Day 140 - NH to ME

After a good night's sleep at Inn 32, we woke to bright sunshine and blue skies. Heading out of town, we passed the site of the New Hampshire Highland Games that were in progress, and were the reason the town had been so busy the night before. It would have been cool to stop there, but we didn't really have the time to do it justice, so carried on along the scenic Kancamagus Highway. This road weaves its way through the hills of the White Mountain National Forest.

We saw more evidence of the fall colours showing peeking from between the trees, and definitely whetted our appetite as to what was to come in the next few weeks. We stopped off at some pullouts to take in the views.

Our first planned stop were the Sabbaday Falls. We didn't really know what to expect here, but were very pleasantly surprised as we headed up the boardwalks alongside a number of pretty waterfalls. We found ourselves mesmerised by the crystal-clear water as it crashed down into the lovely blue-green pools below.

After taking in the sights for a while, we jumped back in Fin and pushed onward. I spotted another pullout up ahead and decided to make an impromptu stop at Lower Falls. As many of our unplanned stops have been, this one was a great call! It provided a chance to scramble over large boulders around which the river snaked and cascaded over. Although temperatures were starting to drop, as we expected them to on this part of the road trip, the bright sunshine made the 60F air feel much warmer. We found a cozy spot up against a large boulder and could have easily nodded off to sleep in the warm sunshine.

However, we had places to be and I played Bad Cop by suggesting we should head off. Sam reluctantly agreed.

One of the activities on our itinerary was the Mount Washington cog railway. This 3-hour scenic ride sounded like a lot of fun, but when we realised it was $72 a person, we had to think again. We spotted the Mount Washington auto route - basically a windy road up the mountain - and thought this might be a good alternative. But at $40 just to drive up a road, we again had to decline.

It might seem like we are being really tight at the moment, passing up on some pretty cool experiences. It is true that, coming towards the end of the road trip, we have to have one eye on our remaining kitty. But the other reason is that we are starting to see less and less value for money as we head into the North East. Thinking back to all the amazing roads Fin took us down when we were further West, we are simply not going to splash out 40 bucks for a drive up a mountain here. If money was no object, it would be different, but sadly it isn't.

Instead, I made do with my latest obsession - covered bridges! These are all over Vermont and New Hampshire, and I've had a lot of fun driving over these one- and two-lane wonders. I'm not sure Sam shares my enthusiasm, however. Maybe they'll grow on her :)

Our stop for the night was just over the Maine state line, at Grafton Notch campground. This private campground just outside Grafton Notch State Park is a fab little gem. The sites are nestled amongst the trees, but are all really spacious, flat and rock-free, and really well spaced out so you feel very private.

Generous bags of firewood are available for $6, so I treated us to 2 bags and got a lovely fire going. We cooked corn, chicken and garlic bulbs on the fire which were all scrummy, and had a nice chat with the owner Mo before heading into the tent for the night.

The temperature was due to get down into the 30s, so we filled our flasks with boiling hot tea and shoved them into our sleeping bags before zipping up tight for the night.