New Hampshire And The Dreaded "H" Word

This was our hotel for the three nights we were in New Hampshire. It's located in Jackson, a tiny town on the far east side of the White Mountains. And the entrance to town? Through a covered bridge - what could be more appropriate?

All the rooms in the main hotel were booked so we stayed in the Carriage House, a short walk down the drive. The main hotel has been remodeled and updated but the carriage house retains it's early American decor. The bed was comfy and the bath had a fabulous jacuzzi tub, so life was very good. Breakfast and dinner were included in the room price, which seemed odd but was very convenient.
Traffic in New Hampshire was much, much heavier than in Vermont. It didn't help that this was the start of the 3-day Columbus Day weekend and that the leaves in the White Mountains were at their peak. Plus, due to all the mountain ranges, there are only a few roads to get from place to place -and **everyone** was using them at the same time. There were a couple of sites we'd like to have seen, but traffic was so backed up that we gave up and went elsewhere.

Dick talked me into a couple of hikes. We were originally headed for Arethusa Falls in Crawford Notch State Park but took a second, less traveled trail, to Bemis Falls and Coliseum Falls. The trails were marked with different color paint to make it easier to determine the path (and to find your way home again, I'm sure.) The area was absolutely gorgeous, with wild mushrooms, and leaves in beautiful colors - including purple. Our second hike of the day was The Flume in Franconia Notch. Dirt paths and steep stairs lead 800 feet through a narrow gorge, with sheer granite walls stretching 90 feet straight up on both sides. Gorgeous? You bet! Exhausting? Oh, yeah. One of the best things about this hike (the dreaded "H" word) is that there are **two** covered bridges along the way. The first is close to the beginning of the trail. The second is over 2 miles away, after you climb the eighty-eleven million stairs. I wouldn't have missed it for the world, blisters and all.

The weather so far had been great - 70's and 80's during the day, dipping down to the 40's at night. Friday put an end to that. Shortly after we finished The Flume, it started to rain and the downpour continued steadily all night. That put an end to our sightseeing for the day, but the moisture and cold night air that followed made the fall colors come out in earnest. More on that tomorrow.