Way back when we camped at Wells Point State Park with the Burtnetts (our backyard neighbors) they told us they had a cabin reserved for October 22nd at Pawtuckaway State Park in New Hampshire. We put it on our calendar and went on with life. Last week Carol and I debated whether we still wanted to go because we've been away a lot of weekends lately. But then we reminded ourselves, "Hey, it's the Burtnetts! We always have a great time with them." So on Saturday off we went to New Hampshire.
We didn't leave town until mid-afternoon because Audrey had figure skating class until noon. Pawtuckaway is only about an hour away and we arrived at about 3:00. It's quite a large campground but most of it was closed for the season. There are only 5 cabins and they are off by themselves. The regular campsites that were open were in a different part of the park so overall the park felt very deserted and quiet. The foliage was gorgeous.
We hung out for a bit and Audrey and I went for a little bike ride. The we all decided to go for a walk to the beach and some of the small islands near it. On the way to the beach we played a game catching falling leaves before they hit the ground. Then we arrived at the playground and everyone played on swings and the seesaw and the slides and the climbing wall. Near the beach there was a bridge to a cool little island. The kids used logs as balance beams. The older kids were doing it on a log that stuck out into the lake. Audrey really wanted to do it, too, but it was only about 55 degrees out and walking back to the van in wet clothes would not have been fun. I "persuaded" her not to try it. The younger kids built gnome homes. It was a spectacularly beautiful spot out on a peninsula in the lake with gorgeous fall colors along the shore.
Then it was back to traverse the beach and visit another peninsula and cross another bridge to an island that was equally cool. We scoped out some great campsites to try to reserve for summer.
Sunset was approaching so we headed back to the cabin and started a fire and cooked hot dogs for dinner. The teenage girls built a very cool gnome home in the trees near the cabin. We played many rounds of "guess the animal". Then we roasted marshmallows for s'mores. By then it was getting late and the kids headed to bed. Scott and I sat by the fire for a while and were visited by a raccoon who was not shy.
The temperature got down into the high 30s overnight. We had plenty of clothes and blankets with us so we all managed to stay warm. Except for Carol. But Carol wears a sweatshirt when it is 80 degrees.
In the morning it was chilly but not too bad. We all had a little breakfast and then Carol and Audrey went off for a long bike ride exploring the rest of the campground. We had a little firewood left so we started a fire. I thought the three pieces of wood we had would only last 20 minutes but we managed to milk the fire for more than an hour. Audrey spent a fair bit of time "fire fishing", as she called it: holding a stick in the fire to light the end, putting it out in the ashes, repeating.
In late morning we decided to go for a hike in another part of the park before heading home. We packed up and left the campground. We had to drive about 10 miles out of and around the park to a different entrance. Once back in the park the road turned to dirt and an adventure! Carol was nervous, but it wasn't really that bad. It was maybe a mile to the trailhead.
The hike we had chosen was to a boulder field - a collection of large glacial erratics among rolling hills. The boulders were impressive! The largest ones were probably 30-40' tall. The kids had a blast clambering among them, through caves and passages and onto ledges. Have I mentioned that the fall colors were gorgeous?
The Burtnetts needed to head home and we wanted to continue on the loop trail around the pond so we said our goodbyes. Along the trail we found even more boulders and cliffs and very cool cave that was about 30' long and ended up near the trail again. It was fairly dark going through it - the girls were very brave and very proud when they emerged. When we came to a road I was disoriented but Carol was sure which way to go. That's the opposite of our usual state but a nice change of pace. Sure enough, a few minutes along the road in Carol's direction and we were back at Ruby. A little more than an hour later we were home.
We really had a fantastic time. We've decided to make it an annual trip. In fact, we might try to recruit other neighborhood families and reserve all five cabins next year.
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