New Hampshire

 After checking out of our hotel, we headed to the White Mountains.  First stop was a short, but beautiful hike to Diana's Baths.  It was a beautiful, sunny day with a perfect temperature.  
 



 


 Next, we checked out our campsite and switched over to one with a lean to, just because we could.  We were all a big fan of not having to put up the tent and having a little shelter around us.

Not far from our campsite, we set off to hike Arethusa Falls.  This was a longer uphill hike that the kids rocked!  I think this was the first time they just took off and left us in the dust.  Hiking sticks help kids hike farther and happier I've found.  Best investment ever.  
 The falls were so beautiful and bigger than we expected.  Look at how tiny those people look at the bottom!  Plus, the hike back was all downhill.  Nice!


After all of that hiking we decided to drive around and check out more sites in the white mountains.  This is as close as we got to Mount Washington this trip.  We didn't feel like going up this time.  Brian entertained us with his epic tales of hiking Mount Washington with us though.  It sounds like a very, very hard hike.  

Sadly, the last time he hiked it was with a friend, he called me from the top (from a pay phone at a restaurant since this was pre-cell phone days) and I had to break the news to him that his Granny Rose has passed away while he was hiking.  I drove up the next day to get him before flying to Florida for the funeral.  

This red roofed resort sits in the prettiest valley ever.  

Next, we went to mirror lake and waded around.  It was gorgeous out.

 Here is where the old man on the mountain used to be...before his face fell off!

 Some shorty short water walking.

 And whatever this is...
 They had the neatest ducks with the coolest orange eyes.

  Panoramic shots where you can be on both sides never gets old for these two.
Next, Brian wanted us to hike to the top of Bald Notch.  It was just a short hike, but with some intense vertical rock climbing involved.  Add in a headache due to dehydration and I was not in the best of moods to say the least.  The rest of the family put up with me well enough.   
Here I am in a less than happy mood trying to enjoy the views.  Haha!  Brian was happy as a lark and in his element.  I have yet to see him ever reach his limit when it comes to hiking.  That guy is a hiking machine.  
  There is mirror lake from above.

  The funny thing is that we had a beautiful view of Franconia Notch from here and we all chuckled about the time Brian and I did that 6 hour hike when we were first married.  I was hormonal and very grumpy...kinda like me on the top of Bald Notch.  Let's just say we hiked up Franconia Notch together, walked along the AT at the top and hiked down separately.  I guess the while mountains bring out the worst in me.  Haha.  This time, after getting some water, I felt much, much better and happy Angela came back.  
 After more exploring around and grabbing a bite to eat we had a great night back at the campground stream. 
 
Brian foraged for wood and I foraged for quarters to take a timed paid shower!  
 The kids were so snuggly warm - but I got pretty cold, even sleeping with my coat and hat on.  The next night I learned to wear about 20 layers and 2 pairs of socks and I was warm enough.
 Here we are eating a quick breakfast before heading out to explore Vermont.
Although we squished 2 days worth of White Mountains into one, we had a great day with perfect weather and amazing hikes.  We really do love it up there, and it was fun to make new memories with the kids.  

Comments

Jennifer's Kitchen said…
WOW!! I am so NOT a camper that I'm always impressed with your adventures and skills. :)
July 12, 2016 at 11:31 PM
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