White Mountains Family Fun Day

We decided to have a family fun day so we headed north to the White Mountains.

Our first stop was at the Flume Gorge Visitor Center.  I wanted to see the taxidermy exhibit with the 2 moose locked up in a fight.  I thought we would do the 2 mile loop to the gorge also.  

The kids decided to skip the flume gorge hike and take the tram to the top of Cannon Mountain and hike a bit.  Once we arrived we took the trail to the lookout tower.  Lots of little turn outs to rock ledge.  It would be a long fall over the edge of a couple places we stopped.  The view was spectacular. 

It was 72 degrees, wind, blue sky, sun with some clouds rolling by.  Visibility was great.  You could clearly see Mt. Pisgah with it's steep slope on the east side of Lake Willoughby.  I also spotted Owl's Head which is on the shore of Lake Memphremagog in Canada.  The tram operator said Owl's head is 110 miles away.

We spotted a glider coming up the ridge.  It ended up disappearing below us into the Notch over the road.   That looked like fun ... I can imagine the spectacular views you would get soaring like an eagle around the area. 

We ate lunch at the old bridge near Echo Lake.  Behind us is Mt.  Lafayette which is one of the mountains on the Appalachian Trail. 



Once finished, it was on to the Mt. Washington Cog Railway.   They recently custom built diesel engines which are faster and much more efficient.  Kevin and I took the Cog several years back with the coal engines.  Because the new engines are a bit quicker it gives people an hour to explore on top.

For years I have eyed the Rokon Trailbreaker for hunting, fishing, 4 wheeling, etc.  I saw one parked in front a camper at the Cog.  On the way out I talked to the owner briefly.  He let me ride around for a bit.  I felt like heading up the trails for the afternoon.  Tough to do when the other 6 are watching waiting for me.  It was excellent.  I would really like to test it in the woods.

We continued to the Mt. Washington Hotel.  There are trails behind the hotel with some nice places along the river to explore.  Several areas have smooth rocks that you can slide on.  Kevin and Kate went swimming. 

Kevin had a mishap and tore one of his toe nails off when his foot slipped on a rock.  With Firefighter Anthony and Nurse Megan in the group we had things under control.  Once back to the van we patched him up.  We decided to head for home.

As we came through Twin Mountain we took a slight detour to drive by the 7 Dwarfs Motor Lodge.  Each of the rentals are named after one of the 7 dwarfs.  Several have kitchens, multiple rooms, etc.  We stayed there a couple times when the kids were younger.  They loved playing on the rocks by the river, the campfires by the river, the swing set, and all the animals around the property.  

As we continued home we stopped in Tilton for dinner.