Kayaking the Connecticut

Even though we're in the final throes of August, it seems like summer's just getting started, here in Vermont. June and July were nearly total washouts: cool and rainy, without much opportunity for outdoor activities. As a result, we've had to cram a lot of our summer fun into recent weeks.

For me, this included kayaking the Connecticut River. For those of you who don't know, the Connecticut is the river that separates Vermont from New Hampshire. And the part that we kayaked -- from Hartland, VT, to below Cornish, NH -- is a beautiful stretch. No houses or buildings lining the shoreline. Just trees, a view of the mountains, and now and then an eagle soaring into view.

This was not a rapids running, heart thumping sort of a trip. After being transported 12 miles upriver, we launched our rented kayaks into water that was as smooth as glass.

Here's the view, heading down the river:


















Here we're approaching the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, the longest double-span covered bridge in North America:


















And here I go, under the bridge:


















No, it wasn't skiing. But all the same, a great way to spend a summer day.


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