Mon, Aug 27
Lancaster, NH: A beautiful, sunny day. Left our campground at Twin Mountain and headed north to Mountain Lake Campground. Although at first glance I didn’t like this place much, it really is a nice campground. We’re in the pines on top of a hill overlooking the lake (more like a large pond). There’s a dock, beach, swim dock, paddle boats, and kayaks available for our use. They have a nice heated pool. Of course to them heated is probably 70 degrees. We’re 5 miles from Whitefield and 4 miles from Lancaster. Both really cute towns. We have full cable and wi-fi. So we can get caught up on some stuff. After we got set up and I did some cursory cleaning, I put on shorts (wow! shorts!) and sat outside and read for a while. The lake is like glass it’s so still. Pretty view. Burgers and salads for dinner tonight.
Monday, August 27, 2007
The BasinSun, Aug 26
Twin Mountain, NH: Cloudy, foggy, and cool this morning. Not a promising day to go to the top of Mt. Washington. So we headed back to the Franconia Notch to see The Basin and The Old Man of the Mountain. Stopped and had a wonderful breakfast in Twin Mountain. We both had steak and eggs. Really good. The Basin is just a geological formation worn by water which formed this basin in the rock. Pretty hike though. The Old Man in the Mountain was a bunch of boulders jutting out from the top of one of the mountains in the Franconia Notch which looked like an old man in profile. After years of trying to stabilize, the boulders came down during the night in 2003. Then we drove over another notch west of Franconia. Saw two bucks. On the way back to our campsite we drove up the road past the campground. Turned into a dirt road pretty quickly. The dirt road was better than the paved road. Followed a pretty stream all the way. There are more hiking trails up here—one which followed the stream. Most of them go up the mountain. And no switchbacks. No thanks. Tomorrow we leave this beautiful campground and go to Mountain Lake Campground—only about 20 miles north of here. Not a really great commercial campground (most of them aren’t), but we’re there only 3 nights.
Sat, Aug 25
Twin Mountain, NH: Started out sunny. Mike made a fire and we sat around with our coffee and tea and it started sprinkling. Moved our chairs back under the awning. Stopped raining. Back in front of the fire. That went on for a while. We burned all the wood we had left so we didn’t have to take any with us. Won’t be having a fire for a while. Finally started clearing somewhat. We decided to hang around the campsite today. It’s so pretty here. Played Trivial Pursuit outside on the picnic table. Played twice—I won both (cough, cough). Finally. He beat me twice the other day, so now we’re even. Just sandwiches for dinner. Another little thunder storm rolled in. We’re nice and comfy. Feel sorry for the people in the tents.
Twin Mountain, NH: Started out sunny. Mike made a fire and we sat around with our coffee and tea and it started sprinkling. Moved our chairs back under the awning. Stopped raining. Back in front of the fire. That went on for a while. We burned all the wood we had left so we didn’t have to take any with us. Won’t be having a fire for a while. Finally started clearing somewhat. We decided to hang around the campsite today. It’s so pretty here. Played Trivial Pursuit outside on the picnic table. Played twice—I won both (cough, cough). Finally. He beat me twice the other day, so now we’re even. Just sandwiches for dinner. Another little thunder storm rolled in. We’re nice and comfy. Feel sorry for the people in the tents.
The Palms in Dixville Notch
Loon and her chick--Northwoods Area of New HampshireFri, Aug 24
Twin Mountain, NH: Rained most of the night last night but this morning was sunny and warm. Trying to decide if we want to drive up Mount Washington today or not. Mike still wants to take the cog. I’m not sure if I want to spend an hour and a half of terror on that thing. I told him he could take the cog up and I’d drive up and meet him there. Well, by the time we got going the clouds had obscured most of the mountain tops anyway. So we decided to head up into the north woods region of New Hampshire. Drove north to Errol, NH, and most of the drive was along a beautiful river which I couldn’t pronounce. We actually saw a bull moose. Right after seeing a sign for “deer crossing” this moose pops out onto the road. Guess he didn’t know he was in the “deer crossing” area. He was big. Also saw a loon and her chic in one of the many ponds along the way. Had a late lunch at the Northern Exposure in the little town of Errol. Good food and friendly people. Drove through Dixville Notch which was the most rugged and beautiful place. Right after going through the notch was a beautiful, old hotel complex called The Balsams. Out in the middle of nowhere. Back to our pretty campsite and laid back for a while. It turned out to be a very warm and humid day. Trees are starting to turn though. We didn’t get back until 5:30 or so. Solar panels must have gotten some sun because the battery is at a good level.
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Mt. Washington Hotel
Thu, Aug 23
Twin Mountain, NH: Up this morning and Mike had a fire. Pretty chilly. Decided we’d go to the Mount Washington Hotel today and have lunch. Arrived there and at the gate we were told we would have to go to the Bretton ski area and park there and take the shuttle back to the hotel because of the construction going on. So we did that and had a pretty good lunch. The hotel is very big and wonderful little nooks and crannies everywhere. After lunch we drove through the Franconia Notch and stopped at “The Flume” and hiked up to the gorge. This thing was discovered by a 93 year old woman who was fishing in the stream. 93!!! They didn’t believe her at first. This is a very rugged area—steep with lots of boulders. I can’t imagine a 93 year old woman climbing around there. Anyway, it was a very pretty gorge and the return trail to the visitor’s center was littered with glacial erratics—some huge—with trees’ roots twined all around them seeking some soil. Very pretty trail. Back to the campsite. Mike played on the computer for a while and I finished my book.
Mt. Washington HotelThu, Aug 23
Twin Mountain, NH: Up this morning and Mike had a fire. Pretty chilly. Decided we’d go to the Mount Washington Hotel today and have lunch. Arrived there and at the gate we were told we would have to go to the Bretton ski area and park there and take the shuttle back to the hotel because of the construction going on. So we did that and had a pretty good lunch. The hotel is very big and wonderful little nooks and crannies everywhere. After lunch we drove through the Franconia Notch and stopped at “The Flume” and hiked up to the gorge. This thing was discovered by a 93 year old woman who was fishing in the stream. 93!!! They didn’t believe her at first. This is a very rugged area—steep with lots of boulders. I can’t imagine a 93 year old woman climbing around there. Anyway, it was a very pretty gorge and the return trail to the visitor’s center was littered with glacial erratics—some huge—with trees’ roots twined all around them seeking some soil. Very pretty trail. Back to the campsite. Mike played on the computer for a while and I finished my book.
Our Pretty Campsite
Glacial Erratic in our SiteWed, Aug 22
Twin Mountain, NH: We left Jigger Johnson National Forest Campground this morning at 11:00 and arrived at Sugarloaf NF Campground outside Twin Mountain, NH, and were set up by 12:20. What a beautiful little campground! Still no hook-ups, but a beautiful campsite with our own glacial erratic right in our site and a beautiful trail leading right out of our campsite down to the river. We’re surrounded by beautiful birch trees. And it’s actually pretty warm! Looking good! Outlook is for warmer weather, but more clouds. Rain by Saturday. That’s okay, at least it will be warm. After we got set up we drove around the area. The mountains up here are very rugged and craggy and we have lots of exploring to do. Had subs at the country store/gas station/restaurant in Twin Mountain. There’s a beautiful old hotel at the base of Mt. Washington that’s been there since the 1900s. We need to check that out. Back to our pretty campsite and read outside for a while. Then went inside and played Trivial Pursuit for a while. Mike won (again). Tonight should be the last cold night.
Tue, Aug 21
Conway, NH: Cold again this morning, but not as cold as yesterday. Going to do the laundry this morning and then go on a hike this afternoon. After the laundry we walked across the street and had lunch at Chinook Café. Clouding up a little. I had started “Husband” by Dean Koontz this morning and it’s hard to put down. After we finished all our chores we didn’t really feel like going on a big hike, so we checked out the CCC Interpretive Trail at the Blackberry Crossing Campground. It used to be a huge CCC camp before they turned in into a campground. Some of the fireplaces and foundations are still there. Came back to our campsite and continued with my book. We leave here tomorrow for a campground about 30 miles north of here. It’s supposed to warm up though.
Conway, NH: Cold again this morning, but not as cold as yesterday. Going to do the laundry this morning and then go on a hike this afternoon. After the laundry we walked across the street and had lunch at Chinook Café. Clouding up a little. I had started “Husband” by Dean Koontz this morning and it’s hard to put down. After we finished all our chores we didn’t really feel like going on a big hike, so we checked out the CCC Interpretive Trail at the Blackberry Crossing Campground. It used to be a huge CCC camp before they turned in into a campground. Some of the fireplaces and foundations are still there. Came back to our campsite and continued with my book. We leave here tomorrow for a campground about 30 miles north of here. It’s supposed to warm up though.
Mon, Aug 20
Conway, NH: COLD this morning—upper 30s! Had a fire all morning. Then we drove up north some to Berlin, NH. Had lunch in a dumpy diner there, but they had good pizza. There were signs around that Berlin is the gateway to the north woods. I thought we were already in the north woods! We passed the auto road to Mount Washington. I suggested maybe we should drive up there today since it is so clear. But Mike wants to take the cog railway up there. Jeeze, I don’t know. Came back through No. Conway and bought some groceries. Back to our campsite and ran the generator for a little while. Then decided to go back to that cute little movie theatre in Conway. “Once” was playing. Hadn’t a clue what it was about—just wanted to go again. I had my usual popcorn but Mike ordered a small dinner and they brought it out on a little tray that fit into the cup holder. So different! The movie was okay. I thought the music was beautiful. At least Mike didn’t fall asleep.
Conway, NH: COLD this morning—upper 30s! Had a fire all morning. Then we drove up north some to Berlin, NH. Had lunch in a dumpy diner there, but they had good pizza. There were signs around that Berlin is the gateway to the north woods. I thought we were already in the north woods! We passed the auto road to Mount Washington. I suggested maybe we should drive up there today since it is so clear. But Mike wants to take the cog railway up there. Jeeze, I don’t know. Came back through No. Conway and bought some groceries. Back to our campsite and ran the generator for a little while. Then decided to go back to that cute little movie theatre in Conway. “Once” was playing. Hadn’t a clue what it was about—just wanted to go again. I had my usual popcorn but Mike ordered a small dinner and they brought it out on a little tray that fit into the cup holder. So different! The movie was okay. I thought the music was beautiful. At least Mike didn’t fall asleep.
Sun, Aug 19
Conway, NH: This morning it was just plain cold. Probably went down into the low 40s. It’s August for God’s sake! I am so ready to leave New England. We had a fire all morning and sat in front of it reading our books. When we ran out of wood we went inside and I curled up on the couch with the throw Michele gave us and continued reading. Mike had to go get more wood and fill one of the propane tanks. I begged off—I was so comfortable and cozy all curled up with my book. Mike left and I continued reading for a while. The sun came out in earnest so I threw on a jacket and walked the beautiful little trail down to the Swift River. Felt good to get out and get some fresh air among the huge pines. Interestingly, in the Colonial days the British were always looking for “mast pines”—used as masts in their war ships. These “mast pines” had to be at least 24 inches in circumference chest high be free of branches for at least 80 feet. The British would go around marking these desirable trees with a large, broad arrow and the Colonists were forbidden to cut them. In direct defiance of this order, they would cut them anyway and trim them to 23 inches. Ya gotta love it! They then cut them into planks for wide plank flooring. The historic homestead has wide pine flooring. Anyway, after the “mast trees” are very carefully felled, they were strapped to huge wheels and hauled to Portsmouth, NH, on “mast roads” using 88 oxen. Wow! This road must have been pretty straight since it would be impossible to make a turn hauling a 100 foot tree. Mike pulled in just as I was finishing my walk. He wanted to walk down there too so I went back with him. Had leftovers for dinner which is a bit tricky without a microwave (the only thing I miss when not on electric). I just put everything in a frying pan with a little water, cover it and let it steam slowly for a few minutes. Works, but not as good as a microwave.
Conway, NH: This morning it was just plain cold. Probably went down into the low 40s. It’s August for God’s sake! I am so ready to leave New England. We had a fire all morning and sat in front of it reading our books. When we ran out of wood we went inside and I curled up on the couch with the throw Michele gave us and continued reading. Mike had to go get more wood and fill one of the propane tanks. I begged off—I was so comfortable and cozy all curled up with my book. Mike left and I continued reading for a while. The sun came out in earnest so I threw on a jacket and walked the beautiful little trail down to the Swift River. Felt good to get out and get some fresh air among the huge pines. Interestingly, in the Colonial days the British were always looking for “mast pines”—used as masts in their war ships. These “mast pines” had to be at least 24 inches in circumference chest high be free of branches for at least 80 feet. The British would go around marking these desirable trees with a large, broad arrow and the Colonists were forbidden to cut them. In direct defiance of this order, they would cut them anyway and trim them to 23 inches. Ya gotta love it! They then cut them into planks for wide plank flooring. The historic homestead has wide pine flooring. Anyway, after the “mast trees” are very carefully felled, they were strapped to huge wheels and hauled to Portsmouth, NH, on “mast roads” using 88 oxen. Wow! This road must have been pretty straight since it would be impossible to make a turn hauling a 100 foot tree. Mike pulled in just as I was finishing my walk. He wanted to walk down there too so I went back with him. Had leftovers for dinner which is a bit tricky without a microwave (the only thing I miss when not on electric). I just put everything in a frying pan with a little water, cover it and let it steam slowly for a few minutes. Works, but not as good as a microwave.
Sat, Aug 18
Conway, NH: The wind was really soughing through the trees last night. Great sleeping! In fact, I didn’t even get up until 9:30. Had a fire most of the morning and filled the water tank. Then went inside and played Trivial Pursuit for a while. Trying to decide if we want to go see another movie at that cute little theater in Conway. Looks to be an iffy day—sprinkling off and on. Decided to stay, so I put a pork roast in the oven and we continued playing Trivial Pursuit. Mike won (barely). Had dinner of roast pork, stuffing (ala Stove Top) and snap peas. Really good. Then played Backgammon (I won 2 out of 3) and then rummy (I won both games). Really getting chilly now. Had the heat on for a while. Tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny but really cool. Mike wants to go to the top of Mount Washington before we leave the area. I have no desire to go up there. It’s a big mound of granite up there anyway. Today it was foggy up there, 34 degrees and winds gusting to 75 miles an hour. Oh yeah, sounds like fun to me.
Conway, NH: The wind was really soughing through the trees last night. Great sleeping! In fact, I didn’t even get up until 9:30. Had a fire most of the morning and filled the water tank. Then went inside and played Trivial Pursuit for a while. Trying to decide if we want to go see another movie at that cute little theater in Conway. Looks to be an iffy day—sprinkling off and on. Decided to stay, so I put a pork roast in the oven and we continued playing Trivial Pursuit. Mike won (barely). Had dinner of roast pork, stuffing (ala Stove Top) and snap peas. Really good. Then played Backgammon (I won 2 out of 3) and then rummy (I won both games). Really getting chilly now. Had the heat on for a while. Tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny but really cool. Mike wants to go to the top of Mount Washington before we leave the area. I have no desire to go up there. It’s a big mound of granite up there anyway. Today it was foggy up there, 34 degrees and winds gusting to 75 miles an hour. Oh yeah, sounds like fun to me.
Post Office on Bear Island
Our ShipFri, Aug 17
Conway, NH: This morning was nice and partly cloudy. We walked the trail down to the Swift River through a forest of old growth pines and birches. Beautiful! And the river down there is very nice with a gravel bottom and no big boulders. A good place to get in the water and splash around—if the water weren’t so damn cold. After our walk we decided it would probably be the last chance to take the Lake Winnipesaukee cruise since the next few days are supposed to be quite chilly. So we headed down toward Weirs Beach, stopping at Dunkin Donuts for donut holes for Mike and a blueberry bagel for me. Got to what we thought was Weirs Beach and waited for the Mount Washington ship to pull in. When this much smaller boat pulled in I went and asked one of the crew where the Mount Washington was and he said “at Weirs Beach”. I said I thought we were at Weirs Beach. He said…”no, you’re at Meridith Beach”. Great. It’s now 3:00 and the Mount leaves at 3:15. But Mike was adamant he wanted to go on the very historic Mount Washington, so off we head—me thinking we’d never make the Mount and should have gone out on the smaller boat. But we made it (finally) to Weirs Beach and just caught the Mount. A huge boat—and it’s been running on Lake Winnipesaukee for 135 years! Turned into a beautiful afternoon and our two-hour cruise was well worth it. It’s a beautiful lake and we’re told the water is so clean the people who have homes on the lake use it for drinking water. Same at Squam Lake. I’m not so sure I’d want to drink it—maybe with some scotch in it. After our cruise we headed down the pier to a restaurant overlooking the lake with beautiful views of the mountains in the distance. A nice little beach town with lots to do and not too many people. I bought a NY Yankees tee shirt at one of the shops on the strip. Mike not too happy about that.
Thu, Aug 16
Conway, NH: Up early (for us) this morning and showered and dressed and headed out to explore. Right next to the campground is a historic homestead that the Forest Service bought and restored. The house and barn were built in the early 1830s. It’s great that the Forest Service bought it because it was the only homestead left on the “Kanc”. We walked over there and explored the grounds, the house and the cemetery. One of the daughters lived there all her life until about 1930. Pretty amazing. After that we drove up Bear Notch Road and picked up Rt. 302 heading northwest. The mountains are even more rugged up there. We stopped at a historic sign along Rt. 302 describing the history of what was then called the Crawford Notch—actually it’s still called that (now Rt. 302). Anyway, back in 1771 these two guys, Crawford and Sawyer, were tracking moose and one of them climbed a tree and saw this valley through the mountains they had heard about in Indian lore. So, Crawford went to see Governor Wentworth—British governor back then--and told him about what he had discovered and what it would mean for commerce in the area to have an easy east-west route. The governor made a deal with them—that if they could bring a horse across this wilderness alive, he’d give them a parcel of land and help them build a road. So, they took this poor horse and in some cases literally dragged him across some of the rough areas and then had to lower him with ropes over the rock ledges. The poor thing. But they did it. Where’s the ASPCA when you need them? Made a circuitous route and came back through No. Conway so I could stop at one of the outlets. Worked out well, traffic was coming the other way and Mike was able to stop at the chocolate store. Back to the campground and our really nice site. We found out that Jigger Johnson was a logger extraordinaire. Logging turned this area into a pretty busy and profitable place back in the 1800s.
Conway, NH: Up early (for us) this morning and showered and dressed and headed out to explore. Right next to the campground is a historic homestead that the Forest Service bought and restored. The house and barn were built in the early 1830s. It’s great that the Forest Service bought it because it was the only homestead left on the “Kanc”. We walked over there and explored the grounds, the house and the cemetery. One of the daughters lived there all her life until about 1930. Pretty amazing. After that we drove up Bear Notch Road and picked up Rt. 302 heading northwest. The mountains are even more rugged up there. We stopped at a historic sign along Rt. 302 describing the history of what was then called the Crawford Notch—actually it’s still called that (now Rt. 302). Anyway, back in 1771 these two guys, Crawford and Sawyer, were tracking moose and one of them climbed a tree and saw this valley through the mountains they had heard about in Indian lore. So, Crawford went to see Governor Wentworth—British governor back then--and told him about what he had discovered and what it would mean for commerce in the area to have an easy east-west route. The governor made a deal with them—that if they could bring a horse across this wilderness alive, he’d give them a parcel of land and help them build a road. So, they took this poor horse and in some cases literally dragged him across some of the rough areas and then had to lower him with ropes over the rock ledges. The poor thing. But they did it. Where’s the ASPCA when you need them? Made a circuitous route and came back through No. Conway so I could stop at one of the outlets. Worked out well, traffic was coming the other way and Mike was able to stop at the chocolate store. Back to the campground and our really nice site. We found out that Jigger Johnson was a logger extraordinaire. Logging turned this area into a pretty busy and profitable place back in the 1800s.
Wed, Aug 15
Conway, NH: Awoke this morning feeling much better than I thought I would. Not too sore at all. Didn’t sleep much last night though. Although we are still in the Conway, NH, area, we moved today to another national forest campground—Jigger Johnson—which is just off “The Kanc” (which is short for Kancamagus byway—as the locals call it). It’s another beautiful campground, but this one has flush toilets and showers (coin operated, but nice). Had to go to one of the state parks to dump first and then we drove to Jigger Johnson and got set up. Sat outside and read for a while. Finished my book—Recessional by Michener. Great book. Starting “My First Five Husbands and The Ones That Got Away” by Rue McClanahan (Blanche of the Golden Girls). Should be pretty good. Went for a short walk to check out the campground but it started raining. Had an early dinner. Weather iffy for the next couple of days. No cell signal.
Conway, NH: Awoke this morning feeling much better than I thought I would. Not too sore at all. Didn’t sleep much last night though. Although we are still in the Conway, NH, area, we moved today to another national forest campground—Jigger Johnson—which is just off “The Kanc” (which is short for Kancamagus byway—as the locals call it). It’s another beautiful campground, but this one has flush toilets and showers (coin operated, but nice). Had to go to one of the state parks to dump first and then we drove to Jigger Johnson and got set up. Sat outside and read for a while. Finished my book—Recessional by Michener. Great book. Starting “My First Five Husbands and The Ones That Got Away” by Rue McClanahan (Blanche of the Golden Girls). Should be pretty good. Went for a short walk to check out the campground but it started raining. Had an early dinner. Weather iffy for the next couple of days. No cell signal.
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