Steepfalls River Trail (cont)

Steepfalls River Trail

Steepfalls River Trail,read the sign. Actually a ski-doo trail. Mom and Dad strapped on snowshoes and I bulked up my three inch "Moxie" legs and off we went. A bit up the trail we headed "off trail". This is where I have to ride on Dad's shoulder.(ref. to three inch legs) It was soooo warm out, 58 degrees! The snow was deep and wet. But what an awesome day to be a "snow adventurer"!

There was fog on the river and more fog engulfed a cornfield we crossed. Warm air...Cold snow...FOG! Very Cool!

We came to a steep gully. Mom broke trail and went first, then me,PHEW! What a struggle! (see video...note Mom, filming, breathing heavy from her climb up!) Dad brought up the rear.

Our last adventure of 2008! Perfect end to a perfect year!...This adventure Dog is wiggling in her pants in anticipation of what NEXT year will bring. Happy New Year Everyone!

Merry Christmas 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

Ice Storm '08

...... there, just shakin off the cold of this weekend and what a Cold one it was. Incase you haven't heard the East got blanketed in ice!!! Power Out! Hopefully if your reading this right now your power is back on too. Took us 2 1/2 days. So we did what we do best...off on a Moxie "ice" adventure.

Woke Friday to our yard encased in ice..trees & shrubs all tipped over. Even my favorite outdoor toy, Mr. Parachute Man,(we call him Jeremy) was coated in ice. His hands were iceballs! (see pic) Power out , no work, so we jumped in the van and drove everywhere! The ice was both beautiful and devestating. Where the sun hit it in spots it was like pouring rain.(watch video)

We drove way up to Ft. William Henry and Pemiquid Point...less ice but CCCOOOOLLLDDD!!!!!wind chill below zero, no wonder we were alone! Great fort and lighthouse. Old cemetary with graves dateing back to 1704. Me and Dad explored and took pictures of the old headstones. Mom...oh back in the van, refer to CCCOOLLLDDD!!!

Really a beautiful weekend and only one night in the van before house power came back on. Hope all of you faired well too.

PS. We had a Christmas miracle (?) ...Mom was telling an old freind about a good deed we did this summer...helping out stranded hikers, well her friend left and Mom turned on the computer...low and behold an e-mail from those same hikers! they just got a computer! So good to hear from you Ryan & Brett. Happy Holidays...to you and all.

PSS.Big hugs to big brother Jeremy, looks like he'll be stuck overseas till after Christmas. UGH! we love you Jer WOOF! WOOF!

Ice Storm '08 (cont)

Gift Wrapping

Up to my dog elbows in gift wrapping...stayed tuned next week for more adventuring!

First Snow

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!! Snow, wonderful snow, marvelous snow. SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! Get the hint? Yep,we headed north this weekend to the Whites in NH because the folks heard there was snow up there, folks heard right. Our first snowshoe trip of the year, well Mom snowshoed, I walked on top of the snow and Dad fell through alot. We all had great fun at it regardless of our method of travel.

We headed out across a half frozen bog that was surrounded by moutains, following a x-country ski trail. It was a beautiful afternoon. We headed up West Ledge and stopped part way up and cooked an awesome lunch. Mom says there's nothing like boiling water for coffee in the woods, Mom and Dad LOVE coffee, and when they're happy, so is this adventure dog!

I rode part way back across the bog on Dad's shoulder and followed Mom the rest of the way. Our first winter adventure in the snow......winter fun makes me hungry!

Great day! On the way back south we took pictures, yet again, of ole Mt. Chocoura, from the bridge on Chocoura lake. This time Mom got a wicked cool picture. (see pic below) you can see the frozen tip of the mountain, reflected in the unfrozen water at the bridge. click on pic to enlarge for better view.

We got a day of Christmas shopping in this weekend....have you started your shopping yet?

First Snow (cont.)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my family and all my friends. I am thankful for good food and a warm home to live in. I am thankful for the opportunity to run and play and hike and canoe and swim. I am thankful for the sunshine and the moonlight and the change of seasons and even the rain and snow. I am thankful for all of life's beauties to enjoy and it's mishaps to learn by. Most of all I am thankful to have been born Moxie the Adventure Dog. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and THANK YOU, for sharing my blog and all my adventures.

Ossipee Hill

Headed out vantrippin on Sunday. Stopped for a quick "sprint" up Ossipee Hill. There is a firetower up there. Last time Mom, Dad and I went up there was in the middle of last winter. They snowshoed up, I rode cozy in Mom's coat. I say "sprint" because it is a fairly easy hike up a service/tote road.

We climbed half way up the tower for one quick picture and got hit with an enormous wind gust! Woosh! Dad lost his hat & Mom had a panic attack over being up so high and because the tower was swaying, it all happened so fast. Dad finally talked Mom into decending so we could all get out of the wind!

We took a little shortcut through the woods coming down, finding lots of cool rock formations and mosses. Once we got back to the tote road I ran circles around Mom and Dad...literally (see video) Driving home that afternoon we stopped at Bond Mountain Spring, roadside, and filled our water jugs....ummm ummm cool clear moutain water Adventure dog's favorite!

Ossipee Hill (cont.)

Pine Bend Brook Trail

Oh, the Sandwich range calls again, like so many other times this summer. Actually it rained...cold rain,( not always a warm rain ha! ha! )....all day Saturday so we all headed to Portland to do some fall shopping. Mom's been fall cleaning so we got alot of new house stuff, like new towels and shower curtain ect. ect. I got a new hair dryer...yep Dad gives me a nice blow dry after my bath this time of year. It makes me fluffy and shiny. Which leads me into what we did Sunday....

Why does an adventure dog need to be fluffy and shiny when we end up hiking in the Sandwhich range..it's soooooo steep and rocky....I just make a mess of it all!

We stopped at Chocorua Lake on the way north. Got a great picture of Mt. Chocorua engulfed in a rain cloud. It rained on and off all morning until we were parking the van...perfect. We headed up Pine Bend Brook Trail off the Kanc. in NH. Awesome brookside trail. The water was huge due to all the rain. SWEET! The rain brought all kinds of fall mushrooms as well.

About half way in we entered the Sandwhich range, and ,as always, straight up we went. Guide book says very steep, guide book is ALWAYS right. I do good on the ups. Mom and Dad, not so good. But I wait for them to catch up, after all they're carring the food! We hit freezing rain above 3000 feet, so when it let up we stopped and cooked lunch..my favorite part! Being "woods smart" hikers we did not summit. Down we headed with plenty of time to meander before the,now early, sunset. I took turns following Mom and Dad down through the moss covered rocks and the woods. We're all part of "Team Moxie" off on another Great Adventure.

Pine Bend Brook Trail (cont.)

A Day at the Beach

Even an adventure dog like myself has to give up at least part of a fall weekend to do yard chores with my folks. But we did manage to get in a day at the beach....go East until you get your toes wet!. I just love the beach! I love to run to the seagulls,and away from the waves. I just love to run! And the beach is the place to do it. Besides it's the first weekend of hunting season and it's best to steer away from the woods until "Elmer Fudd" gits hiz kill! Funny thing is we saw deer tracks on the beach...smarter than Mr. Fudd????

I found a huge lobster on the beach, a few hours fresher and we'd have eaten him... yup I love seafood too! I saw lots of seagulls and a comorant with "batman"wings on a large peice of driftwood with a whole string of gulls. I even chased a crow into flight.

The sun set, casting brillant color all around us...STUNNING! And our weekend ends with a clean yard and lungs full of crisp fall ocean air. AWESOME.

A Day at the Beach

Mt. Philo

OFF TO THE RACES! We started our weekend with a long road trip Friday night. Across NH and Vermont to Charlotte Vt. and Mt. Philo. Dad's buddy was racing again. Hill climb up the moutain. He drives a red oldsmobile. Mom and Dad took turns holding me in their coats. We spent all day Saturday at the start line. After practice I got to get up on Dad's friends tool box and play with his dog Marley.She's a beautiful red Irish Setter. After dinner they slept in his truck and we slept in our van.

Sunday was race day. We spent the morning chatting with a man who was working with the rescue squad team. He said his wife would love a dog like me. He was so nice. We stayed half the day then began our trip home. We traveled down Lake Champlain . We stopped to watch them loading the ferry,looking at the Adirondak moutains across the lake. We meandered through the Vermont hillsides, stopping in a few hay fields to play. We even saw a round chruch...pretty cool!

We happened apon the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, just caught them on their last weekend open for the season. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, yep they even let me in. It had alot of "kid interactive" displays and audio self-guided tours. I got to play in the kids boat. We also boarded the replica of the Philadelphia, built right there at the musuem. Our guide was awesome and we learned ALOT from him about the boating history of Lake Champlain.

There was a tent just full of old wooden boats, and a blacksmith's shop. I got to stand on the anvil....Daddy's little girl! My Dad loves blacksmithing.

Over 600 miles later we made it back to the coast, full of information, memories and a huge desire to go back to that area. The Adirondaks call this adventure dog back. Spring is "just around the corner".....Right?

Mt.Philo (Cont.)