On a beautiful sunny fall day we drove through the White Mountain National Forest on our way to visit Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park. (If I always mention the weather, it must be that the weather sets the tone for my experience). The parking lot was full and the visitors center was packed, but once on the trail, it opened up with plenty of room for us to walk at our own pace. 
Discovered in 1808, the Flume is a natural gorge extending 800 feet at the base of Mount Liberty. The walls of Conway granite rise to a height of 70 to 90 feet and are 12 to 20 feet apart. 
In the background is Avalanche Falls. I could not help but wonder how it got its name! 
In spite of that, here I am even closer to the falls. Visitors came from all over the world and at times the narrow stairway leading to the top was a bit crowded. Everyone was good-natured and happy to accomodate picture taking. 
We saw the humor in running across "Bear Cave." Many have heard the story of how Don encountered a bear in Glacier National Park. I was on the trail at the time and couldn't "bearify" the story. It must be true though, because he broke his wrist and tore his rotator cuff in a fall. We didn't encounter a bear this day, fortunately. 
At every turn was another beautiful woodland scene. 
Don is perched upon a rock by the most interesting tree roots. He was forever finding a playful photo opportunity and I had to go along with him. A few times, however, I had to nix his ideas--what he called playful, I deemed a bit risky. 
Pemigewasset is an Abenaki Indian word meaning swift. This was the 3rd so named Swift River that we saw--the others were in Montana and New Hampshire. 
These two photos were taken in the parking lot at Flume Gorge. We did not want to leave, even after spending all day there.
No comments:
Post a Comment