Biking in New Hampshire

We decided to spend our last day in New England by biking in New Hampshire.  The Northern Rail Trail is a 55 mile rail trail that starts in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and is only about 10 miles from the campground.  After we unloaded our bikes in Lebanon, we chatted with a local couple for a few minutes who spend their winters RVing in the Venice area of Florida before starting our ride on the Northern Rail Trail.

Other than being chilly, it was an absolutely perfect day for a bike ride with the deep blue fall sky and the glorious autumn colors surrounding us.

The trail crossed the Mascoma River several times and anytime there was an open view of the river, we would stop to take pictures.

Actually, we would stop anytime any of the 4 of us saw something we wanted to take a picture of which was about every 1/4 mile or so.  Needless to say, we weren't breaking any speed records today but we sure were enjoying God's artistry all around us.

We reached a detour on the trail and had to ride up a hill to Highway 4, cross over Hwy 4 to Hwy 4A and then down Hwy 4A to Mascoma Lake.  So much for our nice easy ride today but had we not had the detour, we would not have seen some of the views of Mascoma Lake that we did like this:

All of us had our cameras or smartphones trying to capture the beauty of the fall foilage along Mascoma Lake.

What everyone was taking pictures of.

Leaf Peepers

We took our last pictures of the lake and then got back on the road and began looking for where to pick up the trail again.  We crossed a bridge and could see the trail below but did not see a way down to the trail.  We rode up a very steep road back up to Hwy 4...

...and followed the detour signs back to the trail.

Look at this hill covered with the glorious fall colors on the other side of the lake.  We might not have seen this had we not been detoured off the trail.  I'd say all our huffing and puffing biking up the steep hills was worth it!  :)

As we got back on the trail, we begin to see some scarecrows along the trail.

Bonnie made friends with this ski-girl.  :)

We continued riding along the trail stopping here and there to take more pictures of the lake.

Every once in a while, there would be a tree that would really stand out like this little red one.

As we got closer to Enfield, the rail trail cut through the rock.  The Northern Railroad built this line from Concord, NH, to White River Junction, VT in 1847.  Can you imagine the human effort it took to cut through this rock with chisels and black powder?

Can you imagine what it would have been like to have ridden a train along this railroad?

Within a mile or so, we came to the town of Ensfield.

We found a bench to sit on, enjoy some snacks, and rest a few minutes.  We also spotted a little white church in the distance.

Ken had been looking for the perfect fall picture with a little white church among the trees.  This one came pretty close.

It even had bride and groom scarecrows out front to greet us.

We cut up through the woods and got back on the trail and began heading back to Lebanon.

We didn't stop as much on the ride back but occasionally we would spot that perfect scene that we couldn't help but stop and take a picture of.

We got back to Lebanon and ate our lunch at a nearby picnic shelter around 3 pm.  Wow!  What a beautiful day and what a beautiful bike ride!

After we got back to the campground, we began getting ready to leave tomorrow and then got together later to play cards.  The guys finally won tonight.  They won SkipBo and Pinochle but the girls still won Sequence Dice!  Congratulations, guys!  I guess Dolores finally released the jinx she had placed on you since Sea Pines.  :)