The Beauty Around Us

More of New Hampshire’s White Mountains Region

By Linda G. on August 25, 2016

On August 2, at 7:10 am, we departed our hotel for another drive around the White Mountains region.  We had much better weather this day than we did the previous day.    We began our drive in the opposite direction of yesterday’s drive. We drove the Kancamagus Highway from west to east, but not all the way to Conway. We turned off at Bear Notch Road.

We made several stops along the Kancamagus Highway.

This is a panoramic view from a pull off, located soon after the Hancock Overlook.

Pemigewasset Overlook

Lily Pond

Ledge Brook Falls

Bob climbed down to the creek bed to photograph Ledge Brook Falls through the underpass.

Sugar Hill Scenic Vista

 

Our next stop was at Sabbaday Falls.  According to a sign near the trail head, this is how Sabbaday Falls got its name.

Legend has it that one Saturday night, with winter rapidly approaching, workmen building a road from Albany Intervale to Waterville decided it was time to call it quits.  They hid their tools, planning to return the following spring.  Before leaving on Sunday morning, they named the brook Sabbady Brook for the Sabbath Day…The workers never returned to complete the road, but the name has endured.

Sabbady Falls, 0.3 miles straight ahead

Sabbaday Brook

Sabbaday Falls
See the bridge above the falls?
We climbed the trail to the bridge.

Sabbaday Falls, during our ascent

Sabbaday Falls, as viewed from the footbridge

 

Our last stop on the Kancamagus Highway was at the Russell-Colbath Historic Site.  The Historic Site includes the Russell-Colbath House, a timber frame barn, and a cemetery.

The Russell-Colbath House was built in 1832.

The house is the only original structure left from the town of Passaconaway.  Inside the house are old photos and household items of the time that show how life might have been in the early to mid 1800’s.

The barn was constructed in 2003 from rough sawn timbers,
milled from trees at this site using a portable saw mill.

The White Mountains National Forest employees were holding a meeting at the barn on the day we visited.

Passaconaway Cemetery

We reached Bear Notch Road at 10:00 am. Bear Notch Road also allows us to bypass Conway.  You might recall from my previous blog post that traffic in Conway is heavy and stop and go all the way through the town.  There are several scenic turnoffs along the road, none of which identified what you were looking at.

One of several scenic overlooks along Bear Notch Road

At the end of Bear Notch Road we turned right onto Route 302, toward Conway.  We drove only as far as the Intervale Scenic Vista. The view was outstanding! We could see Mt. Washington way off in the distance.

The Intervale Scenic Vista provides a stunning overlook of Mt. Washington.

Intervale Scenic Vista
The clouds lifted enough that we could see the towers on top of Mt. Washington!

From Intervale we followed Route 16 north and soon reached the town of Jackson, where we saw two covered bridges.

the Honeymoon Bridge

This “honeymoon” or “kissing bridge” received its nickname from the tradition of lovers kissing under it for good luck. Jackson’s endearing symbol for over a century, the Paddleford truss bridge was constructed about 1876 by Charles Broughton and his son Frank.

The Honeymoon Bridge spans the Ellis River.

Jackson’s second covered bridge is located on a golf course.

Wentworth Golf Club Covered Bridge

A little farther north on Route 16 we saw a female moose alongside the road. I just caught a glimpse of her, as Bob drove by. We turned around and passed by the moose. She had not moved. We both saw her. We turned around again so that we would be on the same side of the road as the moose. When we returned to the spot where we had seen her, she was no longer there.  I didn’t capture a photograph of the moose, but I can at least say I saw a moose!

Our two longest stops along Route 16 were at Glen Ellis Falls and Wildcat Mountain.

Glen Ellis Falls plunges 64 feet into a deep green pool.  The waterfall is popular, based on the number of people that were there the day we visited.  The trail is short (0.6 mi round trip) and not exceptionally difficult.  The most difficult part for me was walking up and down the steps.  When we were there three young men were jumping into the water at and near the falls.

My walking stick was useful on the uneven trail and on the stairs.
(Photo by Bob)

Glen Ellis Falls

At Wildcat Mountain Bob rode a zipline. It was Bob’s first time on a zipline.  I refused to ride the zipline.  I am quite happy to fly only in an airplane!

 

Bob’s zipline adventure began at the Snowcat Triple chairlift at the base of Wildcat Mountain.

The chairlift takes you to the Ziprider start platform.

Ziprider Start Platform

Bob, soaring through the air

We ate a picnic lunch at Wildcat Mountain.  Bob said he really liked his zipline ride and wanted to go again.  While he made his way back to the Ziprider start platform, I went to the car to change camera lenses from a 12-40mm lens to a 40-150mm lens.

Bob’s second zipline ride

With a longer lens I was able to capture Bob’s abrupt stop at the landing platform.

Ziprider Landing Platform

Oh, yes.  I am glad that I did not go for a ride on the zipline.  I would NOT have liked the stop at the end of the line!

Bob’s first zipline ride cost $20.00; the second ride cost $10.00. A third ride would have cost $5.00.

Departing Wildcat Mountain, we turned right to continue driving north on Route 16.  At Gorham we turned left onto Route 2, which we followed through Randolph.  We turned left onto Route 115.  From Route 115 we made out way to Route 3 and then to Route 302.  We found ourselves back at the overlook of the Mount Washington Hotel.  I photographed the hotel from this overlook the previous day, which was a gloomy and rainy day.

What a difference a day makes!

Here’s a photograph of the hotel from a slightly different vantage point.

Mount Washington Hotel
How grand!

Leaving the overlook of Mount Washington Hotel we turned left onto Route 302, retracing our steps back to Route 3.  Heading south on Route 3, the road soon joins I-93/Franconia Notch Parkway.  Our next stop was at the Hugh J. Gallen scenic overlook bridge.  Mr. Gallen was Governor of New Hampshire from January 4, 1979 through December 29, 1982.

Hugh J. Gallen scenic overlook bridge

On the right-hand side of the bridge you can see Mount Lafayette.

Mount Lafayette
Its summit, at 5,249 feet, is the highest point in the Franconia Notch and the
ninth highest peak in the White Mountains.

Mount Lafayette is named to honor General Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who fought with and significantly aided the Continental Army and was loved and adopted by George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.  Lafayette re-visited New Hampshire during 1824-1825, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Our last sightseeing stop was at the former site of the Old Man of the Mountain natural stone profile.  We visited this attraction the previous day but wanted to see the Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza, when it wasn’t raining. The Old Man of the Mountain collapsed on May 3, 2003.  Today the Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza honors the memory of the Old Man of the Mountain.

Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza

The Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza includes seven steel “profilers”
that recreate the visage of the Old Man looking over Franconia Notch.

You stand on the footprints that match your height, squint with one eye and magically the Old Man of the Mountain returns!

Return of the Old Man of the Mountain

It was dinner time, when we left the Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza.  We ate dinner at the El Charro Mexican Restaurant in Lincoln.   It was an expensive, but excellent choice for dinner.  We ordered Chicken Enchiladas (me) and Pechuga A La Diabla (Bob), which was grilled chicken smothered in a chipotle mayo sauce.  We split a Helado Frito ice cream dessert.  The food was delicious; service was great.

Helado Frito, a yummy Mexican ice cream dessert

This blog post concludes Day 4 of our 7-day New Hampshire vacation.