New Hampshire | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Another “Gorge”-ous Day At New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch State Park

Published October 20, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

The more I travel the more I appreciate the astonishing beauty in the United States. There are so many things I love: lighthouses, waterfalls, beaches, wildflowers, mountain trails, the list could go on forever. I find that most trips take on some sort of theme and this one is no different, as today I visited my third gorge in as many days. This one was The Flume in Franconia Notch State Park in north central New Hampshire.

The Flume at Franconia Notch State Park New Hampshire

Even though the fall foliage here is “past peak,” inside the protected gorge there were enough leaves remaining on the trees to add some color to the trails. The Flume is a natural 800-foot long gorge with perpendicular walls that rise to a height of 90 feet. It was formed nearly 200 million years ago when the underlying granite fractured vertically, leaving wide gaps. Later, the molten lava that was forced up through these cracks cooled to form basalt rock. As erosion lowered the earth’s surface, the dikes were exposed. The softer basalt eroded faster than the surrounding granite, creating the deep valley that is today the gorge. After the Ice Age, Flume Brook began to flow through the valley, and the swiftly moving water further eroded the gorge and became a series of spectacular waterfalls: Continue reading →

Posted in New England travel |

Tagged fall foliage, Flume, Franconia Notch State Park, gorges, leaf peepers, leaves, Maine, New Hampshire, Old Man in the Mountain, photos, Profile Lake, The Basin, Travel, waterfalls |

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Little Susie Sunshine At Quechee Gorge – The “Little Grand Canyon” Of Vermont

Published October 18, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Last night, the only thing I wanted to do was get in the car and drive back home to Florida. This happens to me occasionally when I travel long term. It may have been a touch of homesickness; more likely I just needed a rest, since I’ve been hitting the road pretty hard and staying up late to sort out photos and blog. So, I recognized my mood for what it was and slept on it.

Quechee Gorge Pond Vermont

Quechee Gorge Dam

This morning, following a good night’s sleep, I decided to hike to the bottom of the Quechee Gorge (Kwee-chee), billed as Vermont’s “Little Grand Canyon.” Continue reading →

Posted in New England travel |

Tagged caverns, fall foliage, Franconia Notch State Park, leaf-peeping, leaves, LostRiver Gorge and Caves, New Hampshire, photos, Quechee Gorge, Travel, Vermont, waterfalls |

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Magnificent Fall Foliage Following Me Everywhere

Published October 16, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Despite patchy fog and spitting rain this morning, the views from the Interstates of eastern New York were spectacular. From the Hudson Valley, past the Catskills, and up to Albany, the fall foliage was at its peak. North of Albany, many of the trees had already been stripped of their leaves, and I began to worry that the fall colors at my intended destination for the evening – Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains – would be past their peak. I will simply say – not so! I think the following photos speak for themselves:

Lake George Adirondacks New York fall foliage

Lake George Adirondacks New York fall foliage

Continue reading →

Posted in Northeast US travel |

Tagged Adirondacks, birthplace of the U.S. Navy, Catskills, colors, fall foliage, Hudson Valley, Lake Champlain, Lake George, leaves, New Hampshire, New York, photos, Skene Manor, Travel, USS Ticonderoga, Vermont, Whitehall |

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Doing More Right Than Wrong With My Writing

Published October 12, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

For the last two days I’ve been in Richmond, Virginia, attending the James River Writers Conference. Since this is the first writers conference I have ever attended, I really did not know what to expect, but the event exceeded my every expectation. Not only were the various plenary and breakout sessions incredibly informative, but without exception, everyone associated with JRW bent over backward to offer assistance. One of the keynote speakers, author Adriana Trigiani, even went so far as to encourage us to send her our manuscripts, promising that she would force her agent to read them.

Prior to attending JRW, I was somewhat discouraged. I was beginning to think that writing a book and getting it published was a pipe dream. When I first started to pursue a career in writing I quickly discovered that I needed to be able to show potential publishers clippings of my articles that have appeared in print. Since I had not previously been published, I spent the last ten months begging local magazine editors to publish my writing for little or no pay in order to develop a portfolio of by-lined articles. My efforts resulted in three published magazine pieces and two online articles, with two more scheduled to appear in the next couple of months. My progress seemed agonizingly Continue reading →

Posted in Travel writing |