Mt. Washington Cog Railway

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire

The Mt. Washington cog railroad was approved by the New Hampshire state legislature in 1866. It was the world’s first cog railroad. Some state legislators hooted and suggested approving an extension to the moon. However, the railway opened in 1869 and President Ulysses S. Grant brought his family to take the ride two months later. A lodge at the top offered the affluent cool summer views.

I stick out my head to snap some pictures and end up with tiny coal chunks in my hair and on my face. These locomotives look like a fire on the mountain from ten miles away. They burn over a ton of soft (bituminous) coal on each ascent. They force a huge amount of air through the burning coal to produce the steam and blow black smoke and coal chunks up through the stack... After a mile, we stop to take on water.


The Appalachian trail intersects the rail line near the summit. The New Hampshire segment of the trail is considered the most rugged and difficult for hikers. There are hundreds of stone cairns along the trail here. We see one lone hiker. Hikers have been known to “moon” the trains but this hiker disappoints us.


As we approach the summit visibility drops to 30 feet. Winds today are forecast at 50 to 70 MPH. It is cold. I remember the rule of thumb from flying that the temperature drops two degrees centigrade for every thousand foot of elevation gain.


The coal-powered steam cog train grinds to the top at 6.288 feet in just over an hour at an average speed of 3 MPH. We have ridden cog trains in Scotland and Switzerland but nothing with such archaic engines.


At the 20 minute stop at the summit, 75 old men from two trains head for the three urinals and two toilets. Time passes slowly. I can only shudder to consider what the women must be enduring.

Firecloud Declares Obama Winner

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire

6:01 AM: Last summer we visited Dixville Notch. They open the polls there one minute after midnight. Usually they go heavily Republican. For example, they went for Reagan over Carter 17-3. Today they voted for Obama by a margin of 15-6. This is the first time a Democrat has taken the Notch since 1964. It's finally over...the rest is just a formality

We've were  camping for three nights in the White Mountains. It was cool in the mornings and evenings. You can understand why people like to vacation here in the summer. When the leaves change color in the fall it's a spectacular place.



There's a place here called Dixville Notch. During every election the 20 or so registered voters gather at midnight and cast their votes. By a few minutes after midnight the polls close and the results are announced around the nation as election news.



The results are always heavily tilted. This is the most "red" of all states. You see results like "Reagan 17...Carter 3". We drive up to the notch expecting a quaint little town. We are surprised to find a very posh resort with pools, clay tennis courts and a fabulous golf course.



The doorman invites us to go take pictures of the "ballot room" in the hotel and suggests lunch up on the mountain at the golf club. Many famous people show up here on election day. My own guy, Ralph Nader, has been here. Both Bush I and Bush II visited the room on election day.



We spent a day driving the road up to the top of Mt. Washington. The road is eight miles with an average grade of 12%. You have to use 1st gear all the time both ways. They recorded a wind up there of 231 MPH in 1934. People like to set records on the road. One guy was the first to push a wheelbarrow with 100 pounds of sugar up to the top (he was also the first to walk up backwards). Another was the first to ride a water buffalo to the top...lot's of firsts. I snap a few shots of the old cogwheel coal powered steam train. We rode it two years ago. When it pulls in about 60 old men make a dash for the three urinals, so you want to be finished with your business before the train arrives...



Lunch in the golf club is very good...we have a sandwich and leek and potato soup, white wine and finish by sharing a mixed berry pie with a "dollop" of vanilla ice cream. This morning we move on to the Coast of Maine.

Would you mind a reflecting sign

White Mountains, New Hampshire

The autumn colors here in the New Hampshire White Mountains are coming on strong. The vivid reds, yellows, pinks and oranges are strongly psychedelic when the sunshine hits the leaves.

The pictures were looking washed out compared with what was really there. Google has a free image editing program called Picassa. A few clicks on “color temperature… fill light… shadows… highlights” made dramatic differences in the images. Mrs. Phred registers her shock and dismay that I’m touching up the digital pictures, but I explain I’m making them look more real, not better than real. She asks if I can touch her up a bit. I tell her she looks fine.

We plan to stay here a little longer then follow the colors south to the palm trees. There’s a municipal tennis court in the village nearby. The town theatre shows a movie every day at 7:30 PM. We hiked six miles though the White National forest today, mostly either uphill or downhill. There are big rocks in the paths here. At one time, I could have jogged the whole thing in an hour. There is a section of the Appalachian Train entering Vermont that we want to try today.

“Would you mind a reflecting sign
Just let it shine
within your mind
and show you, the colors
that are real”

Live Free or Die!

White Mountains, New Hampshire – October 4, 2006

We cross the State line into New Hampshire. The first sign over the border says, in HUGE letters, "Live Free or Die!". The second sign says "Vehicle occupants under 18 years must wear seatbelts". w€e both burst into laughter and wordlessly unfasten our seatbelts...we could learn to like this place.

The tree colors are brilliant and getting better. They usually peak in mid-October. I have a leaf guide and have identified an American Beech and a Sugar Maple. Rain and overcast are expected until Thursday. You need sunlight to capture the brilliant colors properly.

We are in the area called the White Mountains. There are some interesting things not to see here. We walk 1000 yards at one stop to see the “old man of the mountain”. That is a famous rock outcropping that looks remarkably like an old man’s face. Unfortunately the 48 foot tall feature fell off two years ago. You probably read about it. There are some very confused Japanese tourists wandering about looking for the face.

The sun peeks out enough to yield some colorful leaf shots. We have lived our entire lives in Florida so these autumn colors are very remarkable for us. We drive on some unpaved US Forest service back roads and find a lovely campground called Russell Pond high in the mountains.

I long for wildness….
Woods where the
woodthrush forever sings,
where the hours are
early morning ones,
and there is
dew on the grass,
and the day
is forever unproven…

-Thoreau