Grafton Notch State Park, Maine 10/7/1998

At Grafton Notch State Park I was pleased to put $1 in the box beside the trail. The Screw Auger was a series of small waterfalls cascading over large granite boulders and down through a channel in the rocks. Alongside the upper river were picnic tables with grills and I couldn't think of a finer place to have a picnic.

I next stopped at Mother Walker Falls. Here a trail through the woods down steep slopes led to an area with firs that looked like tiny Christmas trees. At the bottom was an old carriage road and I again saw the bright red berries I had seen at Acadia. From my national forest service handout I believe they are American mountain ash.

Another stop at the Moose Cave where nature displayed a vertical slope rising 800' that is named Table Rock. Down the 1/4 mile trail along the Bear River was the Moose Cave, a small cave under three boulders with deep ravines alongside. On up the hill with strategically placed rock steps was an area with reindeer moss. The entire area was carpeted with ferns and lichens. Tiny pinecones found their way into my pocket which later I realized left resin in my new LL Bean down filled coat that I was so glad to have and wore much of the day.

Near Upton the brisk wind was blowing but the leaves were gently falling as powdered sugar falls below a sifter. At the Upton Grange I turned up a side road and there was the town hall and a school. It looked to me like everyone in Upton had upped 'n gone. The town hall had a sign posted "Open Tuesday and Thursday" and there were indeed no children in that school. However across the front they had used old gristmill stones for decoration which sure got my vote. As I drove on I did finally see some houses for the community.
In the distance I could see the White Mountains and it was time for an adventure in the New Hampshire Mountains.