I didn’t want to run Janet ragged with my weekend adventures so I made sure to pace myself. We enjoyed the summer in our new apartment and explored our local surroundings a lot so that she would become familiar with the area. On Saturday we were in Concord having dinner with her parents when her mother gave us a newspaper article about Franconia Notch, located in northern New Hampshire in the White Mountains.  This looked very interesting to me, as I’d not visited the White Mountains or the site of the Old Man of the Mountain. The farthest north I’d been was to Plymouth for a performance of Les Misèrables at Plymouth State University.  She suggested we visit the flume at Franconia sometime. For Janet, sometime might mean next month, or possibly next year. For me it meant the next day, hence the warning-be careful what you suggest.

After church and lunch, I decided it was time for a new adventure and we headed up I-93 to the mountains. The drive only took an hour and half from Concord, and I was thrilled by the beautiful scenery along the way.  I was not prepared for the beauty of the flume. New Hampshire is known as the Granite state for good reason. There is granite everywhere. The flume is a natural waterfall that has cut through the granite in a very narrow steep canyon.  The park service has built stairs that travel along the falls and to the top for visitors to enjoy the beauty. While we were there I was also able to see my first covered bridge in New Hampshire. Someday I want to take a covered bridge drive to see as many as I can.

After the Flume, we drove a little farther to the actual Franconia Notch where the Old Man of the Mountain used to be.  In the early 2000s, after years of erosion, the landform tumbled to a heap at the bottom of the mountain.  The image can still be seen on residents’ license plates, but the rock formation is gone.

There are over a dozen ski resorts in New Hampshire.  Franconia Notch is home to Cannon Mountain ski resort, home of Olympic gold medalist Bodie Miller. It operates a tram through the summer to the top of the mountain.  This was a thrilling way to see the mountains. It was a cloudy day or we might have seen Mount Washington. After taking in the incredible vistas, we rode the tram to the bottom and visited the skiing museum that house Bodie’s Olympic medals. 

This adventure was truly fantastic. The weather was beautiful, the scenery gorgeous, and we got great exercise seeing the sites. Janet was a little surprised at how quickly I acted on her mother’s suggestion. She later told her mother not to be suggesting any more activities to me, as we might be jumping in the truck and heading out at the mere hint of an adventure.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller