Well finally things have calmed down somewhat (at least around here where I am). So, I've been wanting to mention a few things about my family's most recent trip to New Hampshire. That was last month, while the leaves were starting to turn colours in the White Mountains. This year the trees have been just fabulous and I enjoyed seeing the giant old-growth maples in NH.

We went to visit Glen Junction (the train restaurant, intersecting Routes 16 and 302) in Glen twice. We had breakfast the first time there (eggs benedictine with spinach was a hit) and bought the striped conductor's caps that they sell. The second time around, we selected from the lunch menu and I had steak and tomatoes for breakfast. It was good, plentiful, and inexpensive. Thanks for the tip, Sam, that was an excellent choice.

On an incidental note, Grant's Super did not turn out to be the dump it was promised to be. ;)

Insofar as hiking the Appalachian Trail goes: of course there's always the "climb to the clouds" tour of Mount Washington that one must do. But where's the so-called world's worst weather on the summit? Each time I visit, it's always been a bit chilly but we've yet to see snow up there, heh. It's a good idea to wear black clothes if you ever decide to take the Cogwheel Train up Mount Washington. Dave and his parents sort of got coal dust in their eyes. Among us, I think we've generally agreed that the best view in the White Mountains is actually from the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway. The view from the top is just awesome and lush. Okay, part of what makes it so enchanting is seeing the bright silver thread of the I-93 highway, far in the distance, snaking around and down to the south in the valley past Cannon. The bird's eye view and the crisp air is refreshing. All around, you're surrounded by greenery, conifers, thick moss, sunlight and interesting shadows. It's just about perfect.

Anyway, we had checked into our timeshare in North Conway and I went for walks. There's lots of pleasant little antique stores around town, as well as Zeb's and The Penguin Shop. For a "factory outlet" town though, it's somewhat surprising in that there's not much shopping available for the technogeeks in my family. There's no Circuit City, for example. There isn't any Costco (it's down near the Massachusetts border) and the closest Best Buy is in Maine...!?

It makes me wonder whether the state taxes are prohibitive in NH for large business vendors. Anyway we did manage to wander over to Bob & Terry's Sports store and snag a terrific deal on downhill skiis... $800+ Salomon alpine racers marked down to $280.

My mother in law was also very intent in wanting to visit the local mineral shops (like Dondero's Rock Shop on Main Street). The Rock Shop has a curious framed mount of a small striped orange and yellow agate block. Sectioning through the block had produced profiles of both the late Old Man of the Mountain as well as Indian Head Rock. Mitch Dondero sliced through his "profile block" years ago and, as I was chatting with Mitch, I realized that I'd first met him sometime around that time. His family's half Canadian. Small world.

We had an even more interesting time checking out rock formations in "Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caverns" on Route 112W. I don't know if any of you have ever been there, but this place was like the top of Loon Mountain, multiplied by a factor of eleventeen. Seriously, Sam, if you ever host another RinkUnion in New Hampshire, you'll have to include Lost River on the agenda. When's the last time I could say that geology was that much fun? Doing the Lost River Gorge was like doing one of those blacksmith "Tavern Puzzles" but instead, you're using your whole body to squirm through the boulder caves. Even with my back surgery (being still somewhat delicate) we were still up to the challenge of inching through "The Lemon Squeezer" and "The Dungeon." Our boulder diving lent itself to mysterious atmosphere (candles were placed in deep dark crevices, right before you got sprayed by underground waterfalls) and it provided nail-biting suspense ("Will granma get through THIS one, folks?") Any hip and knee problems magically seemed to evaporate under the circumstances ;-)


Wolf "Next time in New Hampshire, we're planning to check out more of the sites around Lincoln and North Woodstock" spirit