What a glorious morning in New Hampshire - the air is crisp, the sky is bright blue, the sun is shining and I woke up in a Christmas village in August. The dining room at The Christmas Farm Inn is decorated in Victorian Christmas colors of dark green and burgundy. Hot blueberry muffins were on the table and I got my first taste of a Maine blueberry - heaven. We had our choice of an entire menu of full breakfast choices and I opted for raisin French toast - our cardinal rule when traveling: No diets!
Our first stop was the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center, which we learned was on the Appalachian Mountain Trail. This famous trail for hikers was developed after World War 2 and stretches from Maine to Georgia, crossing 14 states, 8 National Forests and 6 National Parks. As you can imagine, it takes months to traverse one end to the other, yet through the years, Don has always whimsically mentioned his dream to trek the whole thing when he retires. On this visit we trekked about a half mile up a stony path to see the Cascading Waterfalls and that was enough trekking for me. The Visitor's Center itself offers weather info, free programs, exhibits, a cafeteria and even hot showers for the real hikers passing through.
Down the road is Wildcat Mountain, with an ascent of 2,000 feet. They offer gondola rides to the top - my kind of travel. I tried to explain to my "explorer" husband - "why hike when you can ride?" The view as you go up on this 12 minute ride is breathtaking. The scenery was voted number one, because the land is 100% national forest land and thankfully, not developed and commercialized with fast food places and signs. This 50 year old ski area offers gondola rides in the summer and lots of families were enjoying their lunch, part of a package they offer. On top of the mountain, with a great view of the Presidential Mountains, there was a smell in the air I likened to the fake Christmas tree spray we used to buy each year, except this was the real thing. This was New Hampshire.
Not only can you view Mount Washington, you can actually go to the top. The Mount Washington Auto Road has been giving guided tours since 1861, making it America's oldest man-made tourist attraction. Cars can go up on their own, but we opted for the van, hoping the driver, Rich, had a lot of experience up and down the winding, narrow roads. Mount Washington is 6,288 feet to the summit, and the drive, which takes a half hour each way, passes through four vegetation zones. At first the forests are thick with oaks, elms and beech trees and the woods are home for larger animals like bear, moose, deer and coyote.
Next we passed mixed trees - pine, red and spruce, and the trees were getting shorter. At the third level, the views started to open up and smaller animals could be spotted, like foxes, rabbits, mice and hawks. The ground was now noticeably rockier.
The 4th level of vegetation is the Arctic and Alpine Zone, where there are no trees at the top, only rocks and moss. The weather conditions are much harsher and it has been known to snow in August. Thankfully it wasn't snowing, but it was cold and windy. Seventy percent of the time, Mount Washington is in the clouds and we picked one of those days, so the view was not as clear and far reaching as it obviously is on clearer days, when there are 60 mile views. But no matter what the weather, it is definitely worth the trip. Tours are given May to October and then skiing season takes over from November to April.
The on-ground facilities have a small climbing wall, a cafeteria, a gift shop, bike rentals in the summer and ski rentals in the winter. The 1920 barn houses some historical memorabilia as well as original touring cars from the past. It actually took seven years to build the road going to the top and four hours to get there by a coach, which cost a whopping $5 - a huge sum in the 1860s. Considering inflation, Don thought it was a pretty good deal today for $26.
At the top of MT Washington, holding the buildings down
With all of this "mountain climbing" I certainly worked up an appetite. Dinner tonight was at the 165 year old, all brick Wild Boar Inn Tavern in Intervale, where we were greeted by a warm, fun and friendly atmosphere. There is a wood fire rotisserie which made my prime rib cooked to perfection and Don enjoyed the award winning chili, made with boar meat, which he described as hearty and "pass the bread." There is seating at the granite bar, the dining room or the outside deck which can be reached by actually going through the upstairs chimney. Check that out!
So far we have managed to maneuver our way around New Hampshire with the GPS unit happily beeping away.
