Our Early Summer New Hampshire Trip, Part One, by Hank

On Friday in the morning, we packed for the New Hampshire trip. Mom taught her yoga class, and we all packed for the trip. Then we got in the car and headed off. We listened to an audio book in the car. It was Spirit Animals Book Two. Lem and I already read it. For lunch we were still on the road so we stopped at a nearby town called Lincoln, New Hampshire. We found a McDonald's so we went inside and ordered our food. Mom, Dad, and I had a crispy chicken buttermilk sandwich (#5), Jabe and Lem had 10 piece chicken nuggets (#7). Then we headed farther along down the road.

We stopped at Lost River and we looked at the weather rock. It was a rock hanging on a chain attached to a wooden pole. Hot = sunny, wet = rainy, white = snowy, moving = windy. The rock was warm. Then we bought our tickets and walked on the path to the first cave. It was a sun altar. Then we saw a configuration of rocks shaped like Fenris the wolf. The next cave is called Cave of Odin. Next, we climbed up the stairs to see Paradise Falls. It was beautiful. Then we went through the next cave, which was called Devil's Kitchen, and there was a rock in there that was shaped like the Devil's table. Then the next cave was called Cave of Silence because you couldn't hear Paradise Falls very well. It was also cool down there. You could see your breath. I was shushing everyone because it was called Cave of Silence so I thought that it meant that everyone had to be silent but I was joking too. Then Dad and I looked at the giant pothole. It wasn't active, but it was still amazing! Then I went in a cave called the Center of the Earth. One of the walls had a little bit of water trickling down from it. Most of the caves are lit with a lantern with fire in the middle. The cave I went in next was called Parallel Rocks because the walls were parallel to each other. There was a pretty long ladder down to the floor of the cave. Then you walk to the exit which is a pretty narrow hole in the wall which - when I was watching Dad go through - it looked like if he was a little bit bigger he might've gotten stuck! I went through the exit and walked on.

After that, we went on Elysian Land which was a path that Dad requested because it was Fathers' Day weekend. We walked around a vernal pool, but it wasn't active. It was just a little damp, and there was a tiny puddle that was the vernal pool. Then we walked over to the Lemon Squeezer. To go through it, first, you go through the wood that shows you if you are able to do the cave. At the widest part, it was 18 inches. Next, there was an annoying rock right before a narrow opening with two narrow foot holes. You have to climb through the opening in the rocks to get in the cave and crawl to the exit which can also be the start of the Dungeon cave. For the entrance to Dungeon, you have to crawl under an opening and crawl to another opening. Jabe thought it was a dead end and that you had to swim out, but he didn't actually. We realized that you had to crawl in a very small opening which you had to crawl on your stomach and hands to get the exit. After that we walked over to the Bear Crawl. We worked our way through it and walked to the next cave. The next cave was called The Judgement Hall of Pluto. When we crawled in we saw an amazing sight! It was a waterfall! It was about 19 feet tall! It was magnificent! It was also the biggest waterfall inside a cave in New England! We walked out of the cave and walked over to the next thing. It was a rock shaped like the United States of America. It was fascinating! To see it, you had to climb up a few ledges made of wood. The next cave was called Shadow Cave. It was the cave that mom had the most trouble on getting through it. To get through it, first, you had to walk to a part where you had to walk sideways and squeeze through the narrow opening. Then you had to climb up a pretty hard ladder before reaching the top. When we got out of Shadow Cave, we walked over to a place with a beautiful view of the mountains! It as up high, so you could see them better. Then we walked back to our car, got back on the road, and drove off.

After about five minutes, we reached The Basin (which is an active pothole). We got out of our car and walked on a short path that took us to the Basin. It was wondrous! It was marvelous! It was fabulous! There were two places where the water could move down the river. One was before the next. The first one carried about a quarter of the water coming from the small but rapid waterfall above the Basin. The second one carried about half of the water down into the river. Also a quarter of the water was swept back around in a circle to be carried down the river or back around the Basin. It was amazing! Then we walked over to a river and dipped our hands into the water. It was freezing! After that, we went back to our car. Dad donated a dollar to a place that helped ensure that the Basin would keep running.

Then we drove to our cabin. It was luxurious. Then we went to Saco River. Jabe, Lem, and Dad went exploring and Mom had to leave to go get groceries so before then we tried to find this type of rock that looked like it had an eyeball on it and we called them "eyeball rocks". Then she left and then suddenly Jabe and Lem yelled out that they found a quarter of an automobile under the water! I raced toward them to see it. Dad showed it to me and how it was stuck on a pile of rocks. It was the front of an automobile. Then we walked to the pool. We had a competition to see what volleyball we would use. Jabe got cold so he went back to the cabin while Lem and I played with different balls in the pool. Then we walked back and had dinner which was spaghetti and meatballs. We watched TV, took our baths, ate s'mores, wrote or read and then fell asleep in bed.