The Flume and Basin

Friday we checked out of our cabin and drove to the Flume Gorge which is in Franconia Notch State Park. We had an option of taking the bus the first half mile and walking through the Flume and taking the bus back or walking the whole two miles. We opted for taking the bus in and walking 1 1/2 miles in and out of the gorge. The walk through the lower part of the gorge was mainly on boardwalks and many stairs to the top. What a view! At the lower end we saw Table Rock which the rushing water had smoothed the large slab of granite. As we got deeper into the gorge the walls narrowed on both sides and became 80 to 90 foot in height. They were beautifully covered with moss and fern and the sun filtered through the canopy of trees overhead. The water was rushing through with many cascade waterfalls as we ascended up the many stairs. Avalanche Falls measured 45 feet high. We passed a formation of rock called Bear Cave. We ascended to Ridge Path leading to Liberty Gorge. We continued on to Sentinel Pine Bridge and Pool. The pool measures 40 feet deep and 150 feet in diameter surrounded by cliffs 130 feet high. A little farther on Allan went through Wolf Den which is a narrow one way path that involves crawling on your hands and knees and squeezing up through the rocks (Good thing he is so skinny). Jeanne had better sense and stayed on the main trail. We continued on along the downhill trail through giant glacial boulders.

We left this section of the Flume Gorge and drove to the Basin which is another area where the river flows very swiftly through granite rock. In one area there was a small waterfall which landed on a granite rock forcing the water in a swirling motion and cut a cup in the rock which was 30 foot in diameter and 15 feet deep called the "Basin". There were also many unique and picturesque formations in the large stream.

Leaving this area we returned to Interstate 93 which goes through the valley and over the pass called the Franconia Notch. A portion of this interstate is the only two lane, two way interstate in the US. As we proceeded up to the Notch we passed "The Old Man of the Mountain" which was a famous profile of balancing rock that fell in 2003. New Hampshire lost the symbol of their state. We headed to Vermont to pick up Katie and return to our summer home without seeing a moose.



Saturday Allan helped a group from the church we are attending, split firewood for a member who is recovering from a serious illness. When he returned home I could tell by his walk he was very tired. That was quite a physical workout. He took a power nap and washed the truck and started on the trailer. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary of full time RVing by going out to eat at the "Back Behind Restaurant" that is near our campground. It served excellent ribs.

Today we went to church and did some window shopping and grocery shopping. We met our work crew for a pizza party at the office this afternoon and had a great time.