Stowe, VT to North Conway, NH

Lots more pleasant Vermont countryside in the morning, and a lot of equally pleasant New Hampshire countryside in the afternoon.

The day's major event was a visit to Franconia Notch, New Hampshire.  The Notch is a major tourist, skiing, and hiking destination in north central New Hampshire.  The most notable feature is the Flume Gorge.  This is a narrow, deep crevice in the granite mountains that formed after basalt dikes filled the fractures in the granite.  Once the dikes were exposed by erosion, they eroded faster than the granite, causing the deepening crevice of the gorge.  Here are three pictures of what I am talking about:

Flume Gorge,
Looking Up the Gorge,
Showing Boardwalk

Water Cascading Down
Flume Gorge

Looking Down Flume Gorge,
Showing Narrow, Vertical Plane

The most recent geological event was the last ice age, which ended 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.  The receding glaciers deposited boulders of all sizes everywhere.  Here is an example of a deposited granite boulder:

Glacially-Deposited Boulder

Another interesting feature is how trees have taken root and grown around boulders.  Here are two examples:

Yellow Birch Tree

Sugar Maple Tree

I have finished the posts for June 27th and June 28th.  If you care to take a look, just click on the dates.

Mileage: 168 Cumulative mileage: 3,673