Left home about 8:15, up 95 North, then 16, then McDonald's in Ossipee, then up-and-over on the Kancamagus Highway - 2-and-1/2 hours to get to the first BEAUTIFUL setting on the the Swift River:
After 11 days of rain/clouds, we lucked out with a BEAUTIFUL DAY!
Right alongside the highway, in the White Mountain National Forest, is the Lower Falls Scenic Area, with picnic tables and RUSHING WATER:
Only 2 miles up the highway is the Rocky Gorge Scenic Area:
Beauty:
and History:
6.5 miles further up the road is my primary destination: Sabbaday Falls:
I hiked this trail Sept. 9, 2014 on my way up to my 15th (Middle Tripyramid) and 16th (North Tripyramid) 4,000 footers - Sabbaday Falls are less than 1/2 mile up a nice easy trail. The Sept 2014 water was pretty calm:
but on a Tuesday in May, the water is A LOT MORE ACTIVE!
Sept 2014:
May 2017:
Back in the Parking Lot, I LOVED seeing all the different license plates!!
After the Falls, we continued west to a good lunch at the Black Mountain Burger Company in Lincoln, NH. Since we had our "New England Waterfalls" book (Lower Falls gets 4 stars; Rocky Gorge gets 4 stars; Sabbaday Falls gets 5 stars!), I saw that after lunch we would be going right by Agassiz Basin (only 2-and-1/2 stars), so we stopped to see it:
The location was listed as "right behind Govoni's Restaurant" - well, the restaurant is gone, but the Falls remain.
Looking upstream:
Looking downstream (at Indian Leap):
Hey, worth more than 2-and-1/2 stars!!
Wendy and I drove around some more, seeing cascading water up 112 (the Lost River Valley), then headed home - Thank You God for these wonderful adventures!!
Music today from my iPod:
Billy Joel - 52nd Street, 1978
various artists - 25 Beach Music Classics, 2003
various artists - 18 New Wave Classics, Vol. 1, 1997
various artists - 18 New Wave Classics, Vol. 2, 1997
Patti Smith - Horses, 1975
David Bowie - Let's Dance, 1983
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV, 1971
"Stairway to Heaven" lyrics:
There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
