Between New Hampshire and Vermont we stopped…a lot! No roses to smell, but how about this sunflower?

notice the bee taking a sniff

We also found something to taste. These are thimbleberries, like the ones Nancy picked on Isle Royale National Park many years ago and made jam: equal parts berries and sugar over a Coleman camp stove.

like raspberries but softer, tarter, and much seedier

looking for a jam-size harvest

While Nancy was looking for thimbleberries, Michael glanced up and saw the Old Man of the Mountain. What’s that? Didn’t it collapse in 2003? Yes, but this is a not-too-distant younger relative. Note the prognathous chin on this guy. He could be an O’Connell.

new Old Man of the Mountain

And nearby, in Jericho Vermont, we passed a bright red building. We turned back to find this old mill and stream. Aptly named the Old Red Mill, it was a “starch” mill, grinding wheat and corn to produce buckwheat, graham, brown, and white flour, and corn, oat, and rye meal.

To think, we almost didn’t turn around.

lovely little waterfall

The channel for the river was actually deepened by dynamite blasting without damaging the mill.

A worthwhile 10-minute stop.