White Mountains, NH

To get a break from the heat recently, we headed north to the White Mountains.  I had watched an episode of Chronicle (newsmagazine TV program talking about all things New England) who's topic was on local swimming holes.  Some of the episodes I'm not particularly interested in but others peak my interest such as this one.  The problem is that many of the swimming holes discussed there is no "map" to find them.  I wasn't about to take the kids trekking all over to find one that was off the beaten path.  So we opted for one on a map though did have to drive around a bit until we found other hikers who pointed us in the correct direction.

The cool water was exceptionally refreshing.  We did not expect some slippery rock with all of use taking a tumble at least once.  Lucky for us we enjoyed floating down the river as much as we could.

The waterfall was Izzy and my favorite feature.  Two people could sit behind it comfortably.  We couldn't coax Micah and Victoria enough to wiggle their way behind the falls though.

Inside the falls!

Definitely a popular place to cool off!

Scattered throughout was a variety of natural slides.  Izzy was always up for the challenge of trying any of these out first.

The following day we drove through the White Mountain National Forest on our way to Franconia Notch State Park.  We all agreed that we would return to the White Mountains to explore the forest.  But we had timed tickets that we couldn't be late for thanks to COVID.

Seeing a New England covered bridge was a new experience for the kids.  Entertaining though was their recollection of a similar bridge in Beetlejuice.  Amazing what connections their minds make.

The hike was cool with a breeze off of the river.  In addition to the river and rocks, we enjoyed looking at all the vegetation growing in all sorts of angles.  The kids asked non-stop if they could wade in the river similar to what we did the day prior.

Avalanche Falls

Three-fourths of the hike landed us at The Pool.  It was hard to believe this crystal clear water is 40 feet deep.  Many bets were made about which one of use was going to try jumping in first.