New Hampshire Day 2

We slept so well. A combination of delicious air + the contentment of being in the wilderness with all of the animals and yes, even the insects. Matt heard some deer late in the night, but we never saw them. I love seeing deer in the wild and up close (as long as they don't approach cars), but what we were really after was The Moose. We promised ourselves that we wouldn't go home until we saw one, even if that meant that we had to continue driving north. Trust me: everywhere we went, we had our eyes peeled, camera in hand.

We left our campsite, knowing we would never stay in one so perfect. We traveled to a nearby fort built to protect English settlers from Indians and unbathed Frenchmen. It was the furthest north fort. It was all set up as it used to be and according to the guide book, there were people dressed up and playing their parts: doctor, carpenter, blacksmith, general, the works. Well, when we arrived, we were the only car after the manager's. Hmmm, popular place? Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, there was only one volunteer tour guide in costume, so we got a personalized tour. :) Matt asked a lot of interesting questions about health, sanitation, chamber pots. I asked ones like: "What's this? (-a hat)," "How can anyone canoe in THAT? (-it's an unfinished one, showing you how they start)," and "They had mirrors then?" (-yes). Don't judge me. I'm a teacher and there is no such thing as a stupid question.

An Indian house (seen as cut-in-two)

Tea leaves, compressed into bricks, then shaved off to use.

Two canoes that were found at the bottom of a nearby river!

The community fire pit. People ate hard bread covered in soot. Yum!

A loom. No wonder fabric was expensive!

A bedroom, complete with chamber pot, and a dirty Frenchman.

Some household items: laundry pot and scrubber (no thank you) & a cheese press.


We drove on lots of backroads and scenic byways. We saw several covered bridges, like this one in Cornish.


We stopped in charming towns and peeked in some boutiques and hand-made good stores. It was a lot of fun to see small town America.

We tried to go to St. Gaudin's museum, which was a total waste of time thanks to The Longest Detour Known To Man. There were probably 10 detour signs, each begging you to believe it would be the last one. Determined to find it, we continued on like fools. And when we arrived, we said forget it! Never trust guide books.

We decided to head on over to our second campsite, in Quechee, which was just over the river into Vermont. Our site was much more bare and noisy, but we had been spoiled the night before.

We took a hike and saw the Quechee gorge. Beautiful.



Yes, same clothes, and yes, greasier hair.




What a day! Still no moose sighting.