23 Bridges in One Day! (Part 3 of 5)

At this point we were ready for our typical bridge experience. Basically we wanted to see the next set of bridges for free.  We also wanted to see them without hiking for hours in the woods.  Today was about getting the west side of the State done.  

After doing the Flume and Lost River, being in the car with the air conditioning on was a treat.

Swiftwater (#29) 12:19pm

After hearing about the Swiftwater in the news a few weeks ago, Ellen was very excited to see the Swiftwater. 

It was in the news for having...wait for it...swift water. All kidding aside, be careful.

There was a swimming hole right after the bridge.  This made the traffic in the area very heavy.

This bridge has been replaced many times due to floods and log jams.  Be careful, Ellen!

The Girl Scout council used to be called the Swiftwater.  Ellen had to take a Girl Scout picture here.

Not sure that I would swim in this fast moving water.  It may not look fast from the pictures, but the water going over the falls looked trecherous.

I think it was good that there were so many rules, but I am not sure how many people read them.  Many people appeared to be making their own rules.

Bath (#28) 12:49pm

Who is that cute girl on the bridge?

This bridge  claims to be the longest and the oldest, but we have heard that one before!

Triple arches with one on top!

There is an arch coming out of this arch-- never seen that before!

Note the blinking red light on the top of the bridge. This is the first bridge that we have seen with a traffic light.  Only one car in the bridge at a time, but two girls can run through!

This bridge had a raised sidewalk.

After leaving this bridge, we saw a parade!   This dramatically effected our commute time to the next bridge. It took us over 30 minutes to get to the Bath-Haverhill.  I tried to take a photo of the parade, this is what I got:

Fail.

Bath- Haverhill (#27) 1:14pm

On the official state website, this bridge is called the Bath-Haverhill, but all of the bridge signs say Haverhill-Bath.  Scandal.

This bridge is absolutely in our top five.  It has the best rules.  Here we go:

200 people, hmmmm.  Ellen and I would love to invite 199 of our closest friends to visit this bridge.  That way 200 of us could stand on the bridge and 1 person could photograph us.  Of course, we would never taunt the 201st person who would not be allowed on the bridge...

And in case you thought that no one would know if 201 people were on the bridge....

...BAM- this covered bridge has security cameras.

Built in 1829, this also claims to be the oldest bridge in use.

This bridge is a pedestrian only structure. There is a brand new highway bridge going over the river next to it.  A nice place to spend time on a hot day.



Edgell (#25) 1:53

We didn't know how long it would take for us to get to the Edgell. When we planned our day, we figured that this would be our halfway mark.  We didn't take into account just how long it would take to do the Flume and Lost River, but we did it.  At this point it was time for lunch.

This bridge was built on the town common and then moved to this location with and oxcart!

Dirty water.  This bridge is tied down so it won't float away again. Strange.

That's right.


Quick stat rundown: 12 bridges in 7 hours and 13 minutes! We want more!



After seeing the fireworks, driving late at night, waking up at 6:00am, and doing the Flume and Lost River, it was about time that we hit a wall.  I will call the next set of bridges: The Wall.