Details of the Mountains

So my sleep deprivation continues, and tonight I must put a stop to it. As is, I am not helping by writing when I should be sleeping. I think I had too much caffeine Sunday night, if only I wasn't a coke fiend.


Going into a bit more detail on the NH trip.
Kate & I headed up Last Friday evening. We first checked into the "Econo Lodge" (ooooh classy!) which was clean and comfortable. Room decor was a bit outdated & the furniture arrangement was questionable, but otherwise it was fine. They had a pool and jacuzzi which we partook of on Saturday night after our hikes. Additionally there was a sauna and an outdoor pool. Neither of us were interested in the Sauna and the outdoor pool was closed for maintenance.

After checking in we headed down the Kankamangus Highway which was beautiful in the late evening. Having been there before, the extreme contrast of the mountains to landscapes I'm used to was still very impressive. Due to our relatively short time there we prioritized our "scenic stops" to just a couple rather than the couple dozen along the route.

Our objective was to spend some time in North Conway, as we felt it could be appreciated even under the impending darkness. Upon arriving a lot of the businesses had closed, but we still walked around the main strip, and wandered into the few gift shops that were open. Of course, we closed our evening with Ice Cream at a cute parlor named "Lickety Splitz".

The ride home was a little bit of a challenge as the Kankamangus Highway is pitch black and there are numerous sharp & hairpin curves. Not too mention sudden steep grades and wildlife (tidbit: the highway climbs to over 2800 ft, not bad for the East coast!).

People navigating the road at night tend to try and stay together. Unfortunately for me, I don't know if it was because I used my fog lights (perhaps this was annoying to other driver's- it is completely legal, and is not intensely bright like high beams) but the car in front of me made a point to pull over and let me lead. As a result I had some close encounters, but luckily vigilance kept me safe. First a Full sized Cow moose walked out in front of the car and I slammed the brakes leaving about a car length between us. The moose, totally naive to my existence, or just completely careless, absorbed more with the tasty leaves it was seeking out did not acknowledge us. Then about 15 minutes later an even more impressive "Bull Moose" did the same thing. This encounter probably wasn't quite as close of a call, but the enormity of the bull moose with his rack & all, left me a little shaky, although I was totally psyched to have had this experience.

We made it back to Lincoln and retired to our hotel.

The next day was initiated by heading up through Franconia Notch. We ate lunch at Fabyan's Station Restaurant & Lounge on route 302. It provided tasty vittles with memorable ambiance in an old restored train station. A lot of the decor and building appeared original. A model train ran through the various rooms along the ceiling through tunnels in the walls. It had a pub type sophistication for adults, but charm that would definitely keep kids excited.

Next we visited Bretton Woods, the Famous Mt. Washington Hotel and resort. When I had visited previously it was closed, and the public was not allowed close up on the grounds. Now that the hotel has been fully restored and is once again functional, the new owners invite the public to walk around the beautifully manicured grounds and browse the interior lobbies and ballrooms of the elaborate and historic structure.

While it was pretty nice out, unfortunately the top of Mt. Washington was up in the clouds. This, however, was not without its own special beauty.

Next with some difficulties (Guides & Park signs aren't particurally detailed or informative, unlike National Parks, National forests appear to require a bit more effort on the part of the visitor.) we found "Mt. Willard" which was listed by the travel guide as an easy to moderate hike. It was an hour up and an hour down. It brought us to a summit that was a ledge overlooking the expanses of Crawford Notch. The trip brought you gradually through a thick Forrest, and was a little buggy at time. Kate & I really coated ourselves with OFF as well as wore jeans with longer socks. (Setting defense against possible tick/insect encounters). I must say that the OFF worked great as I amazingly don't have one welt despite having to swat multiple insects away.

Next, determined to make the most of our trip we headed on a hike of equal length, 1.4 to the destination and to return. Arethusa Falls was the destination, a 200 ft waterfall set in the middle of the New England wilderness. The beauty of the waterfall was surreal and the cold mist was invigorating. Kate and I sat there on a boulder mesmerized and hypnotized by the extreme geographical feature that brought such serenity to our hearts.

Arethusa Falls

Unfortunately, it was a little cool to brave rolling up my pants and wading in some of Arethusa's pools, or attempting to douse my head in some of the fast moving water, but I was very tempted.

On the way back I managed to fall on my ass in the mud when I misjudged my foot placement. I was unscathed, although a little embarrassed at the mud I got all over myself.

Kate and I took the "Bear Mountain" pass and connected to the Kankamangus Highway to head back to Lincoln. We for the most part managed to successfully avoid back tracking whenever possible.

In Lincoln we picked up some Chinese takeout before heading back to our room and eating like starved pigs.

Sunday was taken in more stride than Saturday. We ate a delicious and decadent breakfast at Flapjack's restaurant in Lincoln NH that morning.

Following this we headed to Pinkham notch for a scenic drive with the hopes of catching the top of Mt. Washington. Unfortunately it was still covered by clouds. We took a gondola/tramway ride to the top of Wildcat Mt., across the notch from Mt. Washington. We were a bit indecisive about whether it would be "worth it" to go, I was admittedly a nay-sayer, but after some feedback from others we decided to give it a try. This was my first gondola ride. I'm generally not someone with a fear of heights or someone who's claustrophobic, so I did fine. The carts made some fun creaking noises on the way up. I'd say for the most part, the ride was more stable then expected, with the carts hardly swaying, even in a slight breeze. The bugs were out on the 4000 ft. Summit, but this aside it was beautiful. Wildcat is right on the Appalachian trail. We used the coin operated scope to check out points on the side of Mount Washington. After walking around a bit, we headed back down the mountain. The ride down seemed quicker than the ride up, and almost if we were covering less distance. I couldn't help but thinking about what would happen to the cart if the cable snapped at various points in the trip. I was sort of having fun imagining the physics of it all.

After driving through Pinkham notch we decided to take the "Scenic" way back to Boston & drove down side roads taking us through small towns of Eaton and Freedom. They were very picturesque and the weather was breathtaking. With the windows down, sunroof open, and the music gently playing we bounded by the country roads consuming as much of it as we could. Eventually our side trip brought us to Manchester where we had supper at Margarita's. It was a delicious meal, I think I'm going to have to visit the location in Waltham soon.

Back to reality: Today at work I just had a departmental conference, so I won't be immersed in my job until tomorrow. It was a good thing I suppose as I had some difficulties sleeping the prior night.

Well... Now I definitely need to head to bed!

Have a terrific Tuesday!