We decided to explore a little more of New Hampshire this last weekend so we headed up to the White Mountains. The plan was to head up there, get a cabin and see the area, getting in some hiking and driving as we went. So, we headed out Friday afternoon. After about an hour of driving we started to see the landscape look more "mountainy".
When we left, the Waggy said the outside air temperature was 93. As we entered the White Mountain Region of NH, the temperature had dropped to 85.
We stopped at an ice-cream stand. I got home made apple crisp under vanilla... good.
It started to rain so we hit the road, continuing up to "Twin Mountain" New Hampshire. We rented a cottage for the night here for less than $100!
After unloading the car, we headed out to find some dinner. We heard that "Grandma's Kitchen" had good food. So, we headed over to Whitefield to check it out. When we got into town (only two streets in town) we didn't see it, so Wifey went into a gas station and asked for directions. While she did that, I grabbed a couple pictures of town:
She returned and told me that we had to drive about a mile out of town to get to the restaurant, so we hit the road. Soon we found the place; a small restaurant with a single wide behind it and an almost full dirt parking lot out front. You could tell the food was going to be good just by looking at it. I ordered fried chicken, mashed potatoes and brown gravy. That was the best fried chicken I've ever had in my life. Wifey got the chowder and we ordered some spaghetti off of the kids menu for Chunky. His order was almost like an adult order and you could tell the marinara was home made. At any rate, the meal was good.
After dinner we headed back to the cottage. On the way, I saw this abandoned auto repair shop and snapped a picture of the Waggy in front of it. The two just seemed to go together.
We made plans to go hiking the next day and called it a night. In the morning, we hit a trail that started right behind the cabin. It was level and easy so Chunky could walk. It snaked through the trees and ended at a large beaver pond.
The hike got us hungry so we went back to Grandma's kitchen and grabbed breakfast. I got home made blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon. It was good. After that, we headed over to Franconia Notch State Park. We wanted to hike the Flume Gorge trail but dogs weren't allowed. So we went up the Mount Pemigewasset trail. It was marked as a moderate trail that climbed out to an overlook. So, I put Chunky on my shoulders, Wifey grabbed the dog and we headed up.
The trail started in thick forest and crossed a number of small streams.
Soon it got steeper and, with Chunky on my shoulders, my heart rate hit a peak of 175! I never realized how out of shape I was! Also, the rocks got larger as we climbed higher.
I had to take some breaks. Even though the trail was only 1.5 miles, it climbed over 1500 feet in elevation. Chunky had a great time.
After almost 2 hours, we finally hit the top. The views were amazing! Pictures really don't do the view justice.
The edge of the overlook was a vertical cliff that was probably 200-300 feet tall. I tried to get a shot looking down at the tops of the trees below but it didn't turn out so well. Cell phone camera...
After we took in the views, we headed back down. Chunky rode on my shoulders most of the way. After about an hour, I felt this mushy feeling on my head. Wifely laughed. Apparently he fell asleep and was face down on the top of my head. Wifey grabbed him and carried him down the rest of the way.
As we got down to the bottom of the trail, we could hear thunder. Then it started raining... not a drizzle but stead rain. The crazy part is that none of the rain drops were penetrating the forest canopy. We could hear the rain in the leaves but we were totally dry! I've never seen anything like it! Once we got to the trail head, the dog and I grabbed the Waggy and did a curb side pickup. After everyone was in the car, I snapped this picture. Check out the rain drop splashing on the left side of the hood. It was now raining hard!
We drove to a gas station and we were now in a full on downpour. Rain and hail were cascading down. There was so much water that the storm drains couldn't keep up. The temperature dropped to 66 degrees. Around 3" of water was flowing at about 15 miles an hour over the parking lot. I grabbed a picture but the focus wasn't great. The storm drain is in the middle.
After filling up, we hit the road. We stopped for lunch and got Greek Style pizza here. This was a first for me and it was amazing!
From this point on, it was smooth sailing and we returned home to 93 degree temps once again.
