My dog, Maisy, playing fetch off in the Saco River.

Growing up, we’ve always taken trips to New Hampshire to spend time hiking and kayaking. Eventually, that resulted in us purchasing a small vacation home off of the Saco River. We’ve been through a few moves and relocations up there–but stayed right by the Saco the whole time. As my parents get older, they hike less, and we spend more time just sitting alongside the river with our dog.

Before our first move, we saw the nasty hurricane Irene and watched the river spill itself out into the backyard. After we moved, we saw the flooding becoming more and more frequent all throughout the river. The river seemed to erode more and more land so my dad built a set of wooden stairs and a bridge so that the neighborhood could safely maneuver to the river’s beach even when the levels rise. Plenty of folks from the community came and helped with the installation, and have been using them ever since. As the river seems to eat up more land, the community does its best to persevere and find ways to still enjoy its beauty. We still visit the Saco every other month or so that we can.