Sunday (June 23) We found this awesome little gem for breakfast this morning call Peaked Moon. They had the most amazing egg sandwiches on homemade croissants and some divine chicken salad sandwiches we picked up for lunch. Great find!! (We ended up here several times while we were in the area.)

Our first stop was the Flume Gorge. You can take a shuttle to the top and just walk the gorge or do the two mile loop through the forest and see the two covered bridges (Pemigewasset Bridge and Sentinel Bridge). You know we had to walk the loop. It was a beautiful path full of boulders, lush green growth, amazing tree roots and rambling brooks from the falls. Since it was mostly shaded the temperature was perfect (although chillier at the falls). We haven’t done much hiking this trip and this short one was beautiful all the way through.

I loved the hike through the forest to get to the gorge. The streams, all the boulders, the way the tree roots grew over top of rocks and out of rocks. It was so beautiful. All the smaller waterfalls were gorgeous too. Fantastic hike. One thing I would do again if we came back.

On the way to Cannon Mountain to ride the tram to the top we stopped at “The Basin” – another very short hike to basically a basin where a whirlpool of rushing water has eroded the rock into a cavelike formation resembling a pond. Check that box. LOL

The winds were pretty strong today, gusting in the upper teens and low 20’s so we weren’t too sure about riding the tram. In the end, it was running so we just did it. I was pretty surprised that it was a steady as it was. The car (which holds up to 80 people) was very smooth, even with those wind gusts. The ride up only took a few minutes (1 mile to the top of the mountain). There is a trail around the rim that pretty easy (gets rocky in places) but the views are amazing. On a clear day you can see New Hampshire (of course), Maine, Vermont, New York and even Canada. And I guess we did see all that – not that we could identify them but the views went on for miles and miles and were gorgeous.

On the way back to our Motel 8 (not really – more on that later) we stopped by a local grocery store to pick up some fresh fruit to have for snacks and breakfast. We were like kids in a candy story picking up everything we could see – bananas, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, etc. We put some miles on these bodies the last couple of weeks even though we have done much official hiking. This afternoon was recharge time. We figured we’d rest this afternoon and go back out in the evening after the crowds and sun had died down. There were three covered bridges not too far away that we planned to drive out to this evening.

The first was Blair Bridge and there just happened to be a restaurant right by it. We jumped on that and enjoyed sitting out on the deck with a view of the bridge for dinner.

Looking for the next one felt like a wild good chase – and when we got there the poor thing looked like it had seen better days. It looked rough to say the least. When we pulled up we looked at each other and said, “Fro?” (And then come to find out this is one of the more recent ones on the map – it was built in 1972.) Obviously we need to do better research before we drive out to BFE to find these things.

The last bridge on our list for the evening is called Jack O’Lantern Bridge and it was pretty much on our way back or we would’ve scrapped it – but we knew this was a pretty bridge. LOL Originally built in 1896 it now resides in the middle of a golf course. But it’s still really pretty.

And that’s a wrap for today. Back to our relaxing abode that induces calm and just makes ya wanna soak in the moment. (I’m being sarcastic here.) I really have tried to refrain from dogging this place – don’t get me wrong, it’s clean and the staff have all been very friendly and helpful. But the setting! It’s called the Kancamagus Lodge. Sounds good, right? It’s an old family owned and operated facility. The old doesn’t really bother me, we’ve stayed in old before. There is a balcony – but it faces the highway, the busy highway. The traffic is constant and we checked in on a Saturday and the biker traffic was non-stop. So sitting out on the balcony is not what we envision when a balcony is in the picture. The sliding door to said balcony has no screen so it can’t be left open (if you can tolerate the road noise) because of bugs, especially in the evenings. Each unit has its own air conditioner – a wall unit. That bloody thing is louder than the traffic! So there are the two choices when spending any time in the room, whether recharging or sleeping. Everything else I can deal with. It’s clean, staff is friendly, good location, etc. I’m on countdown until checkout time.

I think considering the view we just left it made this all the worse. It was pretty bad.