New Hampshire

This week New Hampshire is calling us to explore and enjoy. The weather here is downright nippy, so I've moved into my cabin and put the horse in the barn. I've got coffee and hot bread on the stove and plenty of wood for the fireplace. Of course, I also have my vacation guide and computer links. Another resource that I haven't mentioned is auto club materials. If you belong to an auto club, they can provide you with tour books and maps.


The Granite State is the 9th state in The Union. The state flower is the purple lilac and the state insect is the ladybug. Because of the many leaders for the American Revolution, New Hampshire delegates were given the honor of being first to vote for the Declaration of Independence. The Old Man of the Mountain was a landmark known all over the world and is represented on many New Hampshire artifacts. It was a granite stone outcropping that looked out from the White Mountains. Unfortunately, it collapsed and fell a few years ago. New Hampshire was an early major industrial center producing textiles, paper, stone and clay products.

A place that immediately caught my eye is Moose Alley. Great name. Anyway if you drive along Route 3 You might just see moose hanging out by the road. This is the area around the Connecticut Lakes. You can watch for moose from a viewing platform at the marshy meadow or maybe take a moose tour. And if you don't happen to spot one, you've had a look at some beautiful scenery.

Even though New Hampshire only has 18 miles of shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean, there are numerous rivers and lakes for water sports of all kinds. Waterfowl are at home here so birders will be happy. Loons, wild turkey, and bald eagles are just a few. If water animals are more to your liking, take a whale watch cruise.

For hikers, New Hampshire offers miles and miles of trails. Castle In The Clouds is a mountaintop arts-and-crafts style estate, but its grounds have 45 miles of scenic trails. You can hike for as little as 20 minutes or as much as three hours. Pitcher Mountain offers a half mile climb to the top with a reward of spectacular scenic views at the top.

Gardens and flowers are everywhere. Rhododendron State Park has New England's largest wild rhododendron grove. Fuller Gardens is a Victorian Garden with formal English perennial borders, 2,000 rose bushes, a Japanese garden, a hosta garden, and a conservatory. And these are the cultivated plants. Wildflowers are found all over the place.

Do you like caves and crawling around in them? Polar Caves were formed when glaciers ripped boulders the size of houses from the mountains and dropped them in a jumble below. That left us a huge playground for crawling and exploring. Or maybe covered bridges are more your style. New Hampshire is full of them. Or old-style churches. Or stone architecture. Rock hounds can visit Ruggles Mine and hammer away to their hearts' content.

So this is New Hampshire. Find the places you would like to see and do the things you would like to do. Then come back and let me know how you liked it. There are links below. I'm going to check out a few town squares and then go to see the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum.

Copas

New Hampshire Official State Site
Visitors Guide
Visit New Hampshire
Parks And Recreation
National Parks
Offbeat Tourist Attractions