Timothy Palmer is credited with the idea of covering wooden bridges in PA around 1803. Trusses were expensive to build and maintain, so covering protected them from the elements. They came to be known as "kissin' bridges" because they afforded a young suitor the opportunity to steal a quick kiss out of the public's eye. Today fewer than 800 of these bridges remain; their demise was not due to the elements but to progress, heavy trucks, and vandalism. We were saddened to see graffiti on some of these beautiful structures.
Our trip in the fall of 2010 served the dual purpose of seeing old friends and enjoying the breathtaking fall foliage. This view of the Sunday river (l) gives a hint of what we saw. It was a cool but sunny day when we set out from Bridgton ME to search for covered bridges. I'm a born romantic and nothing says romance like a covered bridge.
The Sunday River Bridge, built in 1872, is named the Artist's Bridge because of its reputation as being the most photographed and painted of the venerable covered bridges in Maine.
We had the bridge to ourselves until a lovely couple from the Boston area drove up. They were gracious enough to shoot this photo from the opposite end of the bridge. Gracious because our camera kept timing off and I kept asking them to move closer or farther away. I was keenly aware that the photo opportunity would be a one time thing and wanted to make the most of it. The bridge, an 87 foot Paddleford truss, was closed to traffic in 1958 when a new bridge was built downstream. It is located about four miles northwest of North Bethel.
The road from Bridgton west led us through the beautiful White Mountain National Forest in NH. The sign reads, "White Mountain National Forest, Constructed by the town of Albany 1858, Renovated 1970." We drove over this bridge and through the forest for several miles. In Dallas people live on a golf course; there they live in the forest, although I assumed some of the homes belonged to caretakers.
Left is a view of the river from our vantage point on the bridge.
If you look closely you can spot Don to the left of the Saco River Bridge in Conway NH. It is on Rt. 153 and runs through the town of less than 2,000. We had to move out of the way of traffic several times before we could resume our sightseeing and picture taking. Typical tourists.
We happened to drive through Fryeburg ME on the weekend of the Fryeburg Fair, an agricultural event. The locals warned us about the traffic jam, but we've seen more cars on a Dallas area parking lot. Pictured left is the Hemlock Bridge built in 1857. It is a 109 foot Paddleford truss (the oldest surviving one using this system), and was reinforced to carry local traffic in 1988. It is located 3 miles NW of Fryeburg over the old channel of the Saco River. The Eastern hemlock tree, which grows 40 to 70 feet tall, is a most attractive conifer, but the name just doesn't bring romance to mind.
Our dear friends, Dick and Bev, drove us to the Parsonsfield-Porter bridge located near Porter ME, not far from their home. It was built by the towns of Porter and Parsonsfield as a joint project over the Ossipee River in 1876. The bridge is a 152 foot structure of Paddleford construction strengthened with laminated wooded arches. The bridge, located one half mile south of Porter, was closed to traffic in 1960 when a new bridge was built upstream. We didn't bother to hide inside the bridge or even from the camera--times have surely changed! We loved these old bridges so much that we had our 50th anniversary family photo taken on the covered bridge in Prairie Creek Park, Richardson TX.
The Vermont Country Store was closed when we arrived and we had to shine our carlights on this bridge to even see it. It was moved to the parking lot of the Rockingham store and leads to the Grist Mill and Water Wheel Museum. It is situated on 86 acres and encompasses a Christmas tree farm. We did make it to the Weston store the next day, purchasing maple syrup, candy, etc. Their slogan is "Purveyors of the Practical and Hard to Find."
On a beautiful sunny fall day we drove through the White Mountain National Forest on our way to visit Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park. (If I always mention the weather, it must be that the weather sets the tone for my experience). The parking lot was full and the visitors center was packed, but once on the trail, it opened up with plenty of room for us to walk at our own pace. 
Discovered in 1808, the Flume is a natural gorge extending 800 feet at the base of Mount Liberty. The walls of Conway granite rise to a height of 70 to 90 feet and are 12 to 20 feet apart. 
In the background is Avalanche Falls. I could not help but wonder how it got its name! 
In spite of that, here I am even closer to the falls. Visitors came from all over the world and at times the narrow stairway leading to the top was a bit crowded. Everyone was good-natured and happy to accomodate picture taking. 
We saw the humor in running across "Bear Cave." Many have heard the story of how Don encountered a bear in Glacier National Park. I was on the trail at the time and couldn't "bearify" the story. It must be true though, because he broke his wrist and tore his rotator cuff in a fall. We didn't encounter a bear this day, fortunately. 
At every turn was another beautiful woodland scene. 
Don is perched upon a rock by the most interesting tree roots. He was forever finding a playful photo opportunity and I had to go along with him. A few times, however, I had to nix his ideas--what he called playful, I deemed a bit risky. 
Pemigewasset is an Abenaki Indian word meaning swift. This was the 3rd so named Swift River that we saw--the others were in Montana and New Hampshire. 
