We just wanted a change of scenery and thought we'd take a drive. Dan planned out a route that would take us to the White Mountains and back stopping for lunch in Conway, NH (drive thru - fast food). The weather forecast said the light snow would change to rain and temperatures would rise to the 40ºs.
We set out close to 10 o'clock after two stops: library for book pick up outside and recycle center to leave our trash and recyclables.
We set out noticing that the state road we were on hadn't been salted or plowed. Was it because it was Saturday? or because it was to change to rain?
We had on "Wait, Wait, Don't tell Me" on NHPR (New Hampshire Public Radio). There weren't many cars on the road. The snow kept coming down and it was beautiful. Even the large snow banks on the sides of the road were getting a fresh covering of snow.
Outside of Plymouth, NH I remarked to Dan that the snow seemed to be getting heavier and the road more covered. He said he was thinking the same thing so we decided to abort our plans.
Rather than retrace our route home we decided that the interstate at Plymouth would be better cleared and we could head south before heading back west and home. The entrance ramp onto the interstate was snow covered. Here's the scene as we got on.
It quickly became one lane only. No plows in sight.
By this time we were listening to a program about NH roads in the winter and frost heaves. We exited the interstate and headed west to home experiencing the frost heaves. Apparently the highway department puts out thousands of these signs every winter.
If you're not familiar with frost heaves it's caused by water under the road surface freezing and thawing, breaking the road so that bumps appear in the road. Some of these are quite remarkable in their size though we haven't experienced any of these yet. Hitting one of these too fast can cause damage to the car. The least problem is the incredible bumpy ride.
We got back home before 1 pm. The next time we'll wait for better weather and blue skies, but we did get a change of scenery at least.
9 comments:
It's always fun to be out on the roads when mother nature decides to give us a bit of weather change. Glad you got home ok...and surprised NH didn't have any treatment of the interstate going...guess they are running short of sand/salt by this time. Oh I don't miss frost heaves at all. Here the interstate has barely patched holes which have gotten bigger and bigger, and each day they seem worse...but the NC DOT is waiting till there are no more freezes probably. It's scary going to Asheville where the pot holes could swallow one of my tires on my little Toyota...but I'm usually going 65 mph and just bump over them.
...frost heaves are a fact of life in cold climates.
I'd never heard of frost heaves. It sounds very, very chilly!
Oh, that is not fun.
I've never heard of frost heaves in the entire time we lived in the Midwest. That's so interesting. I can understand how that could cause a problem. Here in Hawaii we just get horrible pot holes.
Frost heaves are new to me, but they sound dangerous. I'm glad you aborted your plans while still getting out and about a bit. Driving in bad conditions is not relaxing for anyone!
When I saw the name Conway and the White Mountains I realised that I have traveled a little in that part of the world many years ago. I'm about to see if I can find some slides (remember them!) of the area!
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Once again, Marcia, we will nearly be intersecting with our travels as we will be spending several days in North Conway mid week, next week as a pre-2nd vaccine getaway. The forecast is for temps in the 50s so thankfully we won't experience the snowy road conditions you did. Ironically, most of the roadways here remained clear even with the snow continuing throughout Sat morning before it changed to rain and the temperature climbed.
Too bad your day out got cut a bit short but nice to get out a bit anyway. We don’t have frost so no frost heaves but the we have potholes caused by sand under the road sinking. Of course, they are called sinkholes and appear without warning. At least your heaves have warning signs!
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