White Mountain Road Trip
Susan had lived in New Hampshire for five years and this portion of the trip was so that she could share places that had fond memories for her, both Kristen and David were born in New Hampshire so this was an important leg of our adventures for her. We went to some places of her memories and made some new memories together.
In planning our adventures Sue has always talked about how she wanted to return to Lake Winnipesaukee, the White Mountains, and Long Lake which are all in the State of New Hampshire. So we locked up the trailer loaded a bag or two into the truck and headed out for a couple day road trip.
First we head to Lake Winnipesaukee, which was beautiful beyond her description, we spent part of the day strolling the lakeside on the boardwalk in Weirs Beach, sitting and admiring the scenery and a few shops. Though the water was to cold for swimming we observed a number of pontoon boats and sail boats out enjoying the sunny but cool breezes.
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| Susan on Weirs Beach |
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| Lake Winnipesaukee |
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| M/S Mount Washington |
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| Sabbaday falls from the top |
After a couple hours we got back into the truck and headed north to the Kancamagus Trail in the White mountains. Our first stop was at Sabbaday Falls. After a beautiful mile hike along a mountain trail we came upon the Swift River and then found the falls. The walk has a stone step path that leads up to the top for a awesome view.
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| Sabbaday Falls |
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| Sabbaday Falls |
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| Rocky Gorge above the falls |
Our next stop was at Rocky Gorge which had a really inviting swimming hole until you tested the water and proved you would really have to be stout hearted to dive in. Again the falls were awesome and this was one of many hike to falls that we made as we traveled the trail.
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| Swimming area below Rocky Gorge and Falls |
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| From bridge overlooking Rock Gorge Falls |
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| Ellis Glenn Falls |
We made a couple other hikes along the trail and then head to a awesome little Inn in Conway New Hampshire, both of us exhausted and hungry from the days adventures. A nice little bistro right next to the Inn was our last stop before a glass of wine and retiring for the day.
The Mt Washington Auto Road
Little did I know what Susan had planned for me the next day, I have gone up a lot of mountains but I was not prepared for Mt Washington Auto Road. If you've been on the road you know what I am talking about, it is about 8 miles long and goes to the summit which is 6288 feet. This is the narrowest road and barely has room for two cars to pass each other. There are no guardrails, many hairpin curves, and the edge of the road is at many times a drop off hundreds to thousands of feet. The average grade of the road is 11.6 % and at one place is 22 % grade, part of the road is unpaved and its unpaved edge gives way to a precipice of unbelievable heights. There were times when I swear that I thought our van was going to go tumbling over the edge in a ball of fire like the stunt scenes in the movie. The driver, I still believe, turned red grew horns and laughed in a roar of certain condemnation. Okay I have exaggerated just a tiny bit about the driver. The views from the top were breathtaking and we saw for hundreds of miles until the fog/clouds rolled back in to cover the mountain top. I am so glad I made the trip as is was a awesome adventure, I was glad to get back to the bottom though.
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| Road and showing drop off |
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| View from top and of the roadway |
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| View of Wildcat Ski Mountain |
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| At the top finally. |
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| Fog starting to roll in and more of the roadway. |
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| Cog Train on top of Mt. Washington |
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| Selfie of us upon return to visitor center |
The last stop was a little tamer and was one to visit a location that brought fond memories to Susan and her siblings. Lakeside Pines Campground was a location that the Barnes Family had gone to for camping adventures as children and returned to with their young children for a family reunion in the early 90's. Sue said it looks the same as it did back then.
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