Yesterday we took the car with the bicycles 14 miles south of where we are at the Twin Mountain KOA in central New Hampshire to Franconia Notch State Park. The park straddles 8 miles of I-93 as it passes through the Franconia Notch (mountain pass). We first parked at one of the many access parking areas and began to ride the bike path that runs the length of the park. What we didn’t realize until we began riding is that from the north end the path is all down hill. That makes for a very easy and enjoyable ride until you realize that all that downhill will turn to uphill for the return. We tried to bribe a few riders to bring our car down to the south end of the park, with no luck. So after about 5 miles we decided to turn around and return to the car then drive it to the south end of the park and ride north. We must have taken a different path back, as it seemed to be twice the distance!
The path ran along a stream that created many interesting scenes. One in particular is “The Basin” that is explained below.
A modern day Thoreau at The Basin
After the long return trip back to the car, we loaded up and drove to the southern end of the park to visit The Flume. This is a gorge created by the erosion of basalt veins in fractures of granite. For a fee ($14) you get to take a 2 mile hike up and down the mountain to see some really neat sites, including the Flume itself.
After walking the Flume (through the rain!), we followed the path through the woods and across a covered bridge.
We love neat little stories about the locations we visit and the bridge and pool formed by the water after going under it provided one concerning the “old philosopher”.
The Pool where the Philosopher held court
There is not much soil covering the stone of the mountains in this area of the country so a plant has to be pretty strong to survive.
At the end of a long day an alpine explorer deserves a special treat, and one was fund in the small town of Lincoln, about five miles south of the Flume.
The sign in the window is the name of the coffee shop, not the customer! If she is really good, the Sherpa guide gets a treat at the end of the climb also.
Ah, the end of another exiting day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ! ! !
Oh, the Places They Go! 
LOVE the pictures. The roots around the stone is awesome! This is a wonderful blog. I don’t know if we will ever get up that way, but this is one place I would really want to go! Great job!