Stuck in the Middle

We're stuck in the middle right now with how to tackle our last weekend day. Should we attend to that every growing list of things to-do or should we go back outside and play? I can tell you which way I am already leaning.

Sub Zero Wind Chills

And we're still making it outside. Yay! Check out the snow whiskers.

Mount Washington's Wind Speed Record

As if it wasn't sad in enough that our Old Man of the Mountain fell down in 2003, but now we've also lost one of our state's proudest records. (If you haven't noticed yet- I love saying our old man fell down)

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For years New Hampshire's Mount Washington has proudly held the world's fastest wind speed at 231 miles per hour. Now, sadly, much like our Old Man, our record has fallen. The newest fastest wind was recorded in 1996 in Australia. Now after years of investigation it is confirmed to be the new record holder.

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I will still think fondly of New Hampshire's White Mountains as having some of the worst weather in the world- even if it may not be the fastest and we no longer have an Old Man watching over the state. Until the next wind storm Mount Washington.

Above Treeline: Fog

It creeps up on you slowly. At first you don't really notice the rolling fog. Maybe you find it calming, maybe you find it cooling against your sweaty clothing since you've been climbing for hours and you're nearing treeline.

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It's not until, perhaps, you look back to the trail you've just come from or you finally near the summit, that you realize how far you can see. Not very far at all that is. And now it has become dangerous as you begin to contemplate-- should you head back down before the fog gets worse or continue on?

Sort of Smitten

By vintage Backpacker ads.



photo source misstweedledee

New Blog Layout

For those of you who catch up on my blog through google reader or via email, do stop back by my blog. We've been working on an amazing new layout. You'll see not everything is live yet and we're still adding dohickeies and stuff, but it's pretty exciting. The talent behind the look? Leigh-Ann from Freckled Nest.

Catching Snowballs

The Almost Snowball



Where do those things keep going?



Oh snap, I missed that one.



K I'm ready this time.



Snap- to the side again.



Reach for it. Reach for it.



Score!

Pileated Woodpecker

Here is that pileated woodpecker that I mentioned in this post. These are some fairly large birds for New Hampshire and quite the sight to see against the white snow.

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The Blizzard of 1978

I've survived my fair share of snow and ice storms, hurricanes, and Nor'Easters, but as anyone from New England knows-- it's nothing compared to the Blizzard of '78.

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While I didn't personally live through the blizzard, I've heard countless stories about the massive snow drifts, the blinding winds, the zero visibility, the cars parked in the middle of the roads because they couldn't go any further. Since the Blizzard's anniversary is approaching (February), I thought I would go digging through Flickr for some photos to illustrate just how amazing it was.

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