The weather was overcast but we saw a glimmer of a sunrise over the 2nd Connecticut Lake.

Just before leaving for home we stopped off in the center of town to go to the Lake Francis General store.

Overall it was a nice vacation albeit we left a little disappointed that we did not see any moose. As we passed back through the white mountains on our way home Meghan spotted a bear drinking from a river at Franconia Notch! We turned around to stop and take a photo but it was unfortunately too late!

Just past the 3rd Connecticut lake in Pittsburg is the international border. We drove up and across the border and found ourselves in the French-Canadian region of Quebec!

Just across the border the relatively flat road we had traveled on in Pittsburg for the last 13 miles turned into a big downward hill in Chartierville! This hill is called “Magnetic Hill” and is so called because of the optical illusion that occurs when driving downhill that makes you look as if you are getting pulled up the hill.

Yes, we get it…. We have to use the numbers on the inside of the speedometer now…..

The landscape changes from woods and moose south of the border to fields and cows north of the border.

Yes, I think they notice me…

45-Église Saint-Pierre, La Patrie 1907

And then came the weather…. It went from a beautiful sunny day to very windy and very heavy rain. So much so that I had to pull over and remove the branch of a tree from my wheel arch.

Église Saint Jean Baptiste, Sherbrooke, QC

Aside from the occasional Canadian flag…. and Quebec flags I  have to say, far out number them, I would not have been able to distinguish the region from one in France.

L’Hotel de Ville, Sherbrooke, QC

Basilique-Cathédrale Saint Michel

Inside Basilique-Cathédrale Saint Michel

After Sherbrooke we started our drive back. We took a few detours along the way and entered back into the US in Canaan, Vermont!

We arrived at our cabin around 11am. The cabin was a little further off the beaten path than previous places we have stayed but had everything we needed and slept 6 so we had plenty of space!

Click image below for a larger view:

We took a drive up to “Moose Alley” and spent some time looking for moose without success. While on Rt-3 I went on the Moose Alley Trail which takes you into the woods and across to some waterfalls. It was interesting to see the different kinds of vegetation as you walk through the woods.

I found this Geocache at the falls.

Here is a video of the falls and my walk through the woods.

As we passed through the white mountains it was evident that the leaves were starting to turn. In another week to two weeks it should be peaking.

The city of Berlin, NH is one of the first towns as you enter the Great North Woods. The colour here was pretty much peaking.

Route 16 about 15 miles south of Errol, NH.

The Androscoggin River, south of Errol, NH.

The sun disappeared at this point and the weather stayed gray and overcast for the rest of the weekend.

Dixville Notch.

Some amazing colour at The Balsalms Resort, Dixville Notch.

The colour along “Moose Alley” (Route 3) was spectacular. We only saw 6 moose on this trip but on this occasion the colour was the highlight of the weekend.

Moose Alley.

Magalloway Logging Road, leads miles into the woods from Moose Alley.

At the northern end of “Moose Alley” is the Canadian Border. Previously they allowed cars to turn around at the border entry point but this new sign has been placed at the 3rd Connecticut Lake for turnarounds. I am assuming you are still allowed to continue on to the border and park if you want to do the hike to the 4th Connecticut lake which starts behind the US Border house.

A tree line across the street close to the cabin we stayed in.

A boat on the 1st Connecticut Lake opposite our cabin.

Scenic Route 145 from Pittsburg to Colebrook.

Fall Colour seen from Route 145.

Beaver Brook Falls in Colebrook, NH.

This tree in front of the Colebrook Public Library was an amazing shade of bright red.

Nice colour at a farm along Route 26.

Roadside leaf colour…

A colourful hill on Route 16 near Milan, NH.

Our trip to Pittsburg, NH was certainly the prettiest one so far. The fall colour was spectacular and very hard to portray easily using photographs. We only saw 4 moose on this occasion. Bull moose are fully racked at this time of the year so it would have been great to have seen and photographed one. That coupled with the amazing colour would have made for a very nice photo! We shall try again next year I am sure and there is still a chance I might see one along the Kancamagus Highway before the fall is done.

We spent a lot of time on Route 3 between Pittsburg and the Canadian border, known to locals as “Moose Alley” for its frequent moose sightings. Moose Alley lived up to its name as we saw 16 moose along the roadside during our 2 night stay. We saw the last moose of our trip “number 17” on Route 16 south of Errol NH on our way home.

All in all it was a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend in New Hampshire’s Great North Woods.

Here are some pictures from our weekend away and a video clip.

A nice welcome gesture from the cabins. I wonder who told them?

Route 3 – Moose Alley

A friendly Gray Jay swooped a couple of times to get my attention and then posed for a photo!

A moose keeps a watchful eye on us as it drinks from a roadside bog.

Our cabin for the weekend at Lopstick. The aptly named “Moose” cabin.

The view from our cabin. We couldn’t have asked for better.

Even the spring colour in New England is impressive.

Caution! Active Moose Crossing. This sign was feet away from the U.S. border entry point.

A reminder of why the above signs are posted all down Route 3.

After a long days moose watching we fired up the BBQ.

A covered bridge. A familiar sight throughout New England.

A picturesque graveyard.

Dusk at the 2nd Connecticut Lake.

And finally, a video clip of my birthday weekend away:

Dramatic skies over the Pontook Reservoir on Route 16 in Dummer, NH.

The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, NH.

Our cabin for the night in Pittsburg, NH.

The view from the deck on our cabin overlooked the 1st Connecticut Lake.

This heron represented the only wildlife I photographed all weekend!

Mount Chocorua in the White Mountains on the journey home.

Our next trip to the Great North Woods will probably be next year now when the moose become active again.

Enjoy!

The picture is available in high-res on WMUR’s uLocal website.

As we travelled up Route 16 towards Errol, NH the big yellow signs at the side of the road warning us of moose collisions got more and more frequent. By the time we reached our B&B we knew we were deep in moose territory!

Our moose spotting took us mainly to a section of Route 3 called “Moose Alley”, so called for it’s frequent moose sightings. This section of road runs from the northern most New Hampshire town of Pittburg all the way up to the Canadian border. We drove as far as the border and then turned in the road at the border entry point and headed back down towards Pittsburg.

We only saw 1 of our total 6 moose sightings on this road! And here he is (you can tell he is male by the bumps on his head where his rack grows):

The remainder of our moose sightings were slightly south of Errol on Route 16.

Moose spotting strategy is fairly easy, you just crawl along at 15-20mph while checking the sides of the roads for signs of moose (like the mud tracks in the picture below).

Moose sighting are more frequent in the early daylight hours and just before dusk when they move about to search for food. We were told by the lady of the house at our B&B that once you have lived there for a while you get “an eye for them”.

All in all we had a fantastic weekend and I am thrilled to have seen my first moose!

Here are a couple of other pictures I took. The first is a hummingbird on the feeder at the B&B.

Here is a short video montage of our moose searching!