It's Independence Day! (Part 2)

At precisely 9:00 we rolled into the parking lot of the Flume. (This just happens to already be one of my favorite attractions in NH.) We couldn't have planned it any better!  We walked into the lobby and saw this:

It's like we knew we were home!  With great excitement, we bought our tickets and started on the trek to see two bridges.  We were pretty sure that we were the first people to take the Flume trail on the holiday morning.

We looked down to see our first aerial shot of a bridge to date.  

The Flume Bridge.

Check out the trusses on this one!

Natalie taking a picture of the Flume Bridge.  Notice she is holding the official notebook of the Covered Bridge Challenge.  She was talked out of bringing the official Bridge Binder on the two mile hike.  We are minimalists.  

Just in case people aren't sure where we went.

This is the first of several warnings about slippery surfaces.  

Ellen presents the Flume.

Natalie likin' the lichen!

They weren't kidding about the stairs!  

Hold the handle and watch your step!  The surfaces are slippery!

And finally the waterfall!  Gotta love America (and NH!)!

Natalie navigating the way!

On the walk back to the car, I pointed out this brown koala to Natalie.  You never know what you are going to see on our adventures!

Here are the happy bloggers in action!

Natalie at Liberty Gorge!  It was the 4th of July, after all.

Here is the pool at the base of the Flume.  

Natalie (and if you squint really hard you can see the next bridge in the background).

The Sentinel Pine Bridge.  This is the bridge that we have worked the hardest to find.  We walked 2 miles to get here.

Learning about the Sentinel Pine Bridge.  

The view from the Sentinel Pine.

Natalie at the Sentinel Pine.

Another view from the Sentinel Pine.  

The Sentinel Pine in all its glory!

Next onto the Lost River!  

Natalie happy to be at the Lost River.

Ellen rests in a chair while looking for the river.

The bloggers with the Found River.

Natalie emerges through the rocks after finding the Lost River.

The Allen-Hollis Bridge that you don't have to pay $17 to see.  We did because we are committed to the cause.

Learn more about the Lost River!

After a 2 mile hike at the Flume and a .75 mile hike (both which were predominantly uphill) we were tired and hot, but we knew our search for bridges was not over for the day.  We had taken in a lot of scenery and were curious to see what the rest of the day would bring!