Gorham, NH (USA)

Mollie got herself up at around 0730 and we got packed up for our day trip in the White Mountains.  Surprisingly, we were able to leave my condo about 30 minutes later.  We used I-89, US-4, NH-118 and NH-25 to reach I-93.  All the curvy and hilly roads (lots of frost heaves) caused Mollie to get car sick a lot but she told me she didn’t want to turn around.  By the time we reached the Interstate, Mollie felt better and pointed out a Forest Service property (Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest) she’d learned about in school (she said she planned to email her professor about it).  Our first stop was to get information at the WMNF Visitor Center in Lincoln.  We spent a lot of time looking at the relief map of the White Mountains there and got a lot of brochures.  We then continued north to Franconia Notch and I stopped several times so Mollie could take photos.  Mollie told me she thought the area (especially near Mount Lafayette) looked like Kings Canyon in California (I agreed).  We backtracked south on I-93 and then took the Kancamagus Highway to the east.  Unfortunately, Mollie got carsick again and asked me not to take any more roads like that.  There were lots of people parked at trailheads along the way and we didn’t stop.  After we reached NH-16, Mollie perked up, especially as we drove through North Conway (Mollie liked the many stores, restaurants and hotels).  I pulled off the road at a viewpoint where we could see Mount Washington - it was completely covered in snow and this impressed Mollie (she said it reminded her of Colorado).  We looked at some covered bridges in Jackson and then stopped at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.  There was an event (Inferno Pentathlon) going on there and we had to walk a long distance from where we parked to reach the main building.  I got Mollie some postcards with my AMC discount (1215) and we walked around nearby (including some of the AT!) so Mollie could get more photos.  The day warmed up tremendously and we both enjoyed being outside.  Mollie really wanted to see a moose but we heard from several people during the day that they weren’t likely to be visible again until May.  Undeterred, Mollie kept scanning the woods to find animals.  At one point, we ventured off onto the quiet Lost Pond trail (per Mollie: "it's a snow shoe trail, but we are going to get our socks wet for some pictures of Mount Washington!"). Before long, the path grew too steep for our shoes and we headed back to the car.  Feeling good, we drove north to Gorham and I showed Mollie some places where I usually stayed and hiked.  We ate our lunch while we looked out across Reflection Pond (part of the Androscoggin River) east of town on US-2.  We then backtracked to the west and kept going on US-2 all the way to the Connecticut River (and Vermont Border).  The views of the Presidential Range were tremendous!  I kept hoping we’d pass some kind of farm or maple sugar place but we never did - most of the dairies, creameries and other interesting places were closed for the season). We continued west until we reached St. Johnsbury, where we discovered (after getting help from local kids) that the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail began on the outskirts of town.  After reviewing the map, we decided to follow it and get some exercise.  It was a muddy and icy walk but we had a nice time in the warm Spring sun.  If we decided to keep following this pretty trail, we'd only have had to walk about 95 miles until we reached Lake Champlain...  We spent about 30 minutes walking and having a nice talk before we left "St. J" on I-91.  After stopping for gas in Bradford (1530), we used US-5 to drive all the way to Norwich.  We eventually crossed the Connecticut River back into New Hampshire again.  We arrived home by 1630, unpacked the car and relaxed for a bit.  I helped Mollie get the photos off of her SD Card so she would share photos of our fun-filled day with her friends.  Mollie told me she really enjoyed seeing all the cows and horses and pretty farms - she added that she'd really enjoyed our "Tour of New Hampshire." Music to a dad's ears!