Tag Archives: white mountains

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?

 

 

 

White Mountains trip…. Day 1. The resort.

 

As you know, we use our timeshare when we travel. Some of the resorts we choose have been fabulous… some less so.

The Grand Summit Resort at Sunday River?

 

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From the outside? Not bad.

Good location, up a long driveway, past a babbling brook… nestled in the mountains.

 

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Technically it’s a ski resort, so yes…. there are ski slopes.

 

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Inside?

 

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Rustic decor, heavily ski-centric.

 

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With questionable carpet choices.

 

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Which did not improve when we made our way upstairs to our condo.

 

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Yeah.

This literally made my head swim every time I had to walk on it.

 

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See? It even made the camera dizzy.

The only good thing I can say about it is they are in the process of ripping it up. Though sadly, not soon enough for us.

While I usually book the larger 2 bedroom unit for extra space, an extra bathroom and a larger kitchen…. this was a last minute deal and I had to take a 1 bedroom. Never having been here before, I have to say I was not impressed.

 

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It was really small.

 

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And as basic as I’ve ever seen.

The “full”  kitchen? Not so full.

 

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It also went a little heavy on the moose theme.

While it was clean and the bed was comfortable…. the smoke alarm went off everytime we made toast, which must have endeared us to our neighbors since we’re up with the sun most days.  The shower head was so low the 5’8” husband hit his head every time he attempted to wash his hair, and the kitchen cabinet doors stuck to the frames like glue. If you managed to pull them open? The shelves wobbled.

 

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Thankfully we only slept and showered there because the noise from the heating unit would probably have caused me to drink a Drano cocktail had we stayed any longer.

Of course they did provide some stellar reading material on the coffee table….

 

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And a nice big tree in front of our balcony…

 

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With a stunning view of the 6 slot parking lot.  The slots everyone jockeys for because otherwise you’re hoofing it down the hill to the auxiliary lot.

 

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Yes… 6 spots up front. For a resort that has hundreds of condo units as well as a hotel and restaurant. Smart planning, that.

Oh well.

The restaurant was fun.

 

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Appropriately named Camp, it was modern rustic.

 

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And we enjoyed it.

Who doesn’t want to be lit by an upside down canoe?

 

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Tasty seasonal cocktails…

 

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And a light dinner later….

 

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We called an end to our first day.

 

 

 

 

 

White Mountains trip… Day 1.

 

It was a little dreary the day we left, with rain threatening in the distance… but we made good time and actually arrived too early to check into our resort.

What to do. What to do…

Who am I kidding?

 

 

It was margarita time.

 

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So we found a chicken themed bar…

 

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And settled in for lunch. Liquid and otherwise…

 

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It was a funky place…

 

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Basically a converted farmhouse with lots of quirky little rooms.

 

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And though they don’t look wonderful….

 

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The homemade chicken croquettes were to die for.

Bellies full, we headed out.

 

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Fall color was intermittent during this trip. Some places gorgeous, others past peak.

 

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We got to Newry, still too early to check in… so we explored.

 

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Found a covered bridge….

 

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Built in 1872…

 

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And enjoyed the views.

 

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It was peaceful…

 

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And smelled like autumn.

 

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For those not familiar…

That means fresh air, apples, a hint of wood smoke, and dry crackling leaves.

 

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Nectar of the Gods.

Down the road a ways, we had a laugh.

 

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We followed the sign, but found neither hole nor Frenchman.

 

 

But we did pass a camp….

 

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With the perfect name.

 

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That says it all.

 

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I love the country!

 

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We’re baaaaack!

 

 

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I know, you never missed me.

But we had a fabulous nature filled week in Western Maine and Eastern New Hampshire and are happily exhausted.

We toured the White Mountains…. hiked, resort hopped, slept with rubber ducks, took beautiful scenic drives, leaf peeped, stalked a moose, went sight seeing, built a cairn, peed in more portapotties than I thought possible, and basically ate and drank our way across 2 states.

Life is good.

At least for us.

There are 1704 photos waiting to be posted here… so it may not be good for you.

And if you thought my series about the red rocks of Arizona were plentiful?

We were in granite country for 7 days people!

Rocks and trees, trees and rocks, more trees, even more rocks. We even went to a rock museum.

Weeeeeee!

 

 

But there are some baby barn updates I need to fit in, as well as all the other scheduled stuff…. so it won’t be wall to wall granite.

You’re welcome.