Skip to main content

New England Road Trip - Day 3 - Exploring Maine

Day 3 of the New England Trip was exclusively Maine (well we did re-enter New Hampshire twice - more on that later).  We went from North Conway, NH to Rockland, ME by way of Acadia National Park.

Route: US 302, ME 113, US 2, ME 156, US 2, ME 11/100, I-95, I-395, US 1A, ME 3, US 1.

This blog will cover the trip from North Conway to Acadia National Park.  For the entire photo set on flickr, head here.

399

My first time back in Maine since October 2003!!!  In Fryeburg, we turned North on ME 113 to head to US 2.  However, what is interesting about ME 113 it actually re-enters New Hampshire twice between US 302 and US 2.  New Hampshire signs the route as a Maine highway.

402

After entering Maine for the final time, ME 113 enters White Mountain National Forest.  The road is typically closed in the winter.

406

Somewhere on US 2 was this great antique store full of great old signs.  Unfortunately, it was closed.

428

After a quick stop in Rumford Corner, we stopped at the town of Rumford and took in the amazing Rumford Falls.

442

449

Rumford Falls is also known as Pennacook Falls.  The overall drop for the three falls is 176 feet which is the steepest drop east of Niagra.  The photos I took of the Middle Falls is seen very easily from US 2.

The area around the Middle Falls are surrounded by a nicely developed park and fishing is very popular.  There is also a memorial to former Maine US Senator, Secretary of State and Presidential candidate Edwin Muskie at the park.

457

459

While we were there, a car wash set up.

491

And considering the mud from the rain the day before that was on Doug's Vehicle....we got it washed!

493

Further east ...an older US 2 shield.

496

Unfortunately, as we continued East the breaks in the clouds we enjoyed earlier on US 2 went away - and the overcast conditions continued all the way to Mount Desert Island.  One last goodie before we feature Acadia National Park.  On US 1A - an ancient Junction ME 179 and 180 uni-sign.

Old Maine Junction 179 and 180 uni-sign

Comments

Jim said…
Awesome signage, esp. the US 2.

Popular posts from this blog

Paper Highways: The Unbuilt New Orleans Bypass (Proposed I-410)

  There are many examples around the United States of proposed freeway corridors in urban areas that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. They all fall somewhere in between the little-known and the infamous and from the mundane to the spectacular. One of the more obscure and interesting examples of such a project is the short-lived idea to construct a southern beltway for the New Orleans metropolitan area in the 1960s and 70s. Greater New Orleans and its surrounding area grew rapidly in the years after World War II, as suburban sprawl encroached on the historically rural downriver parishes around the city. In response to the development of the region’s Westbank and the emergence of communities in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes as viable suburban communities during this period, regional planners began to consider concepts for new infrastructure projects to serve this growing population.  The idea for a circular freeway around the southern perimeter of t

Hernando de Soto Bridge (Memphis, TN)

The newest of the bridges that span the lower Mississippi River at Memphis, the Hernando de Soto Bridge was completed in 1973 and carries Interstate 40 between downtown Memphis and West Memphis, AR. The bridge’s signature M-shaped superstructure makes it an instantly recognizable landmark in the city and one of the most visually unique bridges on the Mississippi River. As early as 1953, Memphis city planners recommended the construction of a second highway bridge across the Mississippi River to connect the city with West Memphis, AR. The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge had been completed only four years earlier a couple miles downriver from downtown, however it was expected that long-term growth in the metro area would warrant the construction of an additional bridge, the fourth crossing of the Mississippi River to be built at Memphis, in the not-too-distant future. Unlike the previous three Mississippi River bridges to be built the city, the location chosen for this bridge was about two

Huey P. Long Bridge (New Orleans, LA)

Located on the lower Mississippi River a few miles west of New Orleans, the Huey P. Long Bridge is an enormous steel truss bridge that carries both road and rail traffic on an old-time structure that is a fascinating example of a bridge that has evolved in recent years to meet the traffic and safety demands of modern times. While officially located in suburban Jefferson Parish near the unincorporated community of Bridge City, this bridge’s location is most often associated with New Orleans, given that it’s the largest and most recognizable incorporated population center in the nearby vicinity. For this reason, this blog article considers the bridge’s location to be in New Orleans, even though this isn’t 100% geographically correct. Completed in 1935 as the first bridge across the Mississippi River in Louisiana and the first to be built in the New Orleans area, this bridge is one of two bridges on the Mississippi named for Huey P. Long, a Louisiana politician who served as the 40th Gove