Labor Day weekend we
decided to head up north and check out parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and
Maine that we haven't seen and probably won't be able to see due to our time
winding down here in the New England area (Brett only hopes!). We had such a
great time. We headed up to Fort Ticonderoga, which we just happen to miss by
about 30 minutes! We had to leave after I was done with work and didn't get
away quite as soon as we would have liked but we were still able to enjoy a
nice ride along the river and around Lake George and Lake Champlain.
Saturday we wandered
around Burlington, Vermont. It is a very quaint little college town that sits
on the opposite side of Lake Champlain from Fort Ticonderoga. They have an
awesome farmer's market that we meandered around for a while before heading
down to Camp Joseph. We stopped at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in
Stowe, VT for a tasty treat before getting to Camp Joseph.
At Camp Joseph we were
able to see the site where Joseph Smith was born and visit the surrounding
area. It was and still is very much a farming community and is very small. The
roads are back country roads and follow the local rivers and streams.
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| Joseph Smith Monument |
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| Footprint of the Smith's Home, with original hearth in the center |
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| Sharon, VT church house (on the land of the Smith Farm) |
We camped at Camp Joseph and then headed through the White Mountain Range and to Mt. Washington. Here's a little tidbit
on Mt. Washington - Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern
United States at
6,288 ft (1,917 m) and the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. It is famous for
dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, until 2010, a weather observatory on
the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the
Earth's surface, 231 mph (372 km/h or 103 m/s), on the afternoon
of April 12, 1934. Before European settlers arrived, the mountain was known as Agiocochook, or "Home of the Great Spirit".
Most vehicles take about 30 minutes to make the 7.6 mile ascent
and from 30 to 45 minutes to come down depending on traffic, weather conditions
and whether or not you need to stop to cool your brakes. The Auto Road is a
steep, narrow mountain road without guardrails. The average grade is 12%. As
the sign at the base of the Road states – “If you have a fear of heights, you
may not appreciate this driving experience”
To get to the top and back down was quite the experience. It
was a pretty warm day at the base of the mountain but I would have been content
in my winter coat at the top. I am just glad that Brett drove - not sure I
would have been able to manage it.
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| Tip Top Stone House |
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| Marker at the top of Mt Washington |
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| Parking lot at the top |
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| Ski Resort |
From Mt Washington, we headed over to the coast of Maine to visit
some lighthouses. The coast of Maine was the ideal New England. The
Lighthouses were gorgeous, the ocean was fabulous and I would 100% love to go back.
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| Bug lighthouse |
