We’re here for a mission, but Melissa has always wanted to see the New England fall foliage, so that’s an objective as well. My parents took us for a drive around the area where they live in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. It’s a loop they took us on during our visit in the spring (I didn’t mention it here because we flew, so there was no van involved), but this time it was full of yellows, oranges, and reds instead of just green. I grew up with these colors, so I’m used to them, but it was all new and exciting for Melissa. I’m glad she’s enjoying it. I have to admit, I kind of missed them, too, after several falls and winters in the desert.
On Tuesday, we took a drive down the Kancamagus Highway. The locals call it the Kank. Melissa calls it the Kangaroo because she’s silly. It’s Route 112 between Conway and Lincoln, but it’s also a popular scenic road, especially during foliage season. I used to take a motorcycle ride up here once or twice a year, even when I lived farther away in Massachusetts. But I’d never done it in the fall, so the colors were new for me, too. Because the van is big and bulky, my dad let us take his Chevy Colorado for the drive. We’d hoped to rent a motorcycle for this journey, but there were no rental places nearby (even though we’re very close to Laconia, where the big bike rally takes place each year), so we were happy to drive. Once again, I drove so Melissa could leaf peep.
We wound our way to Conway, waited in traffic, then turned left onto Route 112. Not too far in, I surprised Melissa with a turn off the main drag to the Albany Covered Bridge. Another thing she’d always wanted to do was see a covered bridge. They don’t have them in the south (they don’t need them, since it doesn’t snow there), so she’d never seen one before. I drove across it, then we parked and walked back to check it out.
The colors must have been right around peak foliage. The drive was pretty smooth, except for heavy traffic at all of the main pull-offs and scenic areas. We stopped at some and skipped others where we had no chance of even getting into the lot. There were some pretty bad drivers in these areas, but I have a lifetime of experience dodging bad drivers in New England, so I handled it fine, like a local would. I can’t imagine what traffic must be like on a weekend. I have no wish to find out.
At the west end of the Kank, we stopped at Pub 32 in Lincoln for lunch. The owner had a strong New York accent, and a New York-style crust was on the menu, so I had a feeling we’d be getting the genuine article. We were not disappointed, and I got to introduce Melissa to a genuine New York-style pizza. I even demonstrated how you fold it in half lengthwise so you can walk around with it, despite it being a thin-crust pizza that would otherwise flop all over the place.
After that, we took the scenic route home down Route 175. I-93 is the main route, and U.S. 3 cuts through every single little town center, while 175 runs roughly parallel and is very scenic, quiet, and much more fun.
The Kank was one highlight of the trip, but the literal high point was Mount Washington. I haven’t been since the 2021 Climb to the Clouds race, and Melissa had never been. The weather there is insane and highly unpredictable, so we’d been keeping a close eye on weather conditions all week to time our visit with the best chance of success. We ended up getting the best weather all week.
That’s not to say the weather was great! Some say that Mount Washington has the worst weather in the world, with the highest recorded wind speed of 231 mph. The summit had just seen its first snow and ice of the season a day or two before, and there was still a little bit on the ground. Once again, we took my dad’s truck, since I wasn’t sure my giant van would even fit on the Mount Washington Auto Road, at least not with two-way traffic open to the public. Temperatures were in the 30s, with wind speeds of 30 mph and gusts to 50 or 60. This was the mildest day at the summit all week, yet it was already winter here, even while we still have summer weather back home in Arkansas.
There was a great deal of rime ice on pretty much every vertical surface. The National Weather Service defines rime as “a deposit of interlocking ice crystals formed by direct sublimation on objects, usually those of small diameter freely exposed to the air, such as tree branches.” The constant wind creates complex lines of ice across just about everything. It’s not something you see much down below. I’d never been up here when it was this cold before, so even I had never seen it.
My parents are preparing to move and are downsizing. They gave me a bunch of tools and other useful things they don’t need, which fit under the bed in the van. Since I’m not carrying everything I own in it anymore, there’s a ton of room down there. They also unexpectedly gave us their utility trailer, which they won’t need or have room for, but we could put to use in any number of ways at home. The van’s going that way anyway, and it’s all set up to tow my motorcycle trailer, so taking it with us is no problem. The van won’t even feel it on the way home. It wasn’t part of our original plan, but it works.
But our main objective for this entire trip is to adopt Ruger. My parents also can’t take her with them where they’re going, so we’re giving her a new home with us. Melissa already has one German Shepherd, Navi, who’s about the same age, so we’re hoping they’ll be pals. Beyond the excursions, we’ve been spending the week getting to know each other and getting her comfortable with us before the long drive home.
She was hesitant to get into the van at first, but after my dad used a piece of plywood as a ramp and she explored inside a bit, she jumped in and out of the van repeatedly without the ramp. I think she was showing off. It’ll be a huge transition for her. Life with my parents is all she’s ever known. But she’s gotten comfortable with us, and we’ll make life as good as we can for her. She likes us both, but she’s taken a particular liking to me. Animals choose you, not the other way around, but I have to admit it’s kind of nice that she’s choosing me. Melissa already has Navi, and I don’t have Lister anymore, so maybe I have a new furry friend who’s not too much like Lister.
We’re taking the direct route home, without another detour through Kentucky, to make the trip as quickly as possible. We’ll cannonball it in two days again, though with more stops than on the trip east to let Ruger wander around a little. Then we get to figure out how to adapt to life in a tiny house with two giant dogs. Hopefully they’ll be pals, and we’ll all have fun.
