The Anchorage at the Lake resort where I stayed , is a huge complex of about 30 acres 29 cabins or cottages, on beautiful Lake Winnisquam in Tilton NH, it also has 3 large house units that sleep 10-17 people, where families can stay for less than you may think. I felt a week was not enough time to spend on this beautiful lake. It is like going back in time, No TV or Phones. Just the sounds of birds and squirrels in the trees. You may see a Great Blue Heron or King Fisher. Mergansers and Mallards walk up to you looking for snacks. If you are real quiet you can even feed the chipmunks by hand and gently pat them. Huge pines standing tall about the property give you a real outdoor feel. Take out a canoe and get some fish, or paddle about the shoreline in a peddle boat.( There is a mile of shoreline to explore and much more that encircle the lake).Warm mornings, foggy mist sitting on the water in the early morning hours is just beautiful.

The housekeeping women do a wonderful job, the cottages are clean and well stocked, they bring towels to you and the maintanence crew keeps everything running smooth. What a pleasure to just relax and let your problems stay home.

You just have to meet your host, at the main office. The Anchorage has 3 sandy beaches, a huge sundeck, paddle boats and canoes, even a kayak all for no extra expense. The nights are so restful, you can hear the crickets and night birds, the leaves rustling in the trees, it is a magical place for sure. In the Mornings you hear the loons on the lake and the smell of bacon and eggs wafts through the morning mist. It is really incredible. During the day you can lay on beaches in lounge chairs or on the sundeck that sticks out over the water. There are lots of woodland paths and trails to follow, there is an apple orchard and grapevines, I even saw a Bald Eagle that nests on the property. As for the fishing, let me tell you, they have 5-12 pound lunker bass and almost every other kind of fish imaginable. They even host the Bass tournaments and have weigh-ins there.

You can bring your own boat and for a really minimal fee you can dock it right there. You are right in the midst of lakes region so you have malls, family places like mini-golf and movies to see. I had an incredible time and my grand-kids loved the huge grassy field to play baseball in and the swings and slide were a hit too.

There are some pretty tall fish tales and legends on this lake the Hairy trout and the Saddlefish are two really big ones.

Come check it out...

http://hubpages.com/hub/Aquariums-Good-for-Your-Heart

Laconia City on the Lakes - Riverwalk

Between 1825 and 1925, the Merrimack River watershed in New Hampshire and Massachusetts was one of the nation's most productive industrial centers. The largest source of water was lake Winnipesaukee, which occupies 72 square miles. The lake's outlet, the Winnipesaukee River, dropped nearly 200 feet before it joined the Pemigewasset River 20 miles south at Franklin to form the Merrimack. Four industrial towns - Laconia, Tilton, Northfield and Franklin - developed along the banks of the Winnipesaukee. Laconia is the largest with a land are of 20 square miles.

This Riverwalk is designed to introduce some of the changes that Laconia experienced. We hope you enjoy the Riverwalk on foot, in a car, on a bike or via canoe or kayak.

The Old Man of the Mountain, also known as the great stone face, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA that, when viewed from the correct angle, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face. The first recorded discovery of the Old Man was in 1805. The outcrop was 1,200 feet above Profile Lake, and measured 40 feet tall and 25 feet wide. It collapsed on May 3, 2003.

U. S. stamp featuring The Old Man of the "Mountains," issued in 1955.

The formation was carved by glaciers approximately 10,000 years ago and was first recorded as being discovered by a surveying team circa 1805. The official state history says several groups of surveyors were working in the Franconia Notch area at the time and claimed credit for the discovery.

Face-like stone formations are common around the world, including the famous Napoleon's Nose, in the hills north of Belfast. The Old Man was famous largely because of statesman Daniel Webster, a New Hampshire native, who once wrote: "Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."

The writer Nathaniel Hawthorne also used the Old Man as inspiration for his short story called "The Great Stone Face," first published in 1850, in which he described the formation as "a work of Nature in her mood of majestic playfulness."

The profile has been New Hampshire's state emblem since 1945. It was put on the state's license plate, state highway-route signs, and the back of New Hampshire's Statehood Quarter, which is popularly promoted as the only US coin with a profile on both sides. Before the collapse, it could be seen from special viewing areas along Interstate 93 in Franconia Notch State Park, approximately 80 miles north of Concord, New Hampshire.

Defying attempts at preservation, including the use of cables and spikes for most of the 20th century, the formation collapsed to the ground between midnight and 2 a.m., May 3, 2003. Centuries of wind, snow, and rain, as well as freezing and thawing cycles, finally caught up with the profile. Dismay over the collapse was so great that people left flowers at the base of the cliffs in tribute; some state legislators sought to change New Hampshire's state flag to include the profile; and many people suggested replacing the Old Man with a plastic replica - an idea that was quickly rejected by an official task force headed by former Governor Stephen Merrill. On the first anniversary of the collapse, the task force unveiled coin-operated viewfinders near the base of the cliff. Looking through them shows how the Old Man used to appear.

On February 7, 2007, plans were announced at the New Hampshire State Library for an Old Man of the Mountain memorial, to include five huge stones which, viewed from a raised platform, merge into a form that recreates the profile outline. It is being overseen by The Old Man of The Mountain Legacy Fund, a committee that succeeded the Old Man of the Mountain Revitalization Task Force. The Legacy Fund is a private 501c3 corporation with representatives from various state agencies and several private non-profits

Timeline of the Old Man

• 17th millennium BC-6th millennium BC - An ice sheet recedes from North America, substantially creating the mountains, rivers, lakes and ponds found on the continent.
• 8th millennium BC - New England undergoes the Wisconsin glaciation, the most recent ice age. Glaciers cover New England and create the Old Man of the Mountain at Franconia Notch.
• 1604 - A Native American legend states that going north on Great Merrimack River leads to a mountain with a stone face.
• 1805 - Francis Whitcomb and Luke Brooks, part of a Franconia surveying crew, are the first white settlers to record observing the Old Man, according to the official New Hampshire history.
• 1832 - Author Nathaniel Hawthorne visits the area and later publishes a short story called "The Great Stone Face".
• 1869 - President Ulysses S. Grant visits the formation.
• 1906 - The Reverend Guy Roberts of Massachusetts is the first to publicize signs of deterioration of the formation.
• 1916 - New Hampshire Governor Rolland H. Spaulding begins a concerted state effort to preserve the formation.
• 1955 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower visits the profile as part of the Old Man's 150th "birthday" celebration.
• 1965 - Niels Nielsen, a state highway worker, becomes unofficial guardian of the profile, in an effort to protect the formation from vandalism and the ravages of the weather.
• 1986 - Vandalizing the Old Man is classified as a crime under the state criminal mischief law. Under the law it is a misdemeanor for any person to vandalize, deface or destroy any part of the Old Man, with a penalty of a fine of between $1000 and $3000 and restitution to the state for any damage caused.
• 1987 - After years of effort, Nielsen is named the official caretaker of the Old Man by the state of New Hampshire.
• 1988 - A 12-mile stretch of Interstate 93 opens below Cannon Mountain. The $56 million project, which took 30 years to build, was a compromise between the government and environmentalists that sought to protect the surrounding landscape.
• 1991 - David Nielsen, son of Niels Nielsen, becomes the official caretaker of the Old Man.
• 2000 - The Old Man is featured on the state quarter of New Hampshire.

• Old Man of the Mountain on 26 April 2003, about six days prior to the collapse. A late spring snow occurred the night before.

  2003 - The Old Man collapses.
• 2004 - Coin-operated viewfinders are installed to show how the Old Man looked before its collapse.
• 2007 - Design of an Old Man of the Mountain memorial announced at the New Hampshire State Library. It will feature large stone sculptures near the current viewfinders.
• Old Man of the Mountain - Official Website
• The Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund
• Memorial design
• NH State Parks - Old Man of the Mountain

The Moose

Moose are a common site in and around the lakes region, usual sitings occur in the early dawn hours and at Dusk when they start to move about foraging for food. Many are killed on the highways due to their dark coloration.Though large and cumbersum in appearance, they are fast movers with their long legs they can cover a lot of distance. Built much like a draft horse they can be very dangerous. When moose are struck broadside by a vehicle the body mass tends to fall onto the windshield area, which is reason people get badly injured and even killed in these incidents. Caution should be taken to be on the alert for the large mammals and give them wide birth. They are not an animal to take lightly nor to be approached. Cow moose and calves should be avoided, cute as the younguns may be do not go near them, the mother will make sure you dont get a second chance. Enjoy them from a safe distance and never leave your vehicle when observing them.

The breeding season or rut extends from mid-September through mid-October. In the northeast moose don't form permanent pair bonds. The bull stays with the cow only long enough to breed, then he leaves in pursuit of another cow. Both bulls and cows travel more during this time in pursuit of a mate. Usually only mature bulls five years or older breed. Bulls defend a cow they're pursuing, driving off younger bulls and sparring with more evenly matched opponents or youngsters bold enough to test their strength. Bull moose don't feed during the rut and lose considerable weight. After the rut several bulls may be seen eating together fattening up for the upcoming winter.

Unlike bulls, cows breed at the age of 1 1/2 years. They give birth, at age two, usually to one calf. Twins are common after a cow reaches age four (triplets are rare but do occur in the state). Cows have been known to kill wolves, grizzlies, black bear, and people in defense of their calves. A yearling calf will stay with its mother until new calves are born. Calves are born in mid-May or early June weighing 20-25 pounds. They're reddish brown in color with no spots. By fall they weigh 300-400 pounds.

Moose may live 20 years, but average lifespan is 10-12 years. They die from various causes. Black bear are a significant predator on moose calves until calves are nine weeks old. By then calves can outmaneuver a bear. Coyotes may take an occasional calf. Moose are susceptible to a tiny parasite known as brainworm. White-tailed deer carry the parasite, although they're unaffected. The parasite passes from deer feces to a land snail to the moose which ingest the snail while feeding on browse. Moose usually die from this infection. Moose also die from severe infestations of winter ticks. Moose attempt to remove ticks by scratching, licking, and rubbing often removing their hair at the same time. This can lead to secondary infections and hypothermia. One moose can carry 10,000 to 120,000 ticks.

There is also the very rare Abino Moose with pink eyes and nose. The white and piebald moose have been spotted as well. white moose have brown pigment , nostrils, brown eyes and dark spots.

Brake for Moose