The Kank

On Saturday we took the longest scooter ride we have ever taken. Let me assure you that 250 miles in 7 hours is tough on the behind!

Several people here told us about the scenery in the northern part of New Hampshire. In particular they suggested that we would enjoy the Kancamagus Scenic Byway between Conway and Lincoln. It is about a 30 mile highway that is best known as one of the premier drives for seeing fall foliage.

We left the Kingston area where we are staying and rode north on highway 125 to highway 16 that runs to Conway. The traffic was very heavy in places as it seems many people had the same idea. It turns out that the Conway/Lincoln area is very heavily visited all summer long, and Conway in particular is a major tourist destination.

The scenery on the way up was just about as good as the scenery on the Kank itself, except that there are some vistas as the highway rises to an elevation of over 2800 feet at the crest. For those of us westerners that sounds silly, but it is a big deal here. The road follows a pretty river for part of the route and there were several areas that had many visitors. Not only were the parking lots full but people were parking along the road. One particularly crowded area was near a waterfall that was a popular swimming and sunbathing area.

The return route brought us down I-93 but for an interstate highway, it was still a pretty ride. We arrived home with sore behinds but had a good time in spite of it.