rest of the lake was undeveloped and natural with a number of small islands to paddle around.

The foliage was gorgeous, and apart from seeing 3 other cars parked at the put-in (all Subarus!), there were no others around and I had the pond virtually all to myself.

This is what made hauling the canoe on the roof of my car for over 1000 miles all worth it... ah, tranquility!

New Hampshire

Church and Bridge, Stark, NH

Millie and I are in New England for 3 weeks enjoying what the locals say is the best foliage season in a number of years. We drove the Canadian route last weekend through Toronto and Montreal and arrived to our campground at St. Johnsbury, Vermont late Sunday night. I had to work during the week, so had chosen this campground because it offered wi-fi and was within my Verizon cellphone coverage range. Well...Verizon's map was a little off. No cell coverage at the campground at all. But a quick 1/2 mile drive up the hill to a scenic overlook did the trick. It felt kinda like the old "Green Acres" show when Oliver would have to climb the telephone pole to make a phone call. "Welcome to Vermont!" my work collegues from Burlington said when I told them of my connectivity challenges.

It rained all week, and I had a heavy workload, so didn't take many pictures. But, yesterday, the start of my vacation, the skies cleared. I decided to head to New Hampshire for the weekend. I set up base camp in Woodstock, NH in the center of the state, and drove a big loop including the Kancamagus Scenic Byway, the White Mountains Highway, and the Daniel Webster Highway.

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Stream along the Kancamagus Highway

Roadside lake along the Kancamagus Highway

Blair Bridge

Church and Bridge, Stark, NH

Swiftwater Covered Bridge

Little White Church, Eaton, NH

Foliage near Mt. Washington

Farm near Littleton, NH