6-14-11

The day started with a gift and just kept on giving...amazing scenery and wildlife abound in this post. I fear that it might be long winded one, so I will start with an outline of today's highlights for those who want a quick read.

1. Gift from Paul
2. Bye ducks
3. Cold, foggy, tram ride to the top.
4. Nuns in the mist
5. Bear on the ski-slope
6. Kissing bridge
7. Amazing canyon and waterfalls
8. Bear cave
9. Picturesque New England stroll
10. Wolf den
11. Lupine
12. Peregrine falcon
13. Dinner by the lake
14. A moose!!
15. Highway basketball
16. Lake sunset
17. Rainy late night drive
18. Bar Harbor


So we woke up to what we thought was a huge bag of trash left on our doorstep. Further investigation revealed that our neighbor of the night before, Paul, had checked out early and left us a bag of goodies. A bunch of unopened foodstuff that we could use and a bottle of bug spray. To fight off the nasty black flys. Thanks Paul!

On our way out of the campsite both Jack and I said our goodbye to the ducks. The good thing is that they told Jack about a campsite down the road that we should check out...we heard about it for the rest of the morning.

We drove back up Franconia notch, which is a beautiful State park in a really nice canyon. In the park is a ski destination called Cannon Mtn. In the summer they offer tram rides up the hill. When we left the bottom for the ride up it was about 46 degrees, cold, and raining. It was to be much colder up top. We climbed aboard and took the ride up to clouds.























At the top there was a nature walk that we braved in the weather. There were supposed to be amazing views but we were in the clouds. Couldn't see anything.





























We did however come across the elusive "nuns in the mist". Literally on the side of a mountain, with a steep cliff drop off, were a group of nuns, praying out loud in Spanish. It was kind of surreal.





By the time we were done with our lunch in the ski lodge/tram station, the weather had cleared and we got a glimpse of the great views.











On the way down we spotted a black bear on the ski slope. We caught another glimpse and had time to catch a distant photo when we got back to Mimi in the parking lot.





Next stop, "The Flume" this was a hike that started about 6 miles down the road from the tram. We saw some photos of what to expect but had no idea. Thins place was spectacular. Probably one the most amazing places I have been. It started out with a walk through a "kissing bridge" which is what new englanders call covered bridges. Jordan and I complied accordingly.

















The trail then headed up a tight, moss, fern covered canyon that had a roaring cascade of water cutting down the middle. The walk would be treacherous otherwise so the park department has built a long boardwalk that crisscrosses the canyon.





























At the top you are greeted by a 45' waterfall.





A little way on, we came to the bear cave. I don't think it was ever inhabited by bears, but it might have been a nice home.





The walk continued on as a nice stroll through some amazing woods.






























A few more creeks and waterfalls and we ended up at the wolfs den. This was a narrow spot in the trail that you had to climb on your hands and knees and contort your body to get through. Again, i don't think anything ever lived there... Jack loved it so much that he made me do it twice.

















The hike came to a end way too soon, but I had a 5 hour drive ahead of me and we needed to get on with it.

On the road we passed through some amazing fields of Lupine and I even saw a Peregrine Falcon swooping through one of those fields. Unfortunately, the following pictures don't really do justice...











We stopped at a really nice picnic spot for dinner and then got the kids prepared for sleep.











We were not on the road more than 10 minutes when Jordan explained to Jack how I really wanted to see a moose on this drive. When all of a sudden, mid sentence, Jordan yells "A Moose!!" No one else saw it... :( So, with a little trouble turning Mimi around on a rural highway, we went back to see if we could spot what she saw. Sure enough as we approached, the Moose crossed the street in front of us. What an amazing animal.



We were really in the middle of nowhere on streets called things like Bear Pond Rd. Where kids are actually playing basketball in the middle of the Highway. Where the people seemed to be competing with their neighbors on how much crap they can have in front of their falling shack. After the sunset it started raining and it was hard for me to handle the idea of driving several hours on these back roads. We decided to hit the interstate. It would take us many more miles, but it seemed like the right thing to do. 6 somewhat grueling hours later we pulled into our campground at Bar Harbor, ME and setup in the pouring rain.



What a day!!

Location:Franconia Notch, NH and western Maine