A little adventure...

I was invited to a "girls weekend," by my friend Sumac. She lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from here. Our friend Rita was to join us, too, and yesterday we made it happen. My navigation system took me a tour of an amazing array of small, windy, country roads to get there. The snow was much deeper in the mountains than it is here, with banks towering over my truck as I wound my way there.

Once I arrived, we visited a bit, and then we set off to Mt. Washington. This is the tallest mountain in the northeastern United States, its lovely peak towering above the others in the range at 6,288 feet.
Sumac had kindly planned for us to go up the mountain in a snow coach.

Check out those treads!  As you can imagine, the ride was bumpy and kind of loud, but the coach was warm and comfortable, and that van climbed up, and up, over the deep snow pack, through the trees. We could see animal tracks along the way, the driver, Patrick, said there had been a bobcat sighted along the road, and it was probably its tracks which we were seeing.

It was a clear, beautiful day, with incredible visibility. Through the trees we could see the mountains all around us, frosted in sparkling white. As the truck climbed, the trees became smaller, only a few feet tall, and bent by the wind.  Though small, some of these trees are hundreds of years old. The climate here is inhospitable to life. The few plants that can grow are similar to the ones found in the arctic. Winds here have been measured as high as 231 miles per hour. They may have been higher than that, but the wind broke the machines meant to measure them.

 And then we parked.

 

 

 

My hair got BIG up on the mountain. And my heart soared, seeing the amazing views all around me. It was great to share it with wonderful women.

Later we upped the adventure a bit, when Sumac handed us snow shoes and we went on a trek of the land she and her husband recently bought and plan to build a home on.  When we paused our walk on the top of 3 or more feet of snow, it was completely silent.

We walked on, until we reached the river that etches over their land. And there we stood, listening to the rush of icy water under the snow. Magical.

There was a delicious meal to follow, a few glasses of excellent wine, and some good conversation. Truly time well spent.

I don't leave home lightly. Chris kindly stayed to care for the animals, and welcomed me back warmly. I love to be right here, but oh! I do I feel richer for my travels.