Editor’s note: Mark Bradford is contributing occasional posts from his diary on traveling the country with his wife Wendy while they rent out their Mishawaka home for six months.
Day 8 of our 190-day sojourn
July 3 — Franconia, New Hampshire in the White Mountains — Mittersill Alpine Resort
This will not be an advertisement for this amazing area.
But it may sound like one.
A disclaimer: I know a lot of you like to go to Disney because of the thrills and chills of riding the rides and seeing fake stuff that appears real. If you are offended easily, please read no further. I am not a Disneyette. That will become obvious.
An exhortation to the rest of you: You gotta come see this Franconia Notch State Park area. And you gotta come see it before your first knee replacement, heart stent, hip replacement and before the onset of arthritis or breathing issues. So, make time in your 40s, 50s or early 60s to come to Franconia, Lincoln, Littleton or any of the small towns close by in New Hampshire.
At age 70, I waited five years too long. And while I do not have any of the above mentioned issues to any major extent, I still felt I had to limit my activities to avoid overdoing it. So I’m telling you: DO IT SOON.
Don’t bring your under-10 kids. Drag those young’uns through Disney, where you can unload your wallet and buy all the sugar and things that that age of kid likes. However, this place is a natural place for kids from 10 to18 and young adults who can hike, bike, swim, and don’t need a nightclub where there is a 3-inch heel minimum.
Today, Wendy and I went to see the Flume Gorge, thinking it was the equivalent of “It’s a Small World After All” ride in Orlando ( you know, predictable and BORING). Well, Flume Gorge is an amazing half-hour walk (in the gorge, not on the sides) up a series of waterfalls. Make that, AMAZING waterfalls. You actually can almost reach out and touch the waterfall at one point and there are at least 10 falls of various heights in the gorge.
Instead of Small World, it is more like the Star Wars exhibit if Disney has one. You will naturally say “Wow!” without being prompted. The entry fee is only $19 each and there are no lines to wait in, no vendors trying to sell you trinkets.
And either Mother Nature or God created it for free — for you and for me.
Just down the street from the Flume is a place called the Basin. It is free and it is also amazing. It is a 5-minute walk from the parking lot and has several rapids, each one completely different.
Finally, Wendy and I went to Echo Lake Park where you can get in for free after 5 p.m. We did that and we sat and stared at the quiet lake at the base of the 4,000-foot high mountain.
It was a perfect day, even for a grouchy old guy like me. We ended the day in our resort’s hot tub chatting with strangers.
This place is not for the Mouseketeer crowd. This is for those of us who value and respect nature and want to go “ooh” and “ahh” without being cued. New Hampshire does not have the advertising budget of Disney, thank God. Just get up here, breath the fresh air, and notice the quiet.
For those keeping track, we did not spend a single dime on food, today. We ate a picnic brown bag lunch at one of the parks. So our total cash expense today was $38, bringing our total out of pocket for the trip to $846.