Mount Washington

Living in NH, or anywhere in New England, a must see place is Mount Washington. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States topping out at 6,288 feet above sea level. On a clear day you can see as far as VT, NY, MA, ME and Quebec. It is also known for its extreme weather. What you have for weather before you climb the mountain may be completely different at the peak

We went up on the Auto Road Guided tour. You can also brave the road in your own vehicle but it is less wear on your vehicle and the tour was a great way to sit back and enjoy the ride listening to the tour guide explain all the different scenic views along the way. Once at the top, we were given about an hour to explore the peak.

One of the places we were able to visit was the Tip Top House, which is the oldest surviving building on the summit. Built back in 1853, it once served as a hotel. The house was made of rock that was blasted from the mountain, which is probably why this building has lasted so many years in the extreme conditions. It's now open to the public to view its history.

Another great place open to the public is the Observatory. Inside, they have a small cafeteria, gift shops and a museum, giving you all the mountains history. It has been staffed continuously  since 1932.  The summit typically sees about 42 feet of snow per year and the temperature average runs about 27 degrees, with wind chills below zero. Since I do not like snow, or the extreme cold, I would not do well with this job. But they never seem to lack volunteers to go up to stay.

The last building, which happened to be one of my favorite places to view was the Summit Stage Office, which was originally the first observatory. It is now a gift shop, which happened to be closed the day we went but posted on the outside of the building was a sign that read, "The highest wind speed ever recorded by man (in this building) was 231 miles per hour." Not only was this fascinating to me but also seeing the building literally held down by chains made me realize just how extreme the conditions get here.

The mountains of NH have so much to offer and this is just one of many places I would recommend visiting. The scenery, history and just seeing what Mother Nature is capable of is truly amazing.

Official Website: https://www.mountwashington.org/