July 12-19, 2018 Newfound Lake, NH with family

One of the reasons we headed northeast this year was to spend a bit of time with my family;  as it turned out, we visited with them during their annual two weeks at Newfound Lake, New Hampshire.  What a beautiful lake!  The water is crystal clear and pleasantly cool for swimming, and on hot days it's like heaven!  It was delightful floating around on my inner tube, watching the kids jumping off the raft.  The house they had rented was beautiful with a short downhill walk to the dock and the raft.  Pure paradise!  The best part was being with family.  So much love and laughter.  God is good.

Lovely stained glass in the great room.

Porch sitting - aaahhhhh......

Rob and his kids Kyle and Anna on the raft. 

The three ladies floating around and keeping cool.

L-R:  Kyle (in his towel tent), Kristen, Rob, Anna, and Anne. 

My big brudder Rus and me, enjoying a bit of shade. 

At the "foot of the lake" enjoying ice cream - yum!

Sunset at the foot of the lake.  So beautiful.

Out and about in Plymouth where the two of us had lunch one day.

Wonderful old country store/cafe where we had apple cider donuts - yummmm!
Bristol, New Hampshire

Here is the famous Diane the Turtle, who turns 50 in December.
She lives with her "Dad" at the Twin Designs shop in Bristol.
Check the link here:  https://twindesignsgiftshop.com/

Local attraction and swimming hole.

Amazing what water can do to something as hard as rock.

One night we all went to The Last Chair in Plymouth for pizza, and we
wondered about the name until we saw this on the wall.

Another tradition is dining out at Walter's Basin on Little Squam Lake in nearby Holderness, NH.

We ate well at Walter's Basin, and here we are.
L-R: Anne, Rus, Kristen, Kyle Anna, Rob, Bubba, and me.

Saying hello to the Basshole Bear at Walter's Basin.

It took some effort, but the four elders managed to have a picture taken.......
Bubba and I, and my brother Rus and Anne.

Asked my nephew Jon to take a picture of the four Elders, so he did this instead.

And here are the little ones, who are each so wonderful and beloved.
L-R:  Kyle, Will, Anna, Lizzy.

June 28, 2016 The Flume, Franconia Notch State Park, NH

Since we did this hike 40 years ago on our honeymoon, we felt we really should do it again.  And we enjoyed every minute!  Nothing we like better than hiking in the woods with rocks and waterfalls.....

The Flume is a natural gorge in Franconia Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  The park service has constructed wooden walkways along the gorge so that us tourists can enjoy it safely.  It was wonderfully cool down there in the gorge!  These pictures really don't do it justice.

At the mouth (bottom) of the flume is a long flat area.
Made me think of the Sliding Rock in the Smoky Mountains.

Avalanche Falls.

Those girls were having a blast up in there.....

This is a nice story, I hope you can read it.

Crawling?  Hands and knees?  I don't THINK so.....

Entrance to the Wolf's Den.

Exit from the Wolf's Den.
I posed for this:  I did NOT climb through....

This is one mighty determined tree!  Look at those roots.....

The End!

June 28, 2016 The Basin, Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire

This morning we took a short hike in to see The Basin in Franconia Notch State Park.  The Pemigewasset River flow has scoured out a very large basin.  The whole area is wonderfully cool and shady and of course the water is COLD.  There was a group of kids jumping in an accessible pool, taking dares, and it got interesting when one of the mothers in the group decided to take the dare.  As she waded in, everyone in the group was shouting "Dana! Dana! Dana!" and once she dunked herself she came out very quickly.....  But what can you do, when they are all chanting your name?  Here are some pictures.....

The pool that everyone was going in.

Amazing, what water can do to granite.....

June 26, 2016 Mt. Washington Cog Railway, New Hampshire

We moved along to New Hampshire and camped in the small town of Littleton in the White Mountains.  The tallest peak on the east coast is Mt. Washington at 6,288 ft. and it is quite nearby.  Off we went to ride the Mt. Washington Cog Railway to the top.  We did this a few years ago while visiting with my late brother Bill at his condo in the area.  It's a wonderful vertical ride up and down the mountain!  We were saddened to see that they have retired all but one of the old coal-powered steam engines and are now using eco-diesel engines.  I know the new engines are much better, but nowhere near as exciting as those old guys who chug and puff....  Below are a few random pictures of our trip up and down and what it was like up top.

Going up and admiring the lupines beside the track.

From the top.

You can't see them unless you enlarge a LOT, but there are hikers on that trail -
the Appalachian Trail. 

Here we are - it was in the low 50's with a very brisk wind - hence Bubba holding on to his hat....

How they kept warm in the Tip Top House.

If you drive up on the road, or ride one of the "stages" (van),
this is where you disembark.

This raven was a bit raucous and I could hear him long before I saw him.

Clouds were beginning to roll in.

Tip Top House, where intrepid hikers and explorers used to stay.

One of the railcars arriving up top.

The Waumbek, last of the coal-steam engines in use.
It now runs twice a day.

Looking up from base station.

Closeup of the cogs and the horns.

Hard to believe that this building is exactly level.

Getting cloudy.

Clouds coming in, and the line of tourists waiting to get their photo by the Mt. Washington sign.