This past week Marie and I drove down to Lincoln, New Hampshire to take a snowmobile-guided tour of the White Mountains. We were seriously thinking about buying our first
moto neige and Marie had planned this adventure to see if it was seriously something we wanted to do. We entered the US through the border at Pittsburg, New Hampshire, the road, highway 3, a sheet of ice and snow until we got past the First Connecticut Lake and a bit further south.Being so cold the salt they put down had no effect on melting the ice. It was a good three hour drive but the scenery was a nice change from always driving through Maine, and became quite exhilarating when we got deeper into the White Mountains, home of Mt Washington where the highest winds for a land based weather station were recorded in 1931 (231 mph). In Lincoln we stayed overnight at Woodwards a huge, sprawling resort across from the road from the snowmobile place, Sled Ventures. Our 'pet room' was large with two queen size beds and a balcony. We immediately took advantage of the hot tub and sauna they had, the temperatures hovering around -15C when we arrived. Next door was an Italian restaurant (Fresolone's) where we had a delicious pasta supper, run by a very talkative host who couldn't stop yawning the whole time we were there. (Says a lot about our company or maybe it was because we were the only customers). Early the next morning, after a great continental breakfast put on by the resort, we were dressed and ready to go for the 9 am start. There were ten other machines with us and we set off fairly slowly to get a feel for the Skidoos, following our guides. Sled Ventures does various tours of different lengths but we opted for the two hour tour and for a first timer I found that was more than enough. We went through some meandering and up and down trails through the forest towards Franconia Notch State Park and Mt Lafayette, going no more than 25 mph at any one time so it was quite enjoyable and safe. The views were spectacular and even though it was bitterly cold with a wind blowing, Marie and I were cozy and warm in our snowmobile suits, helmets, boots and gloves provided by the Sled Ventures. A friend had loaned her his GOPro camera which she put on her helmet but it unfortunately didn't work, or maybe stopped recording because of the wind chill factor. The snowmobiles were new SkiDoos. the Grand Touring models with Rotax 600cc 4 cylinder engines, easy to handle and complete with wonderful hand warmers on the handlebars you could fry an egg on.
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| Interstate 93, White Mountains, NH |
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| Marie in the hot tub, Woodwards Resort, Lincoln, NH |
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| outside Fresolone's Italian restaurant |
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| breakfast before going out on the trail |
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| cleaning off snowmobiles before tour |
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| along the trail |
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| Marie near Franconia Notch, NH |
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| me, warm as toast in -18 C |
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| near Mt Lafayette, White Mountain National Forest |
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snowbank outside our resort
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We were sorry when we had to head back for 11 am but certainly enjoyed the two hours tearing through the woods, crossing over countless narrow bridges and zooming through underpasses, roughly following the Interstate 93. After returning our snowmobiles and suits and checking out of the resort we reluctantly headed home, following the same route except for a detour through Vermont, going north on the 105 to the small village of Bloomfield where we stopped for a late lunch. We didn't want to eat at MacDonalds in Lancaster so had driven almost an hour more before finally finding a place tucked away behind some snowbanks. We had discovered a hidden gem, Debanville's General Store and Cafe ('the corner of nowhere and everywhere') just across the State line. They offered a sample of a delicious thin crust pickle pizza before we ordered the DeBomb for me (Angus Steak with sautéed mushrooms, onions, peppers, mayo and American cheese.) Marie had the pulled pork with coleslaw "Sammiche". And they even gave us a warm, chocolate cookie straight out of the oven to go. Worth driving the hour and 15 minutes from our place for sure! We were back home for supper but who was hungry? gws
