Vacation part 2: New Hampshire

This post is brought to you by SIGNS. Looking over my pictures, I realized I really like taking pictures of signs. Perhaps because I feel it gives context to the trip, perhaps because I like words better than pictures. Anyway. Here is my story, part 2, told by signs.



This stop was another short one- 2 nights, with only 1 days for activities. We were staying in a state park that was beautiful and very wooded. Our site backed up to a creek and, thankfully, did not have the same mosquito problem the previous site had- the only wildlife I spotted was a brave squirrel and chipmunk, and a fox that was more skittish. There were warning signs posted for bigger pests to look out for, though: bears and moose.

  

We managed to not run into any moose (or even see any!), but we did see a black bear- thankfully nowhere near where we were sleeping. The black bear was along a route with a bigger threat than bears: gravity. We drove up Mt Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast.



We chose to take our chances and drive up the road ourselves. I say "we"- but Josh did all the driving. With a sign like that, though, it makes you want to check out term life rates before the trip! I can vouch, there were no guardrails or fences. Nothing to block the views!
We were up pretty high...



And ended up even higher!


At the top of Mt Washington, I was unprepared for how chilly it would be! Just as we got up there, a cloud rolled in, so we didn't get a shot of the view from the top. Thankfully, the cloud wasn't stormy, and it wasn't too windy. In the past, though, it's been pretty windy up there:


We made our way down the mountain and back to our campsite, and took it easy the rest of the evening. On the way out early the next morning, there was one more site I wanted to see: the Old Man of the Mountain, depicted on New Hampshire's quarter. I knew it was very nearby (turns out, within walking distance of our campsite!). We stopped at a viewing area, and saw... nothing. There were some articles posted in an informational park sign with an explanation. Apparently I missed the memo- although the viewing area still exists, there's nothing to view- Old Man of the Mountain collapsed in 2003! I did snap a picture of a sign and the mountain where I think it was. This goes to show I should do my homework before visiting!



So, that's the way our trip started on our way to our last stop, Maine, in part 3 of our vacation story! Stay tuned.

See all my (non-sign) pictures from New Hampshire:

New Hampshire (vacation part 2)