Day Nine – Farmington ME to Bath NY (598 miles)
Friday started with sunny skies and the promise of good weather. We knew we had the ability this day to go at a leisurely pace and we would wind up somewhere in Western NY, and able to ride home on Saturday by noon. So we started by heading west on US2; a road we had traveled many times in the past. We thought about having breakfast in Mexico or Rumford but we didn't see anything that tickled our fancy. We decided to stop and view the falls in Rumford (KMZ). The 175 mile Androscoggin River, known in the early records as the "Great River", flows about 11 miles from west to east through the town. At the end of the run is the "Great Falls", the highest falls east of Niagara Falls in New York. First known as Pennacook Falls, then Rumford Falls. At the falls is the home of the former Oxford Paper Company, at one time the largest paper company, under one roof, in the world, now the MeadWestvaco Paper Company. We continued on and stopped in Gorham NH for breakfast (KMZ). We were now in the heart of the White Mountains and truly enjoying the ride. The weather was perfect as we continued on US2 toward St. Johnsbury VT. Once there, we decided to head south on I-91 and look for a good place to jump off to ride along side the Connecticut River. We first jumped off at Wells River VT, crossed the river and rode south on NH10. As it winds its way from its headwaters near the Canadian border, the Connecticut River in the town of Haverhill makes two dramatic oxbows. The broad sweep of this fertile river bottom land was the focal point in 1761 for the first settlers who labored to carve the beginning of a settlement in this northern most out-post of colonial New Hampshire. Haverhill NH is a beautiful little town along the banks of the Connecticut River that's history dates back to 1704. We traveled down the road with abundant corn fields all around. At Orford NH we crossed back over the river and rode south on I-91 for a few miles before exiting again at Lebanon. Now we were headed south on NH12A toward the town of Cornish. We spotted the Blow-Me-Down Covered Bridge and decided to stop to Augment our covered bridge tour we continue in our area of the world. The bridge spans a deep gorge on the Blow-Me-Down Brook (KMZ). The bridge was built by James Tasker in 1877 for a cost of $529 and restored in 1980. Soon after we stumbled on the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge (KMZ). We had hit the mother lode and didn't really even know it was coming. This is the longest wooden covered bridge in the United States and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world. Satisfied with ourselves with continued down 12A for a time before jumping back on to the interstate. We exited at Brattleboro VT and headed west on VT9. This is a great road that cuts across through the Green Mountain National Forest. There is pull off at the highest point where we stopped for pictures (KMZ). This area is near Mt. Snow and Molly Starks State Park. We next passed through Bennington VT as we neared the NY border. We hit traffic as we crossed the state line and headed into Troy. Once through Troy we decided to hit the interstate hard and see how far we could get. We gassed up in Duanesburg NY and continued west on I-88. We targeted Olean where had stayed before but by the time we reached Bath we figured we'd better stop and find a place as darkness was upon us. The only place in town was the Super Eight (KMZ). We were pleasantly surprised by the clean room and hospitality. This certainly was not our normal style.
