The Spirit of the Old Man of the Mountain

10 years ago today, The Old Man of the Mountain, a natural rock formation in the shape of a man's face, and a symbol of New Hampshire, fell from it's perch on Cannon Mt. above Franconia Notch.
First discovered in the early 1800's, "the Old Man" had become one of most visited attractions in NH. It was formed by nature from glaciers. During the last few decades before it fell, officials used turnbuckles and hooks to secure the rock formation, fearing it would fall.
On the day it fell, I drove to the area to take a few photos for a reference for a painting I wanted to do. I was going to paint it as it had been, before it fell. As I stood there taking photos, many people had gathered to view the now "faceless" rock. "The Old Man Fell!" was the cry from all the people in the state.
People brought flowers, wrote messages and just stood there, speechless.Many people talked about how this symbol had great meaning to them. Some got married there, some hiked all around the mountain, brought children to see it, and some even had loved ones ashes spread around the mountain.
It was then I decided to paint the "Old Man" as a cloud. "The Spirit" of the Old Man of the Mountain.
It was a very moving experience, because I never realized what impact that event had.
Since that time, people have been trying to create replica of The Old Man so that future generations will know what once was.