Skip to main content

Southern Vermont and New Hampshire Trip

Sunday, I headed out towards and through Southern Vermont and New Hampshire. I really had no set plan but to get at least as far east as Strafford County. Which I did. It was one of those trips where you don't rush to see everything or as much as you can, you enjoy what you actually do see. Most of my trips, I try to take that approach. The main route through Southern Vermont is Highway 9, and there were plenty of good photo spots along the way.
There were plenty of other photographers out, and one thing came to mind, a tripod. I spoke briefly with a couple that was taking photos, and the man said he always has it with him because it's a lot steadier than handheld. So when I got home Sunday night, the first thing I did was put my tripod in the back of the SUV.

There are a few old alignments of Vermont 9 and this one near Wilmington ran against Harriman Reservoir.
One thing about uploading photos to this blog is that when you click on the photo to go to the larger image. It doesn't quite reach the size of the original photo. So appologies in advance for any distortions. Wilmington was already full of visitors with people lined up to eat at a local cafe. Remember the Chelsea Royal Diner that my parent's and I stopped at not that long ago in West Brattleboro, well here's a photo of the neon sign for it.
Crossed over the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. A nice treat in that the original Tied Arch Truss Bridge stands next to the newly built one. The old bridge has been converted into part of a local bike path and walkway. It's best to access it via the N.H. Liquor Store parking lot.
I'm standing in Vermont looking into New Hampshire. The older bridge (on the right) was built in the 1930s and received the Class C Annual Award of Merit for Most Beautiful Steel Bridge from the American Institure of Steel Construction in 1937. Took a small detour on NH 9A through Spoffard Village. Little did I know, that NH 9 runs along Spofford Lake. Reminding me of my times learning how to sail in Oriental, NC, the lake had a number of sail boats docked.
At Keene, I picked up NH 101 and continued East. Stopped too many times to remember how many. Although, I spent a good bit of time walking around Dublin.

I would follow NH 101 around Manchester to NH 125 in Epping. There I took Highway 125 north to US 4 where I began the return to Albany. Bounced around I-393, I-93, and I-89 until I reached US 202 and NH 9. There I took the route back towards Keane. US 202/NH 9 is a great drive. It's pretty much what highway-folks call a super two. That is an access controlled two lane highway. So pretty much a two lane freeway or expressway. US 202 splits off near Hillsborough.
This is obviously from the opposite direction I was going. NH 9 through here is a great ride. As you get closer to Keene, there is a stone bridge located on your left. It was being rehabbed and I think a roadside park was also being constructed.At Keene, I returned on NH 9 and headed back to Vermont. Just east of Wilmington, I took a small detour and headed South on VT 100. It was worth the detour. After bearing right at VT 112, 100 heads up the mountain side and acts like a highlands road until it descents down towards Whittingham and Readsboro. From Readsboro to VT 8 the road parallels a creek ro rivre that i am unsure the name of and the color even at this late hour of 6 pm (sunset is not that much after 6 this time of year in these parts) was great to see. ANd since it is Vermont, I close the photos with the token old sign photo from the trip....in Readsboro.
I would head North of VT 8 and return to head west on VT 9 through Bennington to the NY State Line where the road becomes NY 7. By then it was pretty much dusk and no other photos were taken.

A great ride, I don't think a cloud filled the sky at all this warm autumn afternoon, I took about 120 photos, and learned to always have a tripod in the back of the SUV at all times.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Don't I know the Connecticut River bridge crossing from VT to NH on state route 9. I'm up that way all the time! You'll notice the railroad bridge that was rebuilt at the same time a couple of hundred feet to the west (behind you in the picture), closer to the rotary at US 5 and the on-ramp to/from I-91 Exit 3.

Popular posts from this blog

Cajon Pass; Cajon Pass Toll Road, National Old Trails Road, US Route 66/91/395 and Interstate 15

This past weekend I spent some time in Cajon Pass traversing the many historic road alignments. Cajon Pass is located in San Bernardino County, California along the San Andreas Fault.  Cajon Pass  serves the boundary line between the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains and San Bernardino Valley.  Cajon Pass is historically one of the most traveled transportation corridors in American California and presently is served by four rail lines, Interstate 15 and California State Route 138. While Cajon Pass is known mostly for carrying US Route 66 it has carried numerous other signed highways that have had a significant impact on regional and national road travel.  While this is my best attempt to compile everything from the best sources I could find into one single transportation history blog regarding road travel in Cajon Pass I suspect as time goes on this article will be frequently updated.  If you have any information that you ...

Pardee Dam Road

Pardee Dam is a 358-foot-high concrete structure located near Campo Seco at the Calaveras County and Amador County Line.  Pardee Dam impounds the Mokelumne River which forms the namesake Pardee Reservoir.  Pardee Dam was completed during 1929 and is part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.  Pardee Dam is accessed by the namesake Pardee Dam Road which crosses the structure via the one-lane road seen as the blog cover photo.   Part 1; the history of Pardee Dam Road The closest community to Pardee Dam is that of Campo Seco on the Calaveras County side of the Mokelumne River.  Campo Seco was founded in 1850 by Mexican Miners who worked placer claims in Oregon Gulch during the height of the California Gold Rush.  Campo Seco would reach a population of about three hundred by 1860 spurred by the numerous mining claims in the area.  Main Street of Campo Seco flowed directly into the Campo Seco Turnpike which had been authorized by the California L...

California State Route 82/Old US Route 101 on the El Camino Real from San Francisco to Interstate 380

After completing Interstate 380 I made my way northward into the City Limits of San Francisco to drive the northernmost portion of California State Route 82. CA 82 is 52 mile State Route between I-280 in San Francisco southward to Interstate 880 in San Jose.  CA 82 is significant due to it being part of the historical surface alignment of US Route 101 and the El Camino Real. The "El Camino Real" was a Spanish Highway in Las Californias and Alta California which connected the 21 Catholic Missions along the coast.  Essentially the route of the El Camino Real was plotted out in the late 1700s from two Spanish survey expeditions.  The Missions were plotted approximately 30 miles apart along the 600 mile route so that they would be a single day journey by horse.  The El Camino Real name fell into disuse after the Mexican Revolution of 1821 but was revived by American highway promoters in the 1890s and 1900s.  Today the El Camino Real is mostly associated...