Tag Archives: maine

White Mountain Trip Day 4… Step Falls

 

Trees and rocks… rocks and trees ahead.

You’ve been warned.

 

 

Oh, come on.

Early morning day 4, we woke with the sun and headed out for a hike to Step Falls.

 

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I wish I could convey the sense of peace that envelops me when I walk into a forest. The fresh air of natural places, the gentle breeze swaying the leaves. The sweet songs of the birds, the whisper of the trees. It’s pure magic.

I don’t know who’s responsible for finding these wild and beautiful places and opening them to the public… but I’ll be forever grateful.

 

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Step Falls in Bethel, Maine. In October when we visited… gently cascading streams. In spring during snow melt season? Torrents of angry water rushing down the mountain not caring what lies in it’s path.

 

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Many of the places we visit are free to the public, but are maintained by local volunteers who ask that you donate to help with costs. Most people never do, so we make a point of it each and every time.

 

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And with this Cycloptic donation box…. how could you not?

 

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The paths were wide and friendly…

 

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Although I couldn’t help but feel I was being watched.

 

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Into the woods…

 

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Up the hill, where we first heard the falls.

 

 

 

Up some stone steps.

 

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Up some fortuitously placed tree roots.

 

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We see a bit more water.

 

 

No.

Not even close…

 

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Ever onward…

 

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And upward…

 

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Past some weird trees growing right around the rocks.

 

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More of the falls.

 

 

 

And a not very comfortable but necessary granite bench to stop and let the husband take a breath.

 

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White Mountain trip Day 3… Random scenery.

 

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

 

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

Yes. I swear….

We did.

 

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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.

 

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

 

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The Mount Washington valley still had snow..

 

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And loomed majestic.

 

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

 

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And headed for beer.

 

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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?

 

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

 

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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.

 

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Husband had a tasty salad..

 

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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.

 

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Christ, if that doesn’t give you nightmares…

Nothing will.

 

This and that.

 

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Sunset from our front porch…

 

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It never gets old.

 

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If you haven’t read the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale….

 

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It does answer a lot of questions, though I can’t say I was in love with the ending.

 

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If anyone can explain this exhaust system?

Please do… because I’m a bit baffled.

 

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Yay for fall and all it’s ( don’t push winter it will be here soon enough) vodka flavors.

I see Mules in my future.

 

 

No, not that kind.

Although mine will probably have a kick as well.

 

 

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

 

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

 

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And a whole lotta windshield frost.

 

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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.

 

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There were more trees, and more fall foliage.

 

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And of course, skulls.

 

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And skeletal ATV passengers.

 

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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.

 

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Day 3 had us cruising down Route 2 through Gilead, Maine.

 

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Blink and you’ll miss the town.

 

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But it’s always one of my favorite scenic rides in the area.

 

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A little farther down the road the mountains held on to some fog.

 

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And it can be a surreal sight.

 

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Hanging there, still and quiet….

 

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Ethereal.

 

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We were heading to the Polar caves in Rumney, New Hampshire and drove past numerous ski areas….

 

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As well as Franconia Notch where there wasn’t much foliage at all.

 

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The Old Man in the Mountain used to live here…

 

 

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But sadly, he collapsed on May 3, 2003.

 

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And if you lived in this part of the country?

Trust me…

You wept.

 

White Mountains trip Day 2….. Evans Notch.

 

Heading back to the resort after a full day of exploring, we decided to drive through.. and over… Evans Notch.

 

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It’s basically a straight up ride that cuts through a mountain to the other side.

 

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We had it all to ourselves and saw some of the most vibrant color of our trip.

 

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Pictures don’t do it justice, so ride along with us.

Just watch out for chipmunks.

 

 

 

I wish we’d been there a week earlier when the reds and oranges had been popping…

 

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But it was still quite a show.

 

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When we reached the top…

 

 

 

It thinned out a little.

 

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Bare granite on the right…

 

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Full foliage behind the sign.

 

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And a mix on the left…. with the sun setting in the distance.

 

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Heading back down was just as pretty…

 

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And it was nice to see I’m not the only one who  ❤’s  the mountains.

 

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Things I like today… Part 9.

 

I like…

The Damariscotta Pumpkin Fest. We’ve never been, but someday….

Someday I’m going up there to watch people float down the river in giant pumpkin boats.

 

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I like…

The color coordination of fall leaves and the husband’s tractor.

 

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I like….

The idea of cotton candy cloud coffee.

 

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On second thought, to heck with the coffee…. just let me walk around with a sugar cloud over my head all day.

 

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I like…

People who are really, really devoted to a theme.

 

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Please note the skulls on the front grille.

Doesn’t that just make you want to yell….

 

Autumn woes.

 

Just some deer…

 

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And last month’s backyard fall leaves.

 

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I fear for our resident buck this time of year.

 

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Bow season in October, rifle season in November, black powder season in December.

 

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Three months of abject slaughter I will never understand.

 

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I’m tired of the culling argument. Mother Nature takes care of her own…. and hunters don’t want the small and the weak.

 

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They want the big racks. (Of course they do, they’re men.)

They kill the strongest, largest and healthiest buck they can find…. which means those genes won’t get passed on.

 

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Meanwhile, Momma’s fawns are growing up.

 

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No more spotted Bambis.

 

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And the does enjoy a treat before cold weather sets in….

White Mountains trip Day 2… Moose, mountains and fall colors.

 

Moose.

When you think of Maine? You think of lobster… and moose. But let me tell you, I’ve lived here on and off since 1978 and have seen exactly one moose in the wild. Granted we live in the Mid Coast region and they’re more prevalent up north, but still… one in 41 years is not a good ratio.

 

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So when we crossed the border into New Hampshire after leaving the Moose Cave in Grafton Notch….. and I saw numerous signs warning of the dangers of moose crossings?

I thought, yeah.

 

 

We’ll never see one.

Until we did.

Right there on the side of the road…

 

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A moose!

 

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Happily munching away on some swamp grasses.

A real live moose!

 

 

And I was halfway out of the car to get some really good pictures when the husband said no. This was a teenage male and though he was probably too young to rut…. it was that time of year.

 

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So I had to stalk him from an open window instead.

 

 

But I saw a moose!

My second in 41 years…

 

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And then all too soon he was tired of us….

 

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And headed back to the woods.

 

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Goodbye moose….

I may not live long enough to see another wild one of you, but thanks for showing up and making my day.

As I said before, the fall colors were all over the place. We had an early turn this year so by the time we got to the mountains, many places were past peak foliage. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t still spectacular…

 

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Rusty oranges…

 

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Muted greens and yellows…

 

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Peaks of reds.

 

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Even speckled with rain, I’ll take them.

 

 

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It’s different around each bend.

 

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And around each bend?

 

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Another outhouse for the husband to christen.

 

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The journey continues….

 

 

White Mountains trip… Day 2. Moose Cave.

 

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Down the road from Screw Auger Falls in Grafton Notch you’ll find a trail to the Moose Cave.

 

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Easy walking through the forest….

 

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And steps that run along a gorge.

 

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We did a lot of looking down.

 

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The fractures in the granite were impressive and show you what the force of running melt water can do.

And then before we knew it…

 

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We saw a sign, but no cave.

 

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Oh, wait….

 

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I guess that hole was it.

 

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Not my idea of a cave…. but I did feel sorry for the moose.

 

 

 

Action shots of my senior citizen husband with the bad back and sciatica….

 

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Once a Marine, always a Marine.

 

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Uncave-like cave seen, experienced and photographed… we took an alternate trail out.

 

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Some granite steps…

 

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And a tree root staircase later….

 

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We came upon a moss garden.

 

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What kind of moss you ask?

 

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Reindeer moss.

Isn’t that exciting?

 

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Look how excited I was…

 

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Mutilate the moss?

No…

I would never.

White Mountain trip… Day 2. Screw it.

 

Though our condo unit wasn’t the greatest, I have to admit the mountain sunrises were rather nice.

 

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But before I jump into the day’s activities…. I have to tell you about our first night. We spent it in a spacious king size bed with 6 snuggly goose down pillows and comforter. At 2:00am I rolled over, stretched out my leg and felt… something hard. ( No, not that. I’ve been waking up to that for years…. I recognize it.)

This was down at my feet. Hard, light weight and bumpy. But I was half asleep and wrote it off to part of a twisted sheet.

It wasn’t.

When I got up the next morning and made the bed?

I found these.

 

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Yup.

Four rubber duckies hiding at the very bottom of the bed where the comforter is tucked under the mattress.

I don’t know about you, but that was a first for me.

Free ducks!

Give this resort 5 stars…

Mints on pillows? Pffft. That’s for amateurs.

Plastic waterfowl is where it’s at.

 

 

Anyway  –

Leaving the resort everyday looked like this…

 

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So free ducks aside, I’m not complaining.

We passed this ski season bar everyday as well.

 

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Poor lonely mug.

Our first excursion took us to Grafton Notch.

 

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And yes, that’s really the name.

 

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(Here’s where we begin the rocks and trees, trees and rocks part of our story.)

 

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Clambering around the granite boulders, you find the falls.

 

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And you have to admit, for rocks…. they’re pretty awesome.

 

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Walk the charming leaf strewn path…

 

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Across the cute little bridge…

 

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And there are more rocks.

 

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The mini falls and pools are a favorite swimming spot in summer, and rage with fury during the spring snow melt.

 

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Falls seen, experienced and photographed, the husband begins what would become his epic  “I will leave my mark on every state and national park portapotty I can find”  challenge.

 

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Who says we don’t know how to have fun on vacation?