The fun began along the boulder-strewn path of the Swift River. 12,000 years ago, when this area was covered in more than a mile of ice in the last Ice Age, the mountains were jagged and rugged. As temperatures warmed and the glaciers receded, the top layers of the mountains were cut away, rounding the tops and exposing the granite beneath. Massive amounts of water, the melting snow and ice, cut huge paths through the rock and formed gorges. The Swift runs through an especially beautiful one. The granite beneath the river is so smooth in places that swimmers can waterslide down its courses. We wished we'd had our swimsuits along to join in the fun.
We turned north, away from the Swift, and drove to the Flume, another gorge, this one much more narrow and dramatic, the walls reaching 90 feet in some places. It is a state park, and we were disappointed by the steep prices they charged to hike it. We did it anyway...a very good decision. In some spots, the park's wooden walkways had us elevated just a couple of feet above the crashing water. The hike had us hot and sweaty, making the numerous waterfalls and pools, some of which reach 80 feet deep, look so inviting!
Our last stop was Cannon Mountain, in the northern part of Franconia Notch. It's the location of what was the state's most famous landmark, The Old Man of the Mountain. The iconic granite outcrop, whose profile still adorns the state's highway signs and the state quarter, collapsed in 2003. The Cannon Mountain aerial tram whisked us up the mountain on which the face once perched. The current 80-passenger cars were installed in 1980, replacing the originals, which had operated since 1938, believed to be the first aerial tram in North America.
Here are a few of the photos we caught today...gorgeous views every step of the way.
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