Part One - Camping Trip
at the Living Water Family Campground in Twin Mountain New Hampshire. Since my house look like a moose trampled through it (get it?) and we leave for annual ('cept for last year) wandering aimlessly family boat vacation on Friday, I'm thinkin' I need to break down my 4-day recap so I can recover/unpack/clean/repack/prepare! We all met at Church at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday so we could consolidate "group" supplies, pack the coolers that Leanne very generously filled with ice from where she works, pack the Church van and trailer, and distribute people to save on the number of vehicles heading north. The plan was to leave by 9 - but you know, we didn't. At 10:00 the caravan left church and travelled til noon when we stopped for a planned quick lunch. Right then I knew this was gonna be one fun trip! Why? Because as we got out of our van, Harry spotted Pastor Heatherly getting out of the church van and exclaimed VERY LOUDLY, VERY EXCITEDLY, "LOOOOOooook, Pastor is here too!"
After an uneventful lunch at Burger King we got back in and headed to our destination, arriving around 3:00. Living Water is a family campground, where alcohol, music (other than headphones) isn't allowed, loud parties, etc. are not allowed. Many of the sites are on the river, and in general is quiet, clean and peaceful! We were at the only group campsite, which gave the almost 40 of us plenty of room to spread out. We immediately unpacked everyone's vehicles and found a spot to set up camp. While the little kids played, the tweens, teens & adults set up and unpacked. Once we were done, most of the group prepared for our first adventure - Hiking to the top of Mount Willard. Skip did the hike last year, but this would be Harry's first. Any doubts I had that he would fare well were quickly dismissed as he raced - literally - up the mountain - pausing only long enough to admire the waterfalls along the way. Both he & Skip were difficult to keep up with - I am ashamed to admit! I was draggin'! Me! So much for being in shape. Heck, I know it's been a few years since Mike & I have hiked, but really!
In my defense however, the AMC rates the trail this way:
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 3.2-miles round-trip
Elevation change: 900-foot elevation gain
Estimated time: 3–4 hours
Well we apparently power hiked because our round trip time was 2.5 hours! That's with a 30 minute or so rest at the top! Anyway, the trip down was MUCH easier, but much to my dismay the kids were clearly energized by the view at the top, the slight rest, and the yummy homemade trail mix that Sarah gave out because they were just as hard to keep up with going downhill. At least the descent was enjoyable for me - no heavy panting, no sweating profusely, no praying for the end!
On the trip back to camp, we noticed a whole bunch of vehicles on the side of road, including large buses, plus a bunch of people standing around. At first we thought it was an accident, but when we got closer, I noticed the bus said "Moose Tours"! We pulled over and sure enough, a big ol' moose seemingly indifferent to all of gawking at him as he drank water from the stretch of river that parallels the road. I don't remember ever seeing a moose before, so I was excited too! Hopefully someone in the group got a decent shot of it - my camera is just too cheap to do it justice!
(Thanks to Gracie & Leanne for some of the photos below)
...and the resulting photo 
Centennial Pool is pretty, but are we there yet?
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