Sunday, March 18, 2012

Diana's Bath Hike


Today was a gorgeous day - unseasonably warm and sunny. We decided to spend the day up north. No trip to North Conway is complete without a walk in the woods. Sassy Sis has been resisting the pack so we needed a hike that would be easy for her to walk.We decided on Diana's Bath - an easy .6 mile (one way) hike to a cascade of water falls.


Diana's Bath is a great hike for a young family. In the summer you can take a dip in the swimming hole - today we opted to just toss some rocks into the rapidly moving water.....and of course get our feet wet!




The trail was a bit more difficult today since it was still snow covered and slippery in places due to the melting and refreezing.
The water fall was moving at a good clip and mesmerized the little ones.


Sassy Sis walked the whole way in and spent a long time playing around at the falls.
She managed to walk for about 1/4 of the return hike. I was pretty proud of her - it was a valiant effort on her part, especially considering she had the stomach flu at the beginning of the week and it was bordering on nap time.

We'll look forward to heading back to Diana's Bath during the summer when we can picnic at the falls ( at the picnic tables nearby) and possibly even wet
our toes in the water!


Sunday, March 4, 2012

Science Center Winter Walk


We LOVE Squam Lake Natural Science Center. It is one of our favorite places to visit during the spring, summer and fall months.

So, needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that they offered guided walks during the winter months. The good news is
the walk was GREAT, the bad news - today was the last day they offer their walks during this winter. However, don't worry they do have more events on their calendar before their season
opening, May 1st.

For example, did you know that the first Tuesday of every month they have a program for 4-6 year olds which covers the cycles found in nature?

WILD WINTER WALK

The Owl and I went on their 1pm walk. The Science Center charges $12 for nonmembers, $10 for members. They supplied snowshoes, but we brought our own.



The program started off in one of their classrooms.
Our guide showed us a 10 minute power point that talked about the adaptations animals use to survive during the winter season. Then it was time to head outside and gear up.



The path we took was modified from the path open to the public during their regular season and it is a guided walk. I've been to the center many times however, having a guide for our small group was very informative. I learned loads of informative tid-bits from the information she shared.

We were able to see: fisher cats, red fox, otters, mountain lions, bobcats, white tailed deer, owls, and some raptor birds. Since the animals do not have groups of visitors 7 days a week during the winter they were VERY active and VERY interested in us.


We walked mostly on the regular path, but did take some paths through the woods which Owl just loved.


Once back to the classroom the guide did a mini-talk about/with an opossum and of course Owl wouldn't let you forget the hot chocolate they had to offer!

As always the Science Center didn't disappoint and it was the perfect way to spend a fun afternoon, outdoors with my little guy!


We already have May 5th, New Hampshire Day, marked on our calendars for our first official visit to the center during the 2012 season however, I think , after looking at their calendar we will be taking part in a few more of their special programs between now and then!