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Old 11th July 2016, 05:47   #16
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Lonesome Lake, New Hampshire:

Lonesome lake is located in Franconia Notch State park which is reachable by hiking trails. Got to know the previous day from Accuweather that it had snowed few inches at Franconia. Hence we geared up for the snow hiking to Lonesome lake. The forecast for the day was excellent. It was the first snow of the season at New Hampshire. We reached Franconia at 8 AM and started the 1.7 miles hike. The ascend was pretty easy as the fresh snow provided enough grip. but the descend was quite tough as ice had formed at many places and it was very slippery. The view of the Lonesome lake is worth the hike.

There was plenty of sunshine for the day even though the weather was in freezing levels. Since the daylight is too short in Winter, we planned to hike early and descend by 2 PM before the sun sets at 3 PM:
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The ATV trail:
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The snow got deeper as we ascended:
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Old 11th July 2016, 05:52   #17
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

The view of the frozen Lonesome lake which is located on top of a mountain was wonderful. There is a shelter next to his lake which is maintained by Applachian Mountain Club called as AMC hut:
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After spending some time in freezing temperatures, we started the descent. The fresh powder of snow in the morning had turned into ice and it was very slippery:
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Took I-93 to reach Franconia:
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Returned through I-91, US-5 and US-4 since we got bored of the drive in I-93. US-5 is very scenic. It passes next to a railway track for most of the part but didn't spot any train though:
Lost in the United States in search of diversity-return.jpg

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Old 11th July 2016, 06:27   #18
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Quoddy Head State Park, Maine:

It was the eve of Christmas and we were planning for some pretty long drive for the Christmas. Most of the well known places would be crowded and hence we were scouting for a lesser known place. Came across this place called Quoddy Head State Park near Lubec, Maine in some forum. It was around 400 miles from our home. I calculated some timings and decided to do a day trip. My wife was bit skeptical of going for such a long drive in a single day which would amount to a total of 800 miles. Since it was Maine, I knew the roads would be totally deserted. Maine is one of the states with least population density. We decided to do a day trip and started from home at 3 AM.

The significance of Quoddy Head State Park is that it's the Easternmost point of mainland US. To get an idea, it's located at the red circle in the map below:
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It was fun to drive in the completely isolated sections of I-95 North in Maine. It was good to see such sparse traffic on I-95 since it's always crowded towards South of Boston as it passes through major cities on East coast. Maine is one of the few states in Eastern US where we come across completely deserted stretches of roads. The speed limit on I-95 is pretty high in Maine:
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The light house at Quoddy Head State Park. We were the only visitors there for almost entire duration we stayed there. The Grand Manan island, Canada can be seen in the background:
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Old 11th July 2016, 06:40   #19
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

The temperature was freezing at Quoddy Head. There are 4 well marked trails along the seashore.

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In Summer, one can climb onto top of the light house. It's closed from October - May. Facilities are closed during winter but there are couple of portable type restrooms in the park.
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It should be noted that Bangor on I-95 is the last major town one can get while going to Quoddy Head. After that it's an isolated stretch all the way until Machias on US-1. It's better to fill up the tank as well as stomach and stock up food supplies at Bangor. There are couple of gas stations in between but they are not guaranteed to be open. The ME-9 - ME-192 stretch of this section literally has nothing. It's a completely isolated stretch with very few vehicles to be spotted here and there. There were lots of old dilapidated houses inside deep forest all along this stretch which were straight out of the old horror movie series Evil Dead. (https://goo.gl/maps/vBpX33pTNvD2)
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I didn't want to return through I-95 again so took the scenic US-1 coastal route and then joined I-95. I loved driving on the scenic US-1. (https://goo.gl/maps/o9uSP2EPVS82)
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I was not at all tired after driving for 800+ miles. The routes in Maine are very scenic and completely deserted. The only problem in Maine is lack of facilities if one ventures out of Interstate highways (after Portland). It's very difficult to find proper restaurants after Bangor. Since we are vegetarians, we had stocked up enough food from home as it's very difficult to get anything vegetarian there. There is a Subway and Dunkin Donut at Machias (30 miles before the destination) but were closed on account of Christmas.

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Old 11th July 2016, 06:51   #20
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Mohawk Trial, Vermont Rt 100 in Winter:

One fine winter morning we just decided to go for a long drive and chose Mohawk trail, Massachusetts and Rt 100, Vermont. We didn't have any specific destination in mind but just went for a 370 miles drive. Few pics from the drive.

Mohawk trail, MA:
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This stretch of the Mohawk trail was completely washed out during 2012 Irene storm but was re-built and opened for public within an year:
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Lots of such picnic areas dot all along the Mohawk trail:
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The overlook from the famous hairpin bend on Mohawk trial near North Adams:
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VT-100:
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Somewhere on VT-7 near Bennington:
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Route (https://goo.gl/maps/Qh1pUWyhfaJ2):
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Old 11th July 2016, 06:59   #21
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Mt Washington, New Hampshire:

Mt Washington is the highest peak in New England. It has very harsh weather conditions and we are required to carry winter clothing even during summer. The weather conditions can change drastically at any point of time. We can drive upto the summit on Mt Washington Auto Road by paying a hefty toll. It's like $29 per car and driver and $9 for each additional individual. Folks here consider this drive as an adventurous one and paste a sticker on the car stating "This car has climbed Mt Washington". But for us, it's just another hill. The road is neither challenging nor as steep or challenging like many of those beautiful ghat sections which we find in India. It was funny to watch people here driving as though they are conquering some toughest roads in Himalayas

We went in late summer but one can see traces of snow. That explains the type of weather conditions there:
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It's very rare to get a clear view of the scenery there as most of the time it'll be covered inside the clouds. During a very clear day, even Atlantic ocean is visible from the top:
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The weather observatory on the summit which had recorded a wind speed of 231 MPH in 1934. The summit is closed most of the times due to erratic weather conditions.
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A cog rail can be seen climbing up the mountain (I guess they charge around $60 per head for a round-trip ):
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Route:
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Returned through Kancamagus highway. Took the Bear Notch road to connect from US-302 to Kancamagus highway to avoid the usual crazy traffic at North Conway. The Bear Notch road is closed in Winters.
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Old 11th July 2016, 07:14   #22
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Foliage drive in Vermont:

Fall is the best season to visit rural areas of New England states and we went for a casual drive through Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire countryside. Few pics from the drive:
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French King Bridge on Mohawk trial:
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A beautiful rest area at Brattleboro, Vermont:
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Molly Stark trail between Brattleboro and Bennington in Vermont:
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Old 11th July 2016, 07:17   #23
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

View from the Hogback Mountain, Vermont
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The scenic Vermont Route-7 and Route-7A between Bennington and Manchester, Vermont:
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It was a 300 miles scenic drive (https://goo.gl/maps/xFu7UJM6bWw):
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Old 19th July 2016, 01:36   #24
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Lefferts Pond, Chittenden, Vermont:

Lefferts Pond is a beautiful scenic area in a remote corner of Green Mountain National Forest of Vermont next to the Chittenden reservoir. It's a very lesser known place. Most of the locals of Vermont doesn't know about the existence of this place. I got to know about this place from an online forum and we decided to drive there one fine summer morning. It's around 200 miles from my home and it took around 4 hours to reach there with necessary breaks. Even though it was summer, the weather was pretty cold there in the morning.

Started the drive through interior Massachusetts roads. This is near Northfield on MA-10:
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My favorite rest area in the East Coast of USA. This is the Vermont Welcome Center near Brattleboro on I-91 North. We always make a point to stop at this place whenever we drive towards Vermont.
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We then entered VT-103 to connect to VT-100:
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The scenic VT-100:
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US-4 near Killington:
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From US-4, we need to take a right and proceed in internal roads. The maps suggested Meadow Lake Dr -> Chittenden Rd -> Dam Rd -> Wildcat Rd. There is no marking at the turn towards the Wildcat Rd. We need to follow the unpaved Wildcat Rd for around 1.5 miles to reach the Lefferts Pond. The turn to Lefferts Pond is marked though.

Wildcat Rd:
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Deserted parking lot at Lefferts Pond. The other two vehicles were that of forest rangers:
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Old 19th July 2016, 01:48   #25
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From the parking area, there is a well marked trial which loops around the Lefferts pond. It's around 1.5 miles. It was pretty cloudy and windy when we reached there.

Lefferts pond trail:
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There is a small opening at the beginning of the trail which provides access to the backwaters of Chittenden reservoir:
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After walking through the deep woods,we get to see the panoramic views ofthe beautiful Lefferts Pond:
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Old 19th July 2016, 01:52   #26
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Some more pics taken around the beautiful Lefferts Pond.
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The Lefferts pond outlet to Chittenden Reservoir:
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Old 19th July 2016, 02:01   #27
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We didn't take the entire loop around the Lefferts Pond but came back on the same path after walking for around 1 mile. The trail leads to Wildcat road after which we need to trace back the route:
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After sending quality time at Lefferts Pond, we came back to home though the scenic byways of Vermont instead of Interstate highways:
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The onward route which we took (https://goo.gl/maps/jawBrwbFkKP2):
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Old 19th July 2016, 02:19   #28
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Gifford Woods State Park, Killington, Vermont:

This is a small state part at Killington, Vermont. This state park has very old trees and is considered as a forest without human influence. There is an entry fee of $4 per adult for this state park. The friendly park official explained us the geography of the state park. The meaning of "Forest Without Human Influence" is explained in this pic:
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The state park has a small 1.5 mile trial which passes through deep woods containing very old trees:
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The trail then passes along the Kent brook. It also bisects the famous Appalachian trail:
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The trail ends at the scenic Kent pond which is right next to VT-100:
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The route is almost exactly same as that of Lefferts pond. Instead of going till Mendon on US-4, we need to take a right onto VT-100 near Killington Ski area entrance and the park can be fund on the left.
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Old 21st July 2016, 05:14   #29
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Boston:

Before venturing out of New England area, I'll share few pics of New England's largest city, Boston. Since we live very near to Boston, we hangout there almost every other weekend. We usually park the car at Alewife station or Riverside station and roam around the downtown in subway which I feel very convenient. Finding parking in the downtown is always a pain.

Paul Revere Statue at Boston Public Garden:
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Freedom trail - It's a 2.5 mile marked trail which starts at Boston Common and passes through major historic landmarks of downtown Boston and ends at Bunker Hill monument. It's the best way to see Boston by walk. Boston duck tours is an alternative but I prefer walking around in Freedom trail.
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Massachusetts state house:
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Boston Common:
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Frog Pond:
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Old City Hall:
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Old 21st July 2016, 05:30   #30
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re: Lost in the United States in search of diversity

Freedom trail then passes through Old State Meeting House:
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Irish Famine Memorial:
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Old Corner Book House:
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Boston Duck Tours:
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Old State House:
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The ever vibrant Quincy Market. This is our usual food stop:
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It then passes through the North End of the Boston downtown:
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