HERE WE GO!!!!

AND…..WE’RE OFF!

I can’t believe it’s time for our “big trip” this year!  Wow, how fast a year has gone since our last one!

Our friends from Florida arrived in Pittsburgh, stayed a couple of nights with us, and then we loaded up the trailers and drove out of the cul de sac!  First stop….Niagara Falls!  We loved it so much last year, and it was easily ON THE WAY to our other destinations, so we decided to witness the majesty of the falls again this year!

The campground we like to go to is HTR Niagara, and they are wonderful there, have lots of things to do – especially for families and kids! – and it’s only 15 minutes from the falls!

I know I had photos of the falls last year, but I think it’s always pretty to see them, so here are some of the  views from the American side of the falls!

 

After walking around there, we walked across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada – it’s a fun experience to walk across the river and see the falls from the bridge, and then also to go into the border control booth at the end.  It may sound silly, but I found myself a little nervous as I entered and got ready to show my passport – you never know if you’re going to be talking to someone who is really friendly, not so friendly, woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day, etc….

Well, we made it through – haha – and walked all around, took pictures, had a nice lunch, and then headed back to the USA!   It was SO hot that day – about 95 degrees – so us old people headed back to the car to go to the campground (we walked almost 5 miles!)

The last day we went BACK to Canada – this time in our car! – and took some photos from that side that were closer up and more spectacular!  Standing by the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side is so amazing – I will share some videos so you can hear the “roar” of the water! WOW!  It’s so impressive to see that much water!  And then it’s crazy to stand there and think that people actually went OVER those falls in barrels!!!  I will just enjoy the safety of the walkway and guardrails!

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We also went to Niagara on the Lake – a quaint little town with shops, restaurants, etc…even though it was so hot, it was a great place to see!  And we found a place that sold CHIMNEY CAKES – we were so intrigued so we went inside and of course had to try one!  They are called chimney cakes because they are cylindrical and hollow and look like a chimney – then when they come out of the oven, the steam rises from inside and it looks like smoke from a chimney!  I must admit, they were DELICIOUS – we tried a pizza one (as our lunch) and then a cinnamon one (as our dessert!) haha.

I’m so glad we went back this year – it’s so beautiful to see God’s creation up close and personal!

Next stop… the White Mountains of New Hampshire!

The drive to New Hampshire was beautiful!  Hardly any highways (which we prefer) and mostly scenic roads with quaint little towns!  The best!

In our planning over the past months, we chose some walks and hikes to do that we hoped would be really pretty and fun!  One of the hikes was to the FLUME GORGE – I had watched a YouTube video about it and it looked really neat!   So….Off we went!

We went at 9 am because it’s been SO hot everywhere we have gone – it was a beautiful morning with just a LITTLE coolness in the air!  (we are ready for some cooler weather for sure!)

The hike was beautiful, but it was mostly UPHILL!!!!  We hung in there and made it to the gorge!  It was WELL worth the uphill climb!  Here is the description of Flume Gorge:

Discovered in 1808, it will leave you spellbound as you stroll the path from the main walkway through the Flume Gorge and Liberty Gorge. The Flume is a natural granite gorge extending 800 feet at the base of Mount Liberty. You’ll see towering moss-covered granite walls rising to a spectacular height of 90 feet, cascading waterfalls, historic covered bridges, glacial pools, glacial boulders and much more.

The Flume Gorge Trail is a one-way loop. This self-guided walk is 2 miles and takes approximately 1.5 hours. The trail is mostly packed gravel with boardwalk sections, includes moderate uphill walking and stairs within the gorge.

I love the “it includes moderates uphill walking” – they are not kidding! Haha!  It was a great hike and a good workout!  Definitely a hike worth doing!

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After the walk to Flume Gorge, we came back to the campground for a bit of lunch and a bit of down time before heading back out – we wanted to drive to a town called Conway, and to get there you drive along the Kankamagus Highway (what a name!) and it is such a GORGEOUS drive!  It’s 34.5 miles long with an elevation of 3,000’.  Winding through the White Mountain National forest, there are lots of areas to pull off and hike or swim in the water or just admire the scenic overlooks! I had seen an area called The Rocky Gorge so we decided to check it out on the way back from Conway.

We got to Conway, and I have to be honest, there wasn’t much to see – we thought it would be a quaint little town with shops to browse in, maybe stop at a good little coffee shop, etc…either we never found that area or it didn’t really exist like I thought!  BUT….it was not a wasted trip because we found two things that we were thrilled about – WAL MART AND STARBUCKS!

Some of you know how much I like Starbucks, and the Wal Mart was great because we all needed a refill on some groceries for the trailers!  So it wasn’t a wasted trip!  Sometimes it’s the little things…

On the way back we stopped at the Rocky Gorge scenic area – WOW! WOW! WOW!  It was beautiful!  I wished we had brought a picnic lunch here and just hung out for a couple of hours – we all said we couldn’t imagine what it would be like if there had been lots of rain or if it was springtime with the melting snow of the mountains!

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It’s been a nice first few days of the trip, and we are looking forward to so much more….today we leave the mountains and drive to the coast – MAINE HERE WE COME!!!!  Leonard is looking forward to that because he can’t wait for a LOBSTER ROLL!!! 

Hope you have enjoyed the photos and videos of lots of water and waterfalls!

Until next time…