Vacation 2024: Artist's Bluff and Bald Mountain

We had asked Jess and Rusty for suggestions of what to do with our next two days in Lincoln, but they had warned the weather would be terrible and suggested we might look for indoor activities (the remnants of hurricane Beryl were headed our way). Kevin kept an eye on the weather though, and we decided to brave a shorter hike the next morning. We set our sites of a 1.5 mile loop that had two small spurs with excellent viewpoints (with both spurs, it ended up just short of 2 miles). The reviews of the hike online were very positive, but they had warned it was "rocky" and that the second spur was "steep."

I am not sure what I thought "rocky" meant, but it actually meant that the entire first part of the hike was like climbing a staircase made of rocks

Artist's Bluff. Kevin did not want to brave the edge of the rocks, but he was game to take a few pictures for us

From Artist's Bluff, we walked around the trail to the bald mountain summit:

At the end of the spur, we realized that "steep" meant that is was actually a climb/rock scramble to the end, which Kevin opted out of. He did grab this picture of Benji near the top of the climb (I had already crested that outcropping above him)

It started to rain right as we climbed to the top, so I asked Benji to stand for one quick picture before we went back down

And a selfie, since Kevin was down below and unavailable to take a picture

Since the rain really started pouring as we got to the car, we decided to grab lunch and head back to the condo for a while. It cleared up again for a bit in the afternoon (while remaining sooooo humid) before starting to rain again in the evening. We took the opportunity in the little clear period to play some mini golf at a course we'd spotted near our rental:

The course was themed "hobo hills"

There were tons of these noisy bullfrogs everywhere

For a mini golf course, it had really nice views!

Vacation 2024: Flume Gorge

After Mount Washington, we checked into our condo in Lincoln, New Hampshire, which is right in the middle of the White Mountain region. On Tuesday morning, we headed to Flume Gorge, which is the biggest attraction in Franconia Notch State Park (and the only one that the state charges admission to hike):

Pretty covered bridge at the start of the hike

Walk had us crossing this river several times

Start of the actual flume gorge

Coming out of the gorge, we crossed the river again

Lots more waterfalls on the back half of the hike

A second covered bridge at the end of the hike. This bridge was made from a single plank from a large "sentinel" pine that used to stand here

View from the covered bridge

On the little path back to the visitor's center, there was signage pointing out nearby mountains. This one is supposed to look like George Washington at rest

In the evening, we headed over to Littleton, NH, to meet up with Rusty and Jess Talbot, friends of Kevin's from Dartmouth who live nearby. Jess took us to Chudders, famous for having the Guinness record for longest candy counter:

Littleton itself is also famous as the home of the writer of Polyanna:

After dinner in Littleton, the Talbots suggested we head to Secret Scoop, a great ice cream shop in nearby Bethlehem. We got a little stymied when the entrance to 93 was flooded out, but we eventually made out way:

I even remembered to take a group picture! Kevin, Jess, Ryder, Rusty, Jack, and Benji

Vacation 2024: Cog Railway to Mount Washington

Coming back from Maine, we decided to spend Sunday night in Hanover so we could have more time with Abby. We got a great rate on Six South Street, the swanky hotel right in downtown Hanover, and Abby came over and did her homework while we watched TV. On Monday morning, we were able to visit her at her job in the costume shop before headed north for a few days:

Looking at the weather forecasts, Kevin decided that Monday afternoon was our best shot at a clear day to go up Mount Washington (he was right), so we bought tickets to take the cog railway to the top:

Benji with old railroad equipment before we boarded

View from the front of the train as we started our ascent

We ended up being able to have three rows to ourselves with views out both sides

Coming up on Jacob's Ladder (giant trustle)

First view of the presidential mountains (guide said it was the first time it was clear all day)

Fog rolling in as we got to the top (but it cleared again)

We walked behind the visitor center for a different view and to eat our lunch

Panoramic view from this side

Looking back at the side we arrived on to see a train headed back down

After lunch, we took the obligatory picture at the summit

View from a different side with all the layers of mountains

Last side we had not viewed yet

Panorama from this side

Time to reboard the train!

View from the bottom looking back up