Lake Winnie Fun Facts

While myself & my friends enjoy Lake Winnipesaukee's mild temperature waters and perfect position of sunlight, there is more to the lake than just sunshine and good times. I've compiled a list of 5 neat things that I found out about good ol' Lake Winnie.

1. Way back in the day when the Algonquian Native Americans inhabited the area they gave Lake Winnie the name "Wiwininebesaki", which in their Sokiki language means "the lakes region". The name later changed to "Winnipisseogee". And people think spelling Winnipesaukee is hard!

2. Lake Winnie covers 72 square miles, has a maximum depth of 180 feet, and has 274 islands!

3. In case anyone was unaware, I am scared of open water, and I'm terrified of fish. Now I'm going to pass along this lovely tid-bit of information so everyone can fear the Lake as much as I do! Look at what we are swimming with!!!! (Don't look if you enjoy the naive bliss of not knowing what is in there)

American Eel

Paddlefish

Northern Water (oh my word)

Ehhh... yea. No thanks.

4. The Lake Winnie area is home to a weird and slightly boring artifact called "The Mystery Stone". This stone looks exactly like a big ol' Easter Egg, with Native-American-ish carvings all around it. It was discovered in 1872 when dug up by a construction worker, and is mysterious because no one is sure who made it. Oooo. So exciting. Some people think it was carved as a peace treaty between 2 Lake region tribes, others think that a scandalous worker was bored and carved it and pretended to find it. Whatever the truth, I'm sure if there is candy inside that its probably gross by now haha. 

5. I'm sure by now you're thinking to yourself "Wow, I'm like so jealous of Sam and the interesting/exciting place that she is living this summer", but wait... one last fun fact, if you can even stand it! There are 8 known underwater boat wrecks in Lake Winnie. The wrecks range from a 25' Motorboat off of Weirs Beach, to a 95 footer at the end of Paugus Bay. Did someone say neato burrito?

Well, that is enough excitement for one blog post. Adios until next time! 

Special thanks to http://www.lwhs.us/index.htm for information.

Abenaki Tower

      Off of Route 109 in Tuftonboro is one of our favorite spots up here in NH, the Abenaki Tower. The tower was built in 1929 to spot aircraft during World War II, it was also used by firemen so they could look out onto the lake for signs of fire. Ironically the tower burnt down and was then rebuilt in 1979. When it comes to Lake Winnie sunsets Abenaki is the most perfect place I've found on the lake to view them from. Over the years the tower has been tastefully decorated with signatures and graffiti, and while the tower isn't so pretty, the view is stunning.

Walking with the Waterfalls

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." -John Muir 

Jörg & I ventured back to Castle in the Clouds today to hike the trails and find a few waterfalls. Of course being the photo junkie that I am I had to bring along Miss Canon. It was a beautiful hike, granted the trails weren't exactly Hiking for Dummies certified. Lack of signage led to an actual hunt for the waterfalls, but a bazillion mosquito bites later we found what we were looking for, Fall of Song. The 50 foot falls is the largest on the Castle property. Jörg also spotted a gorgeous bird, what I believe to be a Scarlett Tanager.

It made my heart happy to be out in the woods today. I hope to take advantage of the many beautiful places that the New Hampshire nature has to offer this season. 

Here I Go Again...

Hello friends,

Miss Blondie here reporting from the good ol' US of A! I feel like sad and lonely lost puppy without writing my Blondie Abroad blog so I've decided to start another! What better to write about than the super exciting, ridiculously riveting, absolutely thrilling, state of New Hampshire. 

I've returned to New Hampshire to work at an esteemed golf estate with my husband. Together we work in a golf shop, him knowing everything about golf, and myself knowing that there are 18 holes and you want the ball to go in the hole, and not a whole lot else. Our club is delicately placed on a beautiful spot on the side of Lake Winnipesaukee. Lake Winnie is a summer haven for city slickers and Floridian country club pensioners.

While the Lake region is a picturesque place to spend the summer, it can also be a bit dull, given that it takes at least 40 minutes to get anywhere, and even once you get there there isn't a whole lot to do. The goal of this blog is to do the impossible and create an image of New Hampshire that no one has ever seen before, one of excitement (and jealousy for all who read it). Welp... here we go!

We have been here a week now, many of the members haven't arrived quite yet so it has been a bit on the slower side of things. I'm going to appreciate this lull because in a few short weeks I know I'll barely have time to think. I've been taking this time to snap some shots and work on my golf (well, build a base to work on).

Yesterday we ventured up to our usual NH entertainment spot, Castle in the Clouds. While I've never paid the admission fee to go up to the Castle itself, I have gone through the delivery gate and ventured around the property. First we went to visit our friend Zeus, our favorite 3,000 pound Belgian Draft Horse. Zeus is the second largest horse in the world, first place spot belonging to "Big Jake" in England. (lame). Zeus was chipper and enormous as usual, and I was frantic and scared to death as usual. 

He's just too big.

Then we went to visit my second favorite Castle friends, the Giant Rainbow Trout. The GRT's were as excited to see us as we were to see them. A splendid visit indeed. 

Just keep swimming

There it is friends, the first of my Blondie in the Backwoods posts. I'll attempt to make them as enjoyable as my Africa posts, but I can't make any promises. :)