click to enlarge all photos

Bob and Connie's Anniversary

- Tom, Margie,  Bob      Tom and Steve   Janel, Bob, Connie, Tom

Margery (Gans)

Margery, with her plane, in Manchester visiting Steve

September is when the North Conway Scenic Railway offers its train ride through Crawford Notch.  This is by far more interesting than the shorter versions offered year round.  Regardless of whether you take the train or not, there are two readily accessible sites worth seeing if you are in the area.

Two simple trails for the vertically disinclined

In Crawford Notch, New Hampshire

Both trails are short, flat (they follow the Boston and Maine railroad tracks in Crawford Notch), and take you to views seldom seen by visitors to the White Mountains.

1.       Frankenstein Trestle- the elaborate wooden bridge of bygone days has long sincebeen replaced by a steel trestle, even in the early photo.   Spanning the gorge beneath Frankenstein Cliffs, the trestle, named after an artist, now has a pedestrian walkway adjacent to the tracks in the event a train should come along.  That possibility is remote, however, as the B&M no longer operates along these tracks, only the North Conway Scenic Railway comes this far north in the Fall. Dorothy and I first encountered this trestle years ago, when the walkway seemed rather narrow and the trains were active- we declined to cross it at the time.

Park at the Arethusa Falls parking lot and proceed north along the tracks.  Distance (one-way) is about 0.6 miles.

These following pictures were taken in October, 2003 - weather-wise, a truly spectacular day - Click to enlarge

Looking south along the trestle -     and north with Mt. Washington in distance -

Compare this view of the latest trestle with the original    

2. The Red Bench Trail – A very short but rather unique trail. To access it-
   
   Park at the Crawford Station House at the north end of Crawford Notch and proceed approximately 0.6 miles north.  Trail is on your left.

Really, a very short trail -   Also, at the north end of the Notch is a new AMC lodge -

Mt.  Washington was picture perfect