Day 4.. The Legend of the Unimoose

High up on Ellsworth Hill

Bright and early Sunday morning Bri (my daughter) and I took off for Ellsworth Hill by way of Rumney, N.H., where there are some bogs that we have frequented in the past hoping to see moose. If you've read my past posts, Bri and I have 2 theories about moose. #1 They should be called Unimoose as they are really a fairy tale animal used to attract tourists to New England. #2 There is one moose and he is rented out between Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Nonetheless we never lose hope that one day it will be New Hampshire's turn to have the moose and we will spot him. So up Ellsworth Hill we go, past Stinson Lake to the first bog, (no moose) past the waterfall and down the hill to the other side where there is a spectacular bog.. I believe it's actually Ellsworth Bog.

Ellsworth Bog

 Notice, no moose....

Bog Grass - Moose supposedly love this grass

A brook coming from the bog

Beaver Hut at Ellsworth Bog 

 

 

 

 

 After leaving Ellsworth Bog and coming to the bottom of the mountain we headed into Thornton to one of our favorite places, Benton's Sugar Shack. It's quintessentially New England with a feel of the 50's or 60's, and they serve the best pancakes with pure maple syrup. The inside has all sorts of interesting things hanging on the walls and ceiling and lots of goodies for sale such as jellies and maple syrup.

If you should decide to go to the Sugar Shack for breakfast, plan on going early or waiting for a table as it's one of the most popular places in the area.

Once again the Pillsbury Dough Girls hit the road, off to Chesley's Glory Station, a favorite place to shop on Route 3 in West Campton. It's a good sized building full of every sort of country treasures.

Very rustic and quite beautiful

A sweet little basket terrarium

Jewelry displayed on and in a lovely birdcage

Carefully chosen clothing

Anyone for an upside down Christmas Tree?

The legend is perpetuated...

Lots and lots of goodies

 
Plan to spend some time, as it takes about an hour to see everything in the store... plus you have to struggle with whether you will have some of their homemade fudge.

A little lighter in the purse we left to head home for a swim in the river that is on my daughter's property. We could have easily zipped down Route 93 but I opted to take the back roads instead. We came down through Plymouth headed towards Rumney where there is a traffic circle. As I was rounding the circle I noticed quite a few cars parked on the side of the road and people milling about. We both thought... 'OMG.. it must be a (the one and only) moose!' I stopped and asked a couple walking back to their car and sure enough we had just missed the moose. Devastated is a good word to describe how we felt having just missed him. They said he had just walked back into the woods.

Everyone left the area but we decided to hang around for awhile to see if maybe ... just maybe... he might come back out where we could see him. Sure enough, within minutes my daughter gasped "There he is!" and just as quickly he was gone. All I saw was a tree bending over where he had been rubbing his rack. Now I'm really devastated! So close... all I wanted was a glimpse... but no... no moose for me... I'm ready to go home now. We stayed a little bit longer (thanks to Bri) and the next thing you know people were stopping their cars all around. Not 20 feet ahead of where we were sitting, behind a group of trees.....  it was HIM!

What an immense and gorgeous creature!

Getting a cool drink on a hot day.

Posing for the camera

He's REAL!

He stayed around for probably 10 minutes or so, not at all disturbed by all the excitement and picture taking. Moose can be dangerous creatures under normal circumstances and can charge at any given moment if they are disturbed, but this guy just nibbled at the grass and sipped water from the bog. It almost seemed like he was posing for the cameras. A highly unusual sight to see and we saw it! I guess by now he's been taken to either Maine or Vermont for their turn, but if you should be near Rumney Circle look down in the bog on 3A..... he may be back. ;o)


The excitement over, but not the thrill, we headed back home for that swim in the river. It was about 90 degrees and I was so looking forward to it. It's a lovely little river with no one around so we have it all to ourselves. A perfect end to a perfect day, just my daughter and me...  life is good.

The perfect way to cool off on a hot summer's day.

I love the gorgeous colors of the rocks in the river bed shallows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I head home....  *sigh*