On Saturday we left Eastport Maine and drove across the state on mostly two lane roads to the Twin Mountain/Mt Washington KOA in the mountains of Northern New Hampshire. This is a beautiful area with old towns with traditional main streets. All the major roads go thru these quaint towns with two and three story buildings on each side of the street. A few of the trees are starting to turn and we wish they would hasten the process but unfortunately we are a little ahead of the autumn colors. It is 48 degrees here this morning but when the sum comes out the temperature will go to the high sixties. On Sunday we first ate breakfast at a very popular old family restaurant and then drove thru some of the towns. We had to wait 15 minutes just to get in the restaurant and could not park until someone left. The food was worth the wait.
The KOA is at the western base of Mt Washington. Wikipedia reveals the following facts:
"Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 feet and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River.
The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, the Mount Washington Observatory recorded a windspeed of 231 miles per hour at the summit, the world record from 1934 until 1996. Mount Washington still holds the record for highest measured wind speed not associated with a tornado or tropical cyclone."
Yesterday, Monday, we rode the COG railway to the top of Mt Washington. You ask what is a COG railway. The one going up to the summit of Mt Washington was the worlds first and commenced operation in 1868. COG refers to the method used to move the train and uses a large gear that mates to a center ladder rail. The only purpose of the railway is to move people to the summit and back down. The average grade is 25 % and the maximum is 37.4 %. The train goes up and down in the same position and the seats are angled for comfort and flipped over for the trip down. Originally the engines were steam powered but now are diesel. There are still two steam units operating for nostalgia but the one we rode was diesel.
Of course the summit was in the clouds on our visit. We ask one of the employees if there were clear days and she said the summit was in the clouds an average of 300 days a year. In addition to the clouds the summit has hurricane force winds on average 110 days a year. Not a pleasant place and when we got off the train it was 27 degrees with strong wind. I made it to the summit sign but it was difficult to stand up in the strong wind. No chance for a selfie and Pam did not even make the walk up.
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