The Sky Was Angry This Morning ...

But it didn't last.

And the impending ice storm passed us by.

It was pretty cool looking though.

Truckin' Santa

Not the traditional mode of transport ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

🎄  🎅🏼  🎄  🎅🏼  🎄

Mt Washington - Part 2

In the Mt Washington - Part 1 post I mentioned that both the Cog Railway and the Mt Washington Observatory would play a big role in our White Mountains adventure.

Our plan was to hike up the Valley Way Trail, taking the AMC shuttle bus from the Highland Center Lodge to the trailhead in the morning. We'd spend the night at the Madison Spring Hut and cross over to Mt Washington the next day. And we'd spend the night at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. And then make our way back down to the Highlands Center Lodge.

As they say about the best laid plans ...

The weather forecast for our hike up called for torrential downpours. Highly non-optimal. The next day called for thunderstorms. Quite undesirable for a stroll above the tree line. What to do?

It was Patty who figured it out. Take the Cog Railway up! But how to get there? The shuttle bus! The bus does not go to the Cog Railway. But it does go to a nearby trailhead. Where nearby was less than a mile. Problem solved. We canceled our stay at the Madison Hut, booked another night at the Highlands Lodge, and enjoyed a day of local hiking and relaxing at the lodge.

On our walk up to the railway station we passed the original coal powered engine, Peppersass. It is occasionally fired up for a ride to the top.

Our train had a biodiesel engine. Much more efficient and environmentally friendly.

It was popular. Three trains, all filled up. With hourly departures. We arrived early enough to take the 10 o'clock train, despite having tickets for the 11 am trip. We got the last two seats.

Our seats were separated, Patty in the front row, me in the second. Which meant we could hear the conductor as he narrated the journey, mixing history with what was happening. Here we are approaching a switch for passing lanes. In the distance is a water tower. The coal engines would need to stop and refill there. The new engines just roll on by.

I mentioned in the Part I post that the average temperature at the top was 35° F. The conductor told us this, and that the record high was 72° F. As we headed up it was already 66° F. Alas, a new record was not set.

Our friend Liz sent this picture from when she rode the train to the top, not quite as warm that day.

Image courtesy Liz Schaefer.

The ticket is a round trip, but we planned to spend the night and walk down.

Bye bye train!

The "white splotch" just right of center is train station from where we started. And while warm, you can see it is still cloudy.

The building in the distance is where we are headed, our home for the night. And yep, shorts and t-shirt weather.

Our path to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. A bit on the rocky side.

The night at the lodge was a warm one. I slept in the bunk closest to the window, and the window was open all night. And I slept in shorts and a t-shirt. Outside my sleeping bag most of the night.

The next morning was a clear day! Woo hoo! That's Mt Washington in the background. It was a very nice, albeit quite humid, hike back to the Highlands Center. But that's a story for another time.

Hiding Place

As Winter approaches, and is now here, we shut down the filter system for the fish pond. Cutting off the water to the waterfall.

And this Song Sparrow promptly found a nice little hidey-hole. It spent quite a bit of time pecking at the "seaweed" on the rocks of the now still waterfall.

Yummy

Our trip to New Hampshire and Maine would not be complete without a lobster roll (or several ...).

Our friend Marie recommended this place, the name of which escapes me at the moment (and no doubt for many other moments to come).

The food was yummy.

The view on the other hand ...

🦞  🦞  🦞  🦞  🦞

Winter Home

So the other day as I lay down in bed I spotted a dark spot in the corner, where the two walls meet the ceiling. "What is that?" I wondered. So I grabbed my glasses and saw this ...

If you bigafy the image you'll see if is a group of Lady Bugs. They've been there over a week now. I think this is their home for the winter.

We'll see what happens over the winter. Kinda cool if you ask me.

Polar Bird Club

Prior to the Fish Pond Waterfall being shut down for the winter, our resident Hermit Thrush decided to go for a dip.

Crazy. It's been in the 20's Fahrenheit most mornings. Yet this critter seemed to actually enjoy its splash about.

Crazy.