We got back from New Hampshire this evening. Just chilling out and getting caught up and cleaned up. Let's see, we spent a day at Story Land, walked around North Conway, took a short canoe trip down the Saco River, drove through the White Mountains, stopped at a couple of road-side spots, walked around The Flume, hooked up with a friend who owns a restaurant and general store, did a little star-gazing (until the clouds came in), hiked around the woods and did a short mountain climb (really just a steep hike), took a spin around Squam Lake on a pontoon boat, shot off a rifle at targets from the back porch, and jumped on a trampoline. That's about it. I'll probably be getting back to normal round here shortly.

Oh, at the Flume there's this side-bit called The Wolf's Den, and it's labeled with a warning that going that way requires you to crawl on hands and knees. So we go in there and it's a little cave where, sure enough, you come to a point where you sort of have to pull yourself up through a hole at about chest level to come out the other side. I'm fighting claustrophobia and my six year old moves ahead of me, climbs right up through the hole and out the other side, while I'm sizing up this hole and doing the math on me and this space in the rocks (no wonder a couple of chubby people had been coming back out via the entrance). I put my head and shoulders in, but I'm not completely sure I can get through, especially with a belt full of cameras, binoculars, etc...and I'm having visions of Winnie-the-Pooh and getting stuck half-way...but the kid won't stop so I go for it, put the video camera first and literally scrape through the (fortunately) damp rocks. Phew...

Here are a few pictures:

A butterfly at Story Land

A snake, sunning itself on a rock on the Saco River

Trout compete with ducks and each other for food pellets

The Flume Gorge

Up. Or is it down?

No fear of bears, stuffed cat in hand

Bear poop

Deer poop

Moose poop (aged)

One of our cats (we missed him).