The Stop with Refreshing Evergreen Shades

 

Welcome back friends! This is the post about our turning around as we start on our way back home. After visiting Maine, we headed towards the frontier of New England, to the States of New Hampshire and Vermont. Driving through the mountainous region of NH was a feast for the eyes. The continuous broadcast of evergreen mountain ranges through our windows was just majestic. We stayed in the White Mountain National Forest area, in a campground called Twin Mountains. It was a property set on a wooded setting right by the Ammonoosuc river, which was such a source of entertainment during this stop. We spent lots of time wading and building forts in the river. The facilities were quite rustic and simple, but the beauty of its surroundings certainly made up for it. They didn’t have the cleanest bathrooms, however they had a few fully hook sites available, a clean, refreshing pool and a fairly well stock store with a pizzeria on site.

The first place we visited in the area was one of the “Twin Mountains” which gives the area its name. The hike we choose was called “Sugar Loaf”. The sightings as we went up the mountain were beautiful. There were pines lining the trail, so it was quite a fragrant hike. It was a moderately strenuous hike, and the morning rain before our arrival didn’t make it easier. it was quite enjoyable nonetheless, making it together to the Summit is always super rewarding after the arduous ascend! Hopefully our kids will remember this for a lifetime, especially when life gets tough! The reward of persistence and resolve is always quite satisfying.

The second day we went to “climb up” Mt. Washington, which at 6,288 feet, sits as the tallest mountain in the New England area. This spot in the White Mountain Nat’l forest also earned its reputation as being “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” due to its persistent combination of fog, wind and snow and also its location at the confluence of three major storm tracks. Isn’t that something? We cheated though, we went up riding the Cog Railway, during Summer! What a fun experience! The train was built by an entrepreneur in 1800’s, for the purpose of bringing tourists like us to enjoy these majestic mountains. The views were spectacular. It was awesome to go up as we were passing the presidential range which were peaks called after previous presidents. We even got to see some snow patches. It was also fun to see the hikers going up as they transverse this stretch of the Appalachian trail. Our tour guide said some of them use this climb to train for the Everest! In the meanwhile, we were cozily going up on the Cog railway, sometimes standing at a 45 degree angle!

We wished we had more time to stay and explore this State. I would say though that one of the brightest highlights of stopping by twins mountains was connecting with our next door neighbors Zach & Lauren. Our kids enjoyed seeing their golden retriever “Teeto” playing around. They also took over their ladder ball game. Ha, ha! They were so nice to us. It was so heartwarming when they surprised us with a freshly baked sourdough loaf as a farewell! Yum! So grateful for them to bring the flavor and feel of home to us. Quite inspiring! We look forward to have them visit when they come to visit in Florida.

On our way to Ohio, we overnighted in Vermont. The scenic drive again was beautiful! It’s hard to believe that the flush green mountains we passed by are mostly covered in snow most of the year. Hopefully we’ll come back to see that one day. For now we got to enjoy this beautiful place in the prime of Summer. We stayed at Greenwood lodge, a family owned place which we highly recommend. It’s actually located right next to a ski resort called “Prospect”. How convenient right? The family owners were very friendly. The place was very cozy, stock and so well maintained. We got the treat to go for a short canoe ride and walk around the trails in the property, which were lined with wildflowers and soothing creeks and ponds. I thought you just get to see this intense green hills in pictures! Vermont is a great place to let the eye feast on nature.

Straight to NiagaraFalls from there we go. We will send our next update from there. Thanks for trailing with us vicariously. We hope you get inspired to go on an exploration yourselves! The Lord has certainly blessed the United States with beautiful places to visit. We are so grateful.