I have now arrived in Maine, but there are a few bits and pieces left over from my journey so far.

The photo above was taken as I was walking through the woods at the bottom of Prospect Mountain. There was an area of several acres where the trees were all connected with black and clear plastic tubes. This was a maple sugar collection system. You may be able to see taps on the black pipes where the sap would be collected. The sap runs in spring from February. The trees were much younger and smaller than I expected.

Ever since I arrived in New England I have been aware that cannabis is legal in every state I have visited so far, but the laws seem to be slightly different in each state. In Rhode Island there were ‘Smoke Shops’ and ‘Hookah Shops’ and also cafés where the menu offered ‘Hookah $14.95’ or similar. The premises always had an age 21 restriction on entry and covered windows (like a betting shop but less interesting). In general they looked a bit run down and dull. i haven’t seen anyone anywhere entering or leaving.

In New Hampshire there were ‘Smoke Shops’ but no cafés that I spotted, while here in Maine I haven’t so far spotted many ‘Smoke Shops’ but I have seen several up-market large premises out of town advertising ‘Medical cannabis on prescription’. I imagine anyone can get a small amount at a Smoke Shop, and larger amounts to take home at the larger premises. In some of the tourist literature I picked up at the Maine Visitor Centre, there were adverts for these larger premises.

I promised covered bridges and a fuller treatment will come when I get to Vermont. New Hampshire still has about 80, but Vermont has about 200. I have so far visited seven. This is in Bath, a small community south of the White Mountains on the Ammonoosuc River.

This one is still in use for cars, one at a time. It could not be built now as there are no longer any large enough hardwood trees.

Bridges were covered because an open bridge could collapse from the weight of snow.

The village centre is now a very sad place.

This is apparently America’s oldest general store, but it is closed and for sale, as are the couple of premises to its left. The area has an active Historical Society (as do many New England communities) and they have erected this clock and the following war memorial.

The war memorial has two sides and many names. Until I looked closer it seemed that the small community had suffered grievous losses from the War of Independence through to the Vietnam War. However they have listed every man who served. In fact there were only five deaths in total, never more than two in any conflict, and none in the First World War, in 200 years.

I also toured the Lakes Region to the south of the White Mountains and about 50 miles east of Bath.

This is the only place I managed to stop the car in the wider area. Virtually all the lake shores are privately owned and there are no lay-bys or other parking spaces. I think this was a public boat launching area, so I got a photo. The whole area has many lakes from small to substantial, and I am sure it is paradise for those who like messing about in boats. It is also probably a paradise for bugs in the summer. The problem is no planning and the fact that it is only a couple of hours from Boston, so those who can afford it have second homes. This is also an issue all along the mid-coast of Maine.

Alton Bay was a rare exception having this small public sandy beach, with parking for about 20 cars and a restroom.

This middle aged lady was swimming (slowly) with a sunhat on! I think she actually came out of the first house on the waterfront to the right and behind me. There were powered boats moving quite fast in the area, so she was brave.

When I went to see the waterfall in the north, I was struck by how the communities changed once I reached about 50 miles from the Canadian border. It is an area that is struggling, with many houses not being maintained well, and some gradually collapsing. There is no obvious means of making a living apart from logging, and not much of that. It is too far from anywhere for tourists. However there are some new houses being built. They are almost certainly for people who, post Covid, have decided to work remotely. I wonder how many years they will stick it out though. In rural Aberdeenshire, many people came up from England (as land and houses were cheap) but many did not last through to the third winter. Winters in northern New Hampshire are much tougher, and it is far more remote.

When the communities changed, they also suddenly became almost totally pro Trump. As there are elections on 8 November, everywhere has election posters, so one is very aware of the politics. Elsewhere it had been mixed, but suddenly it was all Trump. Also the small towns / villages had banners from lampposts with pictures of veterans, and there were many more gun shops than usual.

When I arrived in New Hampshire, I drove on Interstate 93 through the Franconia Notch, which is a high pass with mountains close to either side. That day was beautiful, but I saw little as the road had recently been re-surfaced and I was in a long queue proceeding at less than 5 mph while the local police escorted a machine drawing a line on the tarmac for where the actual road markings were to go. It was about 30 minutes before it pulled over to let us pass. An Interstate is the equivalent of a motorway in the UK.

I went through the Franconia Notch twice more, each time in torrential rain.

The day I travelled to Maine, I was looking forward to driving the 34 miles of the Kancamagus Highway through the White Mountains. Again no luck.

Because it is so popular there are large car parks and overview sites with information boards in several places.

I am sure the view is wonderful, but it was not to be for me. I think the route had over 3 inches of rain in 24 hours that day. This is at over 2800 ft. If the trees weren’t showing some colour it could easily be the Scottish Highlands.

This post has been a bit of a ragbag. The next one should be better as I already have some good photos for it.