Castle in the Clouds (pt.1)

Another great day for a late winter hike. Off we went to Castle in the Clouds in Moultonboro N.H. The Castle is actually on a summit across the lake (Winnapasaukee) from Mt. Major where we hiked a couple of weeks before. A nice trail system has been put together on the grounds of the Castle, enabling one to summit several mountains around the Castle and to the Castle summit as well. We chose the Oak Ridge Trail to the Oak Ridge Lookout. After a while we were able to see up to the Castle, eventually passing it , then looking back down on it. We kicked up a couple of deer on the way up,I believe we rousted the same pair on the way down later. We stopped to cook lunch, tucked down in the trees out of the wind. The nicest part of the day was while we were enjoying lunch...perfect! We made our way down to the Shannon Pond area on the Castle grounds. Sign says there are giant trout in that water. This is one adventure dog who's NOT going swimming today! Around the pond were bronze statues of a family of foxes. Silly me....what...I thought they were real! Mom and Dad got a good laugh when I jumped sky high at the sight of the fox family! I need to trust my nose more! Finally made it to the Castle itself.There was a nice couple from Wolfboro up there sunning themselves. They had driven up.....there's a road??? ha! ha! We all had a nice chat before we made our way back down to the main road. We had done a horseshoe trail so we had a 2 mile road walk back to the van. I rode on Dad's shoulder like always. We saw LOTS of chipmunks on the stone wall beside the road, oh they taunt me so! Sat and watched a roadside brook melting winter into spring before finally getting back to old blue (vw van). Spring is just around the corner, and me, for one, can't wait to get in some more hiking...SOON!