New Hampshire

[peacetraveler22]

Today is my last day in Russia. Exhausted but a really fabulous and interesting trip. Soon I'll try to write about some of the cities we visited. In the meantime, I'll speak a bit about a trip to New Hampshire shortly after Christmas. I recently read that at one time there were over 10,000 covered bridges in the U.S. but today only around 750 exist. New Hampshire is home to many, some operational some not. This one is my favorite with the weathered American flag.


1. Covered bridges became the first type of historical structures protected by New Hampshire law. The Cornish-Windsor Bridge pictured below sits on the Connecticut River and connects the towns of Cornish, New Hampshire and Windsor, Vermont. It was originally built in 1866 for a cost of only $9000 and is still operational today. We saw many pick-up trucks plowing through the bridge in very heavy snow. Most large operational bridges in the region are maintained by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, while smaller bridges are maintained by the local city in which they are located. All of the bridges we saw are still in excellent condition despite age.




2. Unlike Maine, where snow fell before our arrival, we hit a storm head on in New Hampshire. After beginning the drive back home to DC, we were quickly forced to overnight due to heavy snowfall which my car simply could not handle. But what beauty the snow creates!




3. A covered bridge sits at the end of this road. My car could not make it down the snowy path so we asked a resident on the highway if we could park in her driveway, cross the highway and walk the long road to the bridge. "Sure!" she said, looking at us like we were crazy people. After all the trekking through the snow I never saw the bridge because it became too slippery for me to even walk. But on the route I noticed nice orange leaves in a sea of green.




4. On the same road discovered a tiny shed encased in snow.




5. Nice waterway on highway.




6. Frozen water, in the summer home to many docked boats. Houses and tiny cabins sit right on the waterway.




7. Gas for boaters during summer season.




8. Nice views from the Cornish-Windsor Bridge.




9. Many natural streams and forest areas throughout New Hampshire.




This State, like all others in the New England region, I completely love! I think my next adventure will be a weekend trip to Toronto at the end of March. Stay tuned for stories about Russia. :)