NH Covered Bridge Challenge............ Takes on New England!: June 2012

Seven Bridges in Three Hours?*** (aka...Six Bridges in Five Hours)

School wasn't out yet, but Ellen and I decided that it was a good night to hit the bridges in the Swanzey area. These bridges include the Slate (#4), Coombs (#2), Ashuelot (#1), West Swanzey (#5), Sawyer's Crossing (#6), and the Carleton (#7).

This was a rather ambitious venture, considering we took a 45 minute detour to tour Ellen's school to get maps that she had printed. The maps from Mapquest didn't help one bit (shocked, I'm sure). If only we had seen this map:

I found this map after we got back. The map that we had only had five bridges on it. This made it very difficult to figure out where each one was exactly.

Sawyer's Crossing (#6)

The first bridge we found was Sawyer's Crossing (#6). This bridge is labeled "Cresson Bridge" which only confused us all the more, but it was on Sawyer's Crossing Road, so we will let it go.

This bridge had a nice parking area. Although the traffic through the bridge was crazy. We had to cling to the inside of this one more than once.

In a picnic area overlooking the bridge, there was a nice sign showing where the bridges were. You can bike to all of the bridges in Swanzey using this map:

If only these pictures helped us.

The bike trail map did not photograph well.

This bridge is famous for being featured in a cigarette Christmas cartoon.

In my research to find this picture, I found many Chesterfield Christmas ads. It is amazing how much advertising has changed. Ellen decided to do her own fake cigarette ad:

Notice the posts coming out of the side of this bridge. This is the first time that we have seen this feature.

Built in 1859. Nice lattice truss.

West Swanzey (#5)

After Sawyer's Crossing (#6) aka Cresson, we stumbled upon the West Swanzey (#5) aka Thompson. Built in 1832, it is the oldest bridge we have seen so far. We should note, however, that almost every bridge we have seen has gone under major renovation in recent years.

This bridge is next to a mill with a sidewalk on one side.

Due to its downtown location and heavy traffic, this has been one of the most dangerous bridges to ~~walk~~ run across.

According to the Official NH Bridge Website, in 1973, school buses could only go over the bridge if it was empty. If students were on the bus, they would have to get out and walk accross. Good thing this bridge has a sidewalk!

Coombs (#2)

The Coombs was next. For some reason our bridge facts sheet says that this bridge is good for tourists and students, but we are not sure why it says that.
Note: There is no parking near this bridge.

It was built in 1837.

This one had the largest, most inappropriate graffiti we have seen so far

and a rope swing.

Ashuelot (#1)

On to Bridge #1!!!!!!! We were so excited to find the bridge #1 sign, Ellen and I climbed up on a fence to take a shot next to the sign.

The Ashuelot is the longest bridge we have been to so far. It has a double sidewalk, but Ellen and I are committed to walking through the main part of the bridge. We ran through this one too.

Note: There is a $5 fine for "riding or driving through this bridge faster than a walk". Does that mean we have to pay the fine? We ran through....and not on the sidewalk!

We bloggers run through the middle...unless of course that is illegal, because if it is, we absolutely did not do that.

I would like to take the time to apologize to Ellen's mother for this next photo. My phone's camera has a delay, and I swear that there were no headlights behind Ellen when I started to take this photo.

Don't worry, we were both safe. It was also around this time that we realized that we often forget to eat on our adventures. Thank goodness that Ellen keeps snacks in the back.

Built in 1864, this is described as one of New Hampshire's most elaborate covered bridges. Well worth the trip.

No. 1, baby!

On the way back from #1, we saw a black bear. It was a little guy right by the car. I tried to take a picture, but this is all we got.

Carleton (#7)

Due to the sunset, we were ready to make the Carleton (#7) our last bridge of the trip.

It was perfect. It smelled like a summer day at my grandpy's house. So peaceful.

The Carleton (#7) has a truss that looks like the inside of a barn, yet the New Hampshire bridge registry calls this a Queenpost. The orignial bridge at this location was built in 1789. It was rebuilt in 1869 and from the looks of it, has recently had some work done.

At this point we sadly decided to head home. This is one that I will look back on fondly. I saw our first glimpse of summer vacation at the Carleton.

Slate (#4)

We did not have the Slate (#4) marked on our map, and while we knew it had to be close, we did not know where it could be.

My phone was also almost dead and the service was poor, but finally a brief window opened up with a bit of service that told us that we were about 6 minutes away. We turned around and headed to the Slate in the dark.

I hope that this one counts even though we saw it in the dark. Driving two hours again would be silly. So here it is-- a bridge photographed in under five minutes.

This is a another bridge with a $5 fine for going faster than a walk. Like many of the bridges we have visited, it was rebuilt in the last 20 years. Originally built in 1862, the latest bridge was built in 2001.

It was a little creepy in the dark, so we ran through quickly.

Ellen thought she heard a wild coyote so we ran. However, the wild animal running toward us did have jingliing tags, so I am guessing that it wasn't that wild.

And yes, my mom did scold me for bridge hunting on a school night!

*** Note: We did this trip during the second to last week of school, but the write up didn't happen until now. Sorry for the delay!

Next it was onto Little Squam.

This bridge was located next to a beach. This is the first bridge that we have visited that was located on a lake.

The stakes are high, the water's rough. Well, kind of...

A-o-o-o-o-ow!

Hey isn't this easy? I love blogging!

There are lots of rules at the Little Squam. It might as well say no running across the bridge. These are important types of rules. When you come across a sign like this, always remember "You should've said no, you should've gone home."

Our song is the slamming screen door. Obviously, this door was slammed shut and locked. I haven't seen one of these on a bridge before.

"I close my eyes and the flashback starts:
I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air."

Just in case there was any question, Taylor Swift was at this bridge at some point recently. :)

Here is a full shot of the Little Squam.

After the Little Squam, it was onto the Smith!

This was the first bridge that we could wade underneath. It was a great way to cool off on this summer day! Just another reason why this is a summer challenge!