Scrapbook: A Slow New England Ramble

After almost 18 months staying mostly close to home, I took a late-summer road trip to New England, staying mostly in Vermont, but also hitting New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Despite rainier-than-usual weather (including two passing storms, Henri and Ida), it was just the travel tonic for these times: I was mostly outside, surrounded by nature, away from crowds, in highly vaccinated states, and I didn’t have to take a plane to get there. True to my favorite pace of travel (slow), I settled in for six weeks, and let New England’s many delights reveal themselves to me gradually.

New Zoom background

One-room library, in the village of Westminster West

New wheels from one of the oldest and best known bike and ski shops in the state. The 50-year-old West Hill Shop, in Putney.

Welcoming committee: two Barred Rocks and five Rhode Island Reds.

Altered state: Southern Vermont is my home base for the next several weeks.

Cycling the West River Trail

Harriman Reservoir, also known as Lake Whitingham, is the largest body of water located entirely within the state of Vermont

Kayaking Whitingham Lake

Along the West River, swollen and muddy from the recent rains

Smiling because we managed to lift three kayaks up onto the car, drag them into the water, haul them back up, and get home again with only one mishap.

Exploring southeastern Vermont, with friends.

So many red barns

Painterly New England

Rolling by the river, racing a gaggle of speedy ducks swimming upstream

Murals, most of them a project between artists and the town, honor notable residents and places in Keene

Fun with friends in the outdoors, always a winning combination

Live free and ride: What a treat to reconnect and cycle with friend Lauren Hefferon, founder of Ciclismo Classico, in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire! She took me on a rollicking tour of her hometown of Keene (we even stopped by the house she grew up in and her high school!), and the arty murals of famous residents, then down a rail trail and then through quiet country roads past burbling creeks and red barns. It was just a taste of the full five-day itinerary. Vaccinated and got vacation days? She’s leading three more small-group tours of this under-the-radar region through October.

Emerald Lake

Hiking the circumference of Emerald Lake

Kayaking Spofford Lake

I like this one, on Spofford Lake

Private swimming hole; you have to know the right people

Delightful dip in Harriman Reservoir

These guys need clean water environments, too. Emerald Lake

Today’s theme is water. There is so much of it in Vermont. Here’s to clean lakes, rivers, creeks, ponds, and swimming holes that people enjoy and that support wildlife such as the loons that bob in the lakes up here.

One of the oldest state fairs in the United States, the Vermont State Fair, in Rutland, is 175 years old and has been located in the same fairgrounds since 1859. No surprise, dairy and maple products feature prominently, but the three-day fair (open ‘til late) has it all: rides and games, tractor pulls and racing pigs, blue-ribbon farm animals, and deep-fried everything, from corn dogs, funnel cakes, and fried Oreos. Thanks to Fiona for showing me all her favorite spots.

The kayak-dotted Connecticut River, at Northampton, Massachusetts

The 11-mile Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail is runs from Northampton, Massachusetts, through Hadley and Amherst, to Belchertown, Massachusetts

More Norwottuck Rail Trail

There’s nothing like seeing good friends in the flesh

Home for a few days. Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

On the shores of Lake Winnepesaukee. A good friend from high school just happened to be here at the same time!

Slow New England ramble: Lovely bike ride on the Norwottuck Rail Trail near Northampton, Massachusetts; a visit with good friends in Thetford, Vermont; and riding out the dregs of Hurricane Henri in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

Fun hike up to a fire tower on Red Hill

We reunited this lost dog, Carl, with his owner

Sunset on Brewster Beach

Lola ponders Knights Pond

The hike around Knights Pond was a delight

Harbinger of the coming autumn

A cathedral of green. Knights Pond

My former boss chauffeurs me (!) and my bike to her beautiful house on Barndoor Island, in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee. Thanks, Lynn, for a fantastic visit!

Kayaking Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake life: A few days hiking and beaching and kayaking around the Lakes region of New Hampshire.

Sunday River Bridge, Newry, Maine. Built in 1872, it’s one of the most photographed and painted covered bridges in the state

Pick your swimming hole. There’s a series of them at Step Falls, in Newry. The water is clear and bracing on a warm day

On the Appalachian Trail. Grafton Notch State Park.

The famed Appalachian Trail is 2,180 miles long. We did one mile of it. But it was a steep one. In Grafton Notch State Park.

Got the last pie at the roadside stand. And it was wild Maine blueberry.

Great trails and wooden sculptures at Shepard’s Farm Preserve, in Norway, Maine.

Craft beers and yummy poutine outdoor dining at Norway Brewing Company. Did you know that Maine’s border with Canada is longer than its border with a US state? It borders both Quebec and New Brunswick. And that most signage in these parts is in English and French?

Into the Maine woods: Covered bridges, swimming holes, a steep but sweet section of the Appalachian Trail, more biking and hiking. We brake for pie … and poutine.

A hike to a couple of abandoned quarries. Mt. Apatite Park, Auburn

Pristine Lake Auburn. As the water supply for the Lewiston-Auburn area, the lake is closed to swimming

Fresh local oysters and tinned branzino at The Shop, in Portland

Nancy Dorrans gives a great Portland tour. “Come hungry,” she advised beforehand.

The stealth destroyer battleship USS Lyndon B. Johnson at dock. Portland.

You have to know people to find the speakeasy. A quick peek only; looked like a place viruses would also enjoy. Portland.

More Maine, including an evening in Portland with a couple of insiders.

This store has been making whoopie since 1925. The classic New England and Pennsylvania Dutch treat, whoopie pies were first sold from Labadie's Bakery in Lewiston, Maine.

Downtown Lewiston.

Downtown Lewiston.

The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston.

Homemade ployes, an Acadian treat. North Auburn.

Low-key L/A: A local’s tour of the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn, Maine.

A slow, mostly outdoors ramble of almost six weeks through parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine—with minimal fixed plans and connecting with friends along the way—was just the ticket for these interesting times. A thousand thanks to those I spent time with, whether it was four weeks in your farmhouse or a quick roadside coffee on a rainy day. Your friendship and hospitality gave spirit to lovely New England. And to those many friends and places I missed, catch you next time!

Photos © Norie Quintos.