Contrary to the weather reports, the sun has continue to shine each day, and we set out for Lake George this morning. Very shortly after leaving the campsite we pulled over to visit the historic Scott covered bridge. We had seen others earlier that were still in use but this one was special in that it was the longest wooden span bridge in Vermont when it was built.
The main, 166 ft, span is quite incredible. It was subsequently strengthened with wooden arches built inside the original structure but this attempt failed and more recently a concrete pier was constructed mid stream to support it. It has been closed to traffic for some time.
The roads around Bald Mountain had been closed after Hurricane Irene, but were now open. What the website didn't say was that there was a detour partway along our route to Manchester Centre, for any vehicles shorter than 23 feet. At 32 feet we felt obliged to ask directions. Luckily the lady we asked lived along the detour and said she had seen vehicles larger than ours travel along there, and suggested we ignore the sign and take the detour.
It proved to be very interesting. The destruction left by the flooding after the hurricane was very obvious, with the river bed a disorganised chaos of rocks, a house only half there and hanging over the temporary road (along the river bed). The replacement bridge was under construction, and we saw three other bridge repairs on the road to Manchester Centre.
The area here is obviously higher, as we saw signs to a ski field. As a result, the foliage became more and more colourful. The surrounding hills had bands of colour where the trees at a certain level were turning red. It was a real treat to see briefly the type of foliage we had come to see, before arriving at Manchester. This proved to be a neat and tidy provincial town. We found a bank to use an ATM, in what appeared to once have been a gracious home.
Lunch was an interesting stop at Dorset by the first marble quarry in the US. The large hole left after the rock was extracted has filled with crystal clear water and is obviously now a popular swimming hole on a hot day.
Lake George was an hour later. The town appeared a little as though the season was over and much was closed. But the lake itself was beautiful, with lake cruise boats lined up, including a paddle-steamer.
Our campsite at Lake George RV Park, was a lovely leafy cool haven at the end of the hot day.
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