World's worst climate summit

The definite highpoint of the day (pun intended) was our trip up Mount Washington, NH.

At 6,288 ft (1,917) m, it's the highest peak in the White Mountains' Presidential Range.  We considered driving our own car up the Mt. Washington Auto Road (America's first man-made tourist attraction, built originally as a carriage road in 1861), but were glad that we decided instead to fork out and take the one and a half hour minibus roundtrip.  Not only did this mean that someone else's brakes took the strain on the notoriously steep route, but we also got the benefit of our driver's extensive knowledge of the mountain.

America is never shy to claim a superlative, and this mountain is reckoned to have the worst climate in the world - weather hazardously changeable, snowfall likely every month of the year, famous for severe winds...if you're a weather buff you can read all about it here.  Every morning we listen to a lengthy weather forecast on public radio, and the windspeeds on Mt. Washington always get a mention.  But today it was unusually mild and hardly windy at all - rather to the Man's disappointment.  More wind, might, in fact have given us better views from the summit.  As it was, we could see little through the clouds below us.  Then again, at least we didn't experience winds as strong as 231 miles per hour which, as a sign attests, has happened.  It's just as well that the roof to this summit building is held on with chains.

Another way up the mountain is by cog railway.  We watched this rather lovely vehicle make its ascent during our half-hour stay at the stop.

On the way up and down we got to see how the terrain changed, from forested valley to treeless alpine zone at the top.  I was surprised to see many monarch butterflies as we drove along - apparently they cross the mountain on their extraordinary migration from the northeast to their winter home in Mexico.

We thoroughly enjoyed our ride.  Another passenger with us in the minibus didn't seem to have quite such a good time.  Poor guy, he spent much of the journey both ways with a jacket over his head, unable to look out as we ascended and descended on such a steep narrow road with no safety barriers - yikes! - although, as our driver assured us, in the road's long history no driver has gone over the edge.