Wildcat Mountain Zipline

     I love driving through the picturesque towns of New Hampshire and Vermont.  On this mild, autumn Saturday (October 8), there was a festive atmosphere in the towns we passed through with decorated homes and storefronts and bustling sidewalks.  Families were out in town and country enjoying the fall colors, picking pumpkins, visiting cider mills, eating donuts.  We didn't take time to stop for pictures, but I enjoyed the drive (not as much fun for Mark who had to deal with the traffic:)        We pulled off at the Mt Washington Auto Road just to briefly walk around and enjoy the view.  We didn't go up the mountain because we did that on our last trip out east.

Mt Washington Auto Road

 

       Just down the road from Mt Washington, we stopped at Wildcat Mountain and did the zipline!  We rode the chairlift up the mountainside, then took the zipline down.  It was awesome!  What a fun way to finish our trip!  

The chairlift

 

Exited the chairlift here, then climbed on foot a little further.

 

Zipline staging area

 

Harness up!

At the bottom ~ Was able to snap a quick pic of our harnesses.

 

 

Our Last Day in Maine

     Our last day in Maine (October 7) was a day of several quick stops.  We left Rangeley Lakes State Park Campground and headed south and west.  We stopped at an overlook just outside of Rangeley and then again at the "Height of Land" Lookout where there were low hanging clouds covering Mooselookmeguntic Lake.  

Rangeley Scenic Overlook ~ low clouds over Rangeley Lake

Height of Land Overlook

 

Low clouds over Mooselookmeguntic Lake

     Our next stop was at Coos Canyon which is a 500 yard gorge where gold panning was once done.  

        In Rumford we went searching for the middle and upper Rumford Falls on the Androscoggin River that runs through the middle of the town, but couldn't seem to find them.  When we asked at the tourist information center, the fella there said, "I could show you where they WERE, but they're GONE."  He told us that the drought this summer had reduced them to a trickle.          Maine has experienced a severe drought this summer.  Several people have mentioned it to us this trip.  Water levels are down and wells are going dry.  We talked at length to a man who was getting water for washing and cleaning from the river at the Wire Suspension Bridge because his well was barely producing enough for drinking.  A young woman working at McDonald's said her well ran dry and they are carrying water from her mother-in-law's house and hoping for rain.  

Fall Colors

       Our next stop was the Sunday River Covered Bridge.  From there we headed for Grafton Notch State Park to the Step Falls and the Screw Auger Falls which have both been impacted somewhat by the drought.  We could have done some more hiking in Grafton Notch, but the sun was getting low in the sky making it dark in the woods (and I was getting tired anyway!)  

Sunday River Covered Bridge

 

Step Falls

Our Shadows!

 

Less than normal water over the falls

Screw Auger Falls

     Though we didn't see anything particularly memorable today, it was a lovely, sunny day and we enjoyed the warm weather and the scenery.    We crossed into New Hampshire and camped at Umbagog State Park.  It was a beautiful evening and we sat on a log swing by a serene lake as the sun went down.  

Umbagog State Park ~ Lit by the sinking sun

 

Our campsite