Flume Gorge and Conway Scenic Railroad

The Flume Gorge is a natural gorge extending 800 feet high at the base of Mount Liberty in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire. We walked the 2-mile loop to the top.  They warned that it would be uphill with lots of stairs and they weren't kidding!  The high humidity that day didn't make the hike any easier.

The Flume was discovered in 1808 by 93-year-old "Aunt" Jess Guernsey when she accidently came upon it while fishing. At first she had trouble convincing her family of the marvelous discovery, but eventually persuaded others to go and see for themselves.

The drive to the Flume was very scenic

The Pool is a deep basin in the Pemigewasset River.  It is 40 feet deep and 150 feet in diameter.

2 views of the Pool

Walking the loop trail

Up, up up we go

Conway granite forms the walls of the Flume

The red covered bridge is one of the oldest in the state.  It was built in 1886 and has been restored several times.  Such bridges were often called "kissing bridges" because of the darkness and privacy they provided.  This bridge was built across the Pemigewasset River.

A 2nd bridge on the trail

Wolf Den is a narrow, one-way path that involves crawling on your hands and knees and squeezing through the rocks.  The exit is about 20 yards back. 

The next day was spent riding the Conway Scenic Railroad.  We took the Notch train from North Conway to Fabyan through the Crawford Notch.  The trip covered 51 miles and lasted 5 1/2 hours which included a 45 minute layover at the Fabyan Station. We opted for a late lunch in the Hattie Evans dining car.  This included complimentary cheese and crackers and a 3 course meal.  We had our choice of pasta, fish or turkey dinner with all the trimmings.  We chose turkey for the entrée and ice cream sundae for dessert!   The food was delicious and the staff did a great job of serving in such a confined space.  We spent the ride back from Fabyan in the dining car and had an enjoyable time with our lunch mates Diane and Gary from Wisconsin.

Some memories from our train ride...

The Conway Station

All aboard!

Our complimentary cheese and crackers

Along the way we saw old telegraph poles from the late 1800's

Going through cuts in the mountain--granite walls were oh so close!

Stretching our legs at Fabyan Station

Small lake across the street from station

Path around the lake--careful not to fall in!

We stopped on the way home to take a picture of beautiful Mount Washington Hotel.  It is now owned by Omni Hotels.

Such a beautiful backdrop for a lovely hotel

It seems the warm weather has found us.  With highs in the low to mid 80's we're going to take a few days off before we continue sightseeing.  Funny how I now think 83 is hot! Thankfully we have a shady campsite so even in the middle of the afternoon sitting outside is enjoyable.  It actually gets chilly around 6 pm and we have to grab a light jacket or build a campfire!