Stormy Day

2024-07-10
NH

In the morning, we decided to head down to Franconia Notch State Park. I really wasn't expecting this state park. First off, all the stops are literally exits off the interstate. Let's talk about the interstate for a second. I-93 goes straight through the park. It is unusual to have a big interstate running through a park, although Great Smokey Mountains National Park is also known for that. It's much more common for parks to have smaller roads. And fees to use those roads. And booths and kiosks to collect those fees. Also, I-93 is only one lane in each direction through the park. I'm not sure I've ever been on a two-lane interstate that wasn't under construction. Traffic wasn't heavy enough for that to be a problem and I'm sure it saves a lot on plowing costs, but it certainly was unexpected.

The main visitation points in Franconia Notch State Park are exits to places just off of the interstate. It's unusual, but they make it work. Several of the exits are for places to view the Old Man of the Mountain, which was a naturally-occurring granite face. Unfortunately it collapsed in 2003 so you can get a New Hampshire quarter if you want to see how it looked. I guess that also serves as a warning that it's worth seeing stuff while it's still around; even rock doesn't last forever.

We decided to visit a place called the Basin. It's a naturally-occurring basin in the rock, created by the melting of the Franconia Notch glacier and then ground smooth by thousands of years of sand and rocks swirling through.

The Pemigewasset river is a fast-moving stream above and below the Basin, and due to steep drops has a number of small waterfalls every hundred feet or so. It has carved channels in solid rock that remind me of water slides.

The afternoon was spent at the inn reading on the veranda with thunder and rain as background music.