# Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Montreal, and Ottawa road trip **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890 "2024-01-31T02:05:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/61 "2024-02-09T20:04:44Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > Beware that the traffic is usually insane However, the Metro is excellent at least if you are downtown or on the other side of Mont Royal. Fast, great coverage, and each station is a work of art on its own. When I visited last year the only place I couldn’t get to via the Metro was Habitat 67. My only issue with it is that the Metro cars are continuously joined with no separations between the cars, which makes finding a seat easier, but creates a wind tunnel effect any time the train starts and sometimes when it enters a curve. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/62 "2024-02-09T20:36:56Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > My only issue with it is that the Metro cars are continuously joined with no separations between the cars, which makes finding a seat easier, but creates a wind tunnel effect any time the train starts and sometimes when it enters a curve. I haven’t ridden the STCUM in a while, but I don’t remember that. Is there a new design of train in use? Most the Line A subways here in Toronto are continuous as of the past decade or so, but I never experience that. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/63 "2024-02-09T20:46:12Z")
Not sure how new the cars are, but the wind was strong enough to knock off the loose lid from my hot tea and roll it down the corridor at least one car length. I momentarily thought about going back to pick it up but the people behind me ignored it either out of politeness or because it happens all the time, and I didn’t see where it finally landed anyway. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/64 "2024-02-09T21:16:04Z")
Yes, a [new train design](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10) was introduced to the Montreal Metro in 2016. They call it the “Azur”. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/65 "2024-02-09T21:18:54Z")
The only times I’ve been in Montreal since 2015 or so, I drove and walked everywhere. You learn something new every day. Thanks. Are they still on rubber tires (“it’s not a train, it’s a bus in a cave!”)? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/66 "2024-02-09T21:20:31Z")
Yes, still rubber tires. The tracks are unchanged. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/67 "2024-02-10T00:31:36Z")
you want to see Møøse, go skiing in Wyøming: > **[WATCH: Moose bombs down hill after skiers](https://regina.ctvnews.ca/video/c2864195-watch--moose-bombs-down-hill-after-skiers)** > > Wild video has emerged from Wyoming, showing a large moose chasing after skiers in the middle of a run down the hill. (There is alsø a fair bit øf inane news anchør chatter after the videø plays, but yøu can skip that.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/68 "2024-02-10T00:48:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > NH. > > This article calls Rt 3 north of Pittsburg, NH Moose Alley, and I’m sure it is called that. Pittsburg is the northernmost town in New Hampshire, so north of there is not New Hampshire, or even in the US - it’s Québec. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/69 "2024-02-10T04:04:47Z")
Well, to be fair, “downtown” Pittsburg, such as it is, is at the southern border of Pittsburg, and there’s a whole lot of nothing north of that that’s really only Pittsburg by virtue of it not being anything else. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/70 "2024-02-10T05:20:54Z")
That’s true, and probably a big part of the reason they stopped bothering to try to piece out more towns and just declared north of this southern townline, an area encompassing slightly more than six times the land area of Boston, to just be Pittsburg, like they got bored of the project in the final stretch of map-making. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/71 "2024-02-10T07:46:26Z")
This happened just a couple houses away from my aunt and uncle’s place in Montana. They pointed out the statue when I went to visit them. > **[Moose Mounts Bison Statue](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/statutory-moose/)** > > Photograph shows a moose mounting a statue of a bison. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/72 "2024-02-11T01:02:37Z")
Check the ski hills along your route - some of them will have lifts running during the off-season, giving you great views from the top. You often have the option of walking down or taking the lift. For the energetic (and of course - weather permitting) - walk up Mt. Washington (4 miles each way). We did it many years ago, and nowhere do you need ropes and climbing equipment - just a gentle slope (mostly) on a well-kept path. The road toll is about $40, and the “train” is about double that. Re: red lights in Quebec - you can turn right on red anywhere in Quebec except on the island of Montreal. In Montreal, there’s lots to see outside of the “touristy” places (Old Montreal and Mount Royal). Visit the parks or walk along the waterfront (e.g. around Ile de la Visitation). Leave the car at the hotel and take the BMW (bus, metro, walk). You can buy a one-day transit pass for $11. Ride the new REM one stop (15 minutes) for good views (extra fare if you go further). Get off and walk around (or just board on the other side to go back). (stand at the front or back) You can climb the 350+ stairs up Mount Royal (still quite an uphill climb to get from downtown to the steps), but worth the view. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/73 "2024-02-11T01:42:56Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > just a gentle slope (mostly) on a well-kept path I’m not sure what you are used to, but I wouldn’t consider any of the trails up Mt Washington to be gentle or a well-kept path. It can and does snow all months of the year, and it’s not a hike to be taken lightly. It’s over 4000 feet of climbing by any route and the weather up top can range from delightful to impossible to navigate. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/74 "2024-02-11T19:07:19Z")
Agreed. Back when i used to read Appalachia (the publication of the Appalachian mountain club) it was somewhat common to read of deaths among those climbing Mount Washington, especially in the “swing season” when the weather is least predictable. [https://a-z-animals.com/blog/meet-the-deadliest-mountain-in-the-united-states-with-231-mph-wind-speeds/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20list%20compiled,harsh%20weather%20on%20the%20mountain](https://a-z-animals.com/blog/meet-the-deadliest-mountain-in-the-united-states-with-231-mph-wind-speeds/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20list%20compiled,harsh%20weather%20on%20the%20mountain). Looks like that’s still pretty common, > According to a list compiled by New Hampshire Magazine, there have been 161 known deaths on Mount Washington since 1849. The causes of these deaths range from falls and hypothermia to heart attacks and avalanches. One common factor in many of these incidents is the unpredictable and harsh weather on the mountain. The most recent when that article was published was in July 2023. It’s an extremely popular hike, and people also climb it to ski down tuckerman ravine, so it’s not like it’s ridiculously dangerous. But it’s a mountain to treat with respect. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/75 "2024-02-12T16:27:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > It’s an extremely popular hike, and people also climb it to ski down tuckerman ravine, so it’s not like it’s ridiculously dangerous. But it’s a mountain to treat with respect. Sorry, this is somewhat dangerous advice. New Hampshire has a disturbing number of hiking-related deaths every year, usually in the mid teens to low 20s, and many of those deaths are on far smaller mountains than Mount Washington. All mountains here have the ability to lead to injury and death, not just big ones, so we can’t point to one as being more worthy of taking special care while on it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/76 "2024-02-12T17:32:25Z")
uh, I’m not sure we are disagreeing??? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/77 "2024-02-21T17:26:26Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Ben and Jerry’s, Waterbury, VT Re Ben and Jerry’s: I’ve now been there 4 (yes, FOUR) times. Once as a side jaunt when taking my daughter to visit colleges. Another time when our family was travelling from NH to Montreal. A third time when I was taking my daughter on another trip and it was not far out of the way. And a fourth time when I was with a bunch of friends, who decided to go there. One visit would honestly have been plenty. And it’s really not worth going more than 20 minutes out of the way. Yeah, it’s sort of cool to see the factory in operation (if it is; it usually isn’t, on weekends), but not a can’t-miss experience. Acadia is nice. We went there a couple summers back. I wish we’d stayed closer to the park (we were a 40ish minute drive). The bus drive around the park is good, though in hindsight the day we did that would have been a better day to drive ourselves, as it was a nice sunny day and we might have enjoyed doing more walking than the next day. Don’t plan on swimming in the ocean though - it is something like 55 degrees! Mount Washington is worth a trip, if it’s not far out of the way. The cog railway is worth it! We were near there for a family reunion. Several relatives DROVE up the mountain, which I gather was a bit terrifying. And the weather was completely different at the top - freezing (literally), and the wind was so strong my hair was blowing into my face and I couldn’t see anything. Moose: We finally got to see moose, after several years of trips to the Northeast and seeing “moose crossing” signs but no critters. We had been in Quebec City, and intentionally took very rural roads to cross into the US at the only New Hampshire border crossing, and thus drove down “Moose Alley”: US Route 3, approaching Pittsburg, NH. We saw a cow moose browsing by the side of the road. She seemed unimpressed by the cars that had pulled over to take a photo. We saw a second one about an hour later, when driving west on Vermont 114 (parallels the Canadian border). Prior to that trip, the last moose we had ever seen was in 1985, when a bull moose strolled right through our campsite at Grand Teton. > [@elfkin477](#): > > Pittsburg is the northernmost town in New Hampshire, so north of there is not New Hampshire, or even in the US - it’s Québec. To be fair, north of Pittsburg there IS some New Hampshire - 10ish miles of a whole lot of nothing. There isn’t much more than that on the Quebec side of the border - when we did our drive, it was small town… 5 miler of nothing… tiny town… 5 miles of nothing… some gravel roads… I do wish we’d stopped to experience the magnetic hill near there (Chartierville, I think). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890/78 "2024-02-21T17:42:15Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Yes, concur. Agreed! On our first trip to QC, back in 2017, we didn’t see the falls. 2 years later, when we stayed on Ile d’Orleans, we did go. We took the cable car up to the top, with the plan of walking down the stairs to get back down - but between my klutziness, and the fact that it was raining all day, we decided that this would likely lead to a visit to an emergency room, so we took the cable car back down. Doesn’t sound like Quebec City is on your itinerary anyway, but if it is, and you want to devote a day to it, there are a number of whale-watching tours that will pick you up in town, and drive you up to where the boats put into the St Lawrence. We had a choice of a big tour boat, or a small Zodiac boat; I wanted to do that, but my husband and son outvoted me. Just as well, in hindsight, as Zodiacs do not have bathrooms!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maine-vermont-new-hampshire-montreal-and-ottawa-road-trip/996890.md?page=3)