Framedlight

 Following the Kancamagus Highway west towards Lincoln we came to the Sabbaday Falls. A forest walk along a stream brings you to the waterfall. The look out was packed with people who were watching a couple of rangers trying to hook out a pair of sneakers that someone had managed to let fall into the water. We watched for about 10 minutes and they were no closer. For all I know they are still attempting it. Going back to the highway we passed Sugar Hill on the right and drove the rest of the Kancamagus Highway to Lincoln and then north to Franconia Notch State Park. Mike wanted to show us 'the Basin,' a large pothole in the base of the Pemigawasset River. I have no pictures of said phenomenon as, by now I was completely done in. So I managed to get 20 minutes shut eye in the car while Mike and Alan did the tourist thing. This was my Covid recovery time! When they had returned I pulled myself together and we went to see the Old Man of the Mountains, still in the Franconia Notch ...

We walked from the covered bridge a little upstream to the Lower Falls area of the Swift River. It was such a wonderful, blue sky day that unsurprisingly this was busy with people. So again I concentrated on snapping the people rather than the landscape. Although, I maybe should have kept my distance, as the cough I was desperately trying to deny was getting worse. Back in the car and along the highway we came upon a preserved homestead and went to look around. It was also a handy place for lunch. The Russell-Colbath homestead was built in the early 1930's by Thomas Russell and his son Amzi. Thomas operated a local sawmill and there is a little copse we walked around where some of the trees that would have been used for lumber were still standing. Not far from the house, which was not open to the public at the time we were there, was a wonderful barn. This had been built recently to be used for events. There was also a tiny cemetery for the small population that had lived here. The...

 I hadn't slept very well but the sun was shining so I got up and went down to the lake a few yards from our glamping hut. It looked beautiful in the early morning light. When I got back the boys were larking about in front of the hut. Mikes idea for the day was to drive the Kancamagus Highway, a 34.5 mile road which runs by the Swift River and  is supposed to offer the best fall colours in the US. We expected it to be busy and there were a fair number of people around but the traffic was reasonably light. Not far from Albany up the Highway was another covered bridge, the Albany Bridge. This crosses the Swift River and was built in 1857, then rebuilt in 1858 after a wind storm. This day was far sunnier than the previous and the superstructure of the bridge cast great shadows on the deck. 

  October was a good time to visit New Hampshire. The autumn colour was going strong. The weather was mild and the streams were full. Our final stops of the day were to some watery locations, not far from Pinkham Notch Visitor Centre. The first, the Crystal Cascades were well named and also quite peaceful with few people about. We followed the good path a short distance down from the car park to have a look at them. The water from the Ellis River falls a total of 100 ft in two stages. There is a bridge crossing the falls where you can look down on them. Further down stream on the Ellis River is Ellis Falls with a vertical drop of 64ft. This is only a short drive from the Crystal Cascades. It was then time to drive back to spend our last night in Huttopia. This time we spent even longer looking for our hut, as it was darker than the night before. We had bought sausages, and so we lit the camp fire and cooked them on the barbecue. By this time I had started to cough, but I tried to p...