With Halloween on the horizon, it’s worth looking back over the past month. October is one of those transition months, where late summer and early winter duke it out. Global warming has pushed the first frost date into October instead of mid to late September, the way it used to be when I was young. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. A few extra pleasant sunny days are always welcome. It also extends the growing season a few weeks longer. My calendula has been faithfully blooming, though thanks to the light frosts of last week, insect pollinators have largely vanished. A pot of johnny-jump-ups that I had dumped into the garden since it looked like the plants were winding down, instead has put out a new crop of small bright flowers. A very nice surprise for so late in the season.
Still all good things come to an end. Columbus Day weekend is usually considered the end of the summer tourist season with a brief respite before the skiing season starts. Tourists come for a look at the fall foliage. It’s always a busy long weekend but this past holiday stood out for the shocking hordes of leaf-peepers it brought. Franconia Notch was apparently the go-to place to see and everyone must have decided to come on the same day.
The above is an image taken by a hiker showing how packed things were. Some locals who had come were shocked by the enormous number of people.
Artist’s Bluff (shown above) was filled with humanity and if you look closely, you will not see any protective barrier at the cliff’s edge, nothing to stop some idiot from falling over it. Fortunately no one was injured but some locals who had come for the view had difficulty enjoying themselves. WMUR interviewed one woman who stated she felt unsafe with so many people jostling and elbowing up and down the trail. And who could blame her?
Such huge numbers of people also meant a lot of trash was left on the trail. Two employees from the Tramway took it upon themselves to go up and brought out several large bags of rubbish, ranging from plastic water bottles to used disposable diapers. It was great that they were conscientious enough to do this, but it shouldn’t have fallen upon them to collect trash. The tourists themselves should have cleaned up after themselves.
This is a problem afflicting all tourist attractions ranging from Mount Fuji to the beaches of Bali, not just in terms of trash but in the vast press of humanity. Everyone wants to see the beauty of nature but in such large numbers, the risk is that they will love it to death. It might be useful to come during the off season, but if everybody decides to do that, we’re no better off than we were before. One solution might be charging a fee to enter the favored spot but of course this blocks out people who can’t afford it. Another is to limit the number of people who can enter the tourist attraction at any one time. The risk here is disappointing people who might have to call ahead to see if they have any chance of getting in. There probably is no perfect solution to this dilemma.
Perhaps we might benefit by simply staying closer to home and discovering the beauty and occasional surprises of our own local area. While out walking last week, I came across a stone wall abutting someone’s property. On the stone wall was an open padlock someone had forgotten. No one has touched it as it is no use without the key. But someone found a use. A very tiny someone.
Within the red circle I drew on the photo is a very, very, VERY tiny spider, barely visible even with the arrow pointing at it and the circle around it. Its body wasn’t much longer than one of my eyelashes. Even this late in the season, this minuscule being was spinning a web on the padlock, showing that hope springs eternal.
Enjoy the rest of this fall and be sure to keep your eyes peeled. You never know what you’re going to see.
