Tag Archives: foliage

I’m ready to cry Uncle.

October 9, 2020 Rivergirl 28 Comments

First it was not at all temporary temporary doors. Then insulation and a ceiling and new light fixtures and floor moulding and quarter round.

Now?

The husband is installing strapping to cover the plywood ceiling seams.

Technically this is finish work. And we all know that is not where his talents lie.

Was the strapping straight?

Not so much.

Of course when I helpfully pointed that out, I got booted from the barn/man cave/Maine Taj Mahal.

When I went back 2 hours later? He informed me the strapping wasn’t right and needed to be redone.

Hmm. Why didn’t I think of that?

Cutting and more cutting.

Cutting around the light fixtures I tried to tell him to center 2 weeks ago.

But all the cutting resulted in straighter lines.

Aggravating? No doubt.

But…

We did have gorgeous fall foliage in the background so I’ll call it a win.

Uncategorized

Risking life and limb for my blog.

October 4, 2020 Rivergirl 26 Comments

Never let it be said I don’t put myself in harm’s way for my loyal readers.

Yes, I drove home from the store one handed the other day just so I could share a few shots of our beautiful fall foliage in Maine.

We had a very hot dry summer…

So the leaves aren’t as vibrant as they could be.

But it’s still a pretty sweet show.

Minus the spots and streaks on my dirty windshield that is.

No small animals were killed while I swerved left for that burning bush…

And swerved right for that perfect sugar maple.

Good thing we don’t get much traffic on our road.

Or police cruisers.

Ah, autumn in New England.

If you’ve never experienced it….

What are you waiting for?

Uncategorized

Diana’s Baths Part 5… rocks, foliage and zombie toes.

December 10, 2019 Rivergirl 37 Comments

Okay… I lied. When we discovered the cairn garden I thought we were at the top, but it turns out we weren’t.

Yes ladies and gentlemen….

There will be more rocks.

And trees.

And trees that hug rocks.

But I promise you…

This time we had found the top.

But standing there, it really does make you wonder where all the water comes from.

The pools are shallow and yet the water keeps flowing… and flowing… and flowing.

Flowing so much in fact..

You knew that was coming, right?

Add another christened outhouse to the list.

Done with the Baths, we back headed down.

Through some lovely paths…

Where sometimes you just have to look up.

And soak in the splendor of autumn.

Naturally, when you look up…. you’re apt to trip over something you would have seen if you were looking down.

Like I did.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who sees a half buried zombie toe here.

And here.

Overgrown toenails et al.

It’s enough to make a girl shiver…

And crave a fortifying alcoholic beverage.

Which I found here.

At the Black Cap Grille, one of our favorite spots in North Conway.

Happily fortified with cocktails and a yummy grilled Caesar salad (If you’ve never eaten it this way? Start now)

And some succulent crab cakes…

We called it a day.

Uncategorized

Cathedral Ledge Part 2.

December 3, 2019 Rivergirl 38 Comments

Mountain views.

Valley views.

Vibrant autumn color.

And love locks… Cathedral ledge has it all.

Even lovers with a sense of humor.

It was glorious… and that was only the front half.

Walking along the sides, we made friends.

Took 100 more pictures….

And simply marveled at the beauty of nature.

Even the husband was quiet.

Honestly, there’s only so many times you can say wow.

It really was a special spot.

This way?

Beautiful.

That way?

Fabulous.

Gaze in wonder.

Take picture.

Repeat.

There were rocks!

And trees!

And they made me realize how blessed I am to live in a truly wonderful part of the world.

We made one final lap along the fence line…

And strolled a few final steps across those marvelous rocks…

I tried again…. unsuccessfully… to get a double selfie where the husband actually looks at the camera.

But no matter.

We took one last look and bid goodbye to a place I’d revisit in a heartbeat next time we’re in the area.

Uncategorized

White Mountains trip Day 5. Cathedral Ledge.

December 2, 2019 Rivergirl 39 Comments

Are you ready for a deluge of photos?

Good, then you’re in the right place…

Because this was probably the most scenic spot we found on our trip.

Pulling into the park, the ledge loomed ahead.

We drove up a long, winding, foliage bracketed road…

And a short walk from the parking lot at the top?

Wow.

I’m going to run out of words to describe the view pretty quickly.

Breath taking. Splendid. Dazzling. Jaw dropping. Stunning…

See?

Speechless..

And look at the rocks!

And the trees!

And the even bigger rocks…

With people climbing up them.

I was one happy camper.

Even when I saw I couldn’t use the mountaineers as target practice.

It was glorious.

Every where you turned…

Magnificent views.

Made me feel like I was on top of the world.

More to come.

Uncategorized

White Mountains trip, Day 4. Mother Walker Falls

November 29, 2019 Rivergirl 33 Comments

Never let it be said I’m not up for a good waterfall.

Sadly, this Mother wasn’t.

It sounded promising, so we headed down.

And while it was a pretty spot, I didn’t see a whole lot falling.

Oh, there were stacked rocks.

And precariously balanced rocks…

But even when we followed the sound of running water, there wasn’t much falling.

I’m sure it’s much more impressive in the spring.

But we still enjoyed the walk, the day, and…

The rocks.

A scenic drive…

Some foliage…

Some mountains…

And a lovely old bed and breakfast later….

We followed someone’s advice and stopped for a meal at the Sudbury Inn in Bethel.

Tucked away out back, down some dark steps… we found what I can only describe as the local dive bar.

Local workmen at the bar (shooting us disgusted looks) and slumming prep school students from Gould Academy made up the clientele. Uncomfortable chairs, spotty silverware and a disinterested (borderline surly) bartender/waiter… who made us wait longer than he had to… made us question why we were there.

images3042C4WS

But despite the business card decorated ceiling and questionable decor…

There was surprisingly good food and at least 2 dozen beers on tap.

Mr. Personality even accommodated the husband’s preference for grilled chicken with his chicken parm.

Which just goes to show you can’t judge a bar if you’re from out of town…. or something like that.

Our 4th day ended at our resort with us walking past the strange carved bear out front.

If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was praying for new carpet.

Uncategorized

White Mountain trip Day 3… Random scenery.

November 26, 2019 Rivergirl 32 Comments

No, the vacation series isn’t over yet, I just thought I’d give you a few days break.

aff4457561556e4afd14b73c36642f9f

Leaving the Sculptured Rocks geological site, we drove through the Cockermouth Forest.

Yes. I swear….

We did.

I’m reasoning that Cocker Spaniels are bird retrieval dogs, and therefor have tender mouths.

Yes.

That’s my explanation… and I’m sticking to it.

We headed back to our resort through Franconia Notch which was starkly devoid of leaves.

And went through the town of Carroll, where moose are clearly being held prisoner.

The Mount Washington valley still had snow..

And loomed majestic.

Back in the Bethel/Newry area, we regained the foliage.

And headed for beer.

Sunday River brewery is a large restaurant and pub that seemed to be packed with locals and tourists alike every night. We did a flight, and weren’t overly impressed with the quality…. so I switched to an Apple Smash, which was a wonderful concoction whose list of ingredients I don’t recall. But there were copious amounts of apple Crown Royal…

And isn’t that really all you need to know?

Seeing that I love soft bar pretzels and the husband doesn’t, I ordered some for my appetizer.

Holy Mother of God! Served with warm blue cheese beer sauce, they were absolutely the best I’ve ever had. I instantly forgave them their lousy beer and planned on filling a dump truck with these and riding off into the sunset.

Husband had a tasty salad..

And we both had the baked haddock, which sadly was dry and uninteresting.

Back at our resort for the night, we opted for the stairs instead of the elevator and were bombarded by yet another section of hideous carpet.

Christ, if that doesn’t give you nightmares…

Nothing will.

Uncategorized

Polar Caves Part 2… rocks, trees and more rocks.

November 18, 2019 Rivergirl 31 Comments

Walking along a lovely path past a duck pond….

515

We found the covered bridge.

And kissed.

519

Continuing along the walkways…

We read the park’s history.

And decided what to do first.

Remember when I said this series would have a lot of rocks?

The rocks start now.

Matter of fact, this section was called the Rock Garden.

So clearly I’m not the only enthusiast.

I loved it.

It was like a moss covered fairy village with fabulously crafted wooden boardwalks.

Meticulously cut around the rocks.

533

I could have happily wandered there all day.

556

Rocks!

535

Some seriously big rocks.

549

Did I mention this was a rock garden….

543

And it was full of rocks?

548

I was loving it.

546

Though I admit getting a little tired from all the steps.

But the rocks….

They rocked.

As did the funky lichen, ferns and moss.

The steps?

My thighs said, not so much.

522

But we kept walking.

Through some seriously old rocks…

A veritable maze of old rocks.

564

Fern covered rocks!

565

And then we discovered the caves we’d come to see…

558

Were way up there.

Uncategorized

White Mountains trip Day 3…. Polar Caves.

November 17, 2019 Rivergirl 27 Comments

The Polar Caves in Rumney, NH was one of the few tourist destinations on my list. While we usually prefer natural wild places, I’d read good reviews on this multi generational family run spot and figured we should check it out.

Happily we showed up on the last day of the year that they’re open and didn’t have to fight the crowds.

492

I knew I was going to like it when we saw a large oak tree in the parking lot with this sign underneath…

494

You have to appreciate that kind of thoughtfulness, if not their spelling.

666

I had my doubts after buying tickets in the ticky tacky gift shop and walking outside to find the usual giant Adirondak chair.

And when we saw the creepy anorexic polar bears?

664

I figured I’d made a mistake.

663

62-Christmas-is-coming-funny-polar-bear-meme

But the small petting zoo charmed me…

497

With it’s precious European fallow deer…

495

That we had to feed…

499

And pet.

502

I mean really…. could you resist that face?

507

They make the funniest noise when they vocalize, almost a squeak.

510

And after having his say, this guy almost fell asleep.

Look how small they are. I told the husband I could easily fit a couple in the barn, but he wasn’t amused.

There were also some gorgeous Chinese pheasants.

Although they were hard to photograph due to the cages and a moat around the outside that keeps pesky children’s fingers away.

The tails on the males were pretty impressive.

As were their colors.

But this little guy stole my heart.

Look at him…

He’s a Dr. Seuss bird come to life!

Uncategorized

White Mountains trip Day 3… frost, foliage, skulls and old men.

November 16, 2019 Rivergirl 34 Comments

We woke up on the morning of our third day to a bit of chilly weather.

456

And a whole lotta windshield frost.

457

You can tell by the husband’s face he was not pleased with the little girlie scraper I keep in my car. But heck, he shouldn’t grumble. It beat his credit card.

043

There were more trees, and more fall foliage.

123

And of course, skulls.

122

And skeletal ATV passengers.

121

Which we saw at a local gas station.

Off roading is a huge industry in the mountains and these things are everywhere. Some towns even allow them to run the main roads. Rental places are abundant, with guides plotting out trips and trails for novices.

We even drove past an ATV Halloween parade. Bizarre doesn’t begin to describe it…. but no matter how loudly I squealed for the husband to stop so I could photograph it…. he flew right past.

461