Mount Washington Observatory

The day after we arrived at the Mount Washington Hotel, we woke up early enough to see the sunrise. We were going to tour the Mount Washington Observatory, and because of its extreme weather, they only have tours early in the morning. We actually didn't know if we would be able to go on our tour when we arrived at breakfast, the weather changes so quickly at the summit and can be so extreme, they often don't know if it is safe for tours until the morning of. I am not a morning person, so I was really hoping I had woken up so early for a good reason, luckily we got the ok and were able to go on our tour!

The Mount Washington Hotel puts on a gorgeous breakfast buffet

When in Vermont, everything was maple flavored. In New Hampshire and Maine, everything is blueberry flavored! I wish this picture was more appetizing,

We were so lucky to have such a beautiful and clear day!

The road to the summit is long, narrow and windy ...

... But full of beautiful views

With bitter cold, freezing fog, heavy snow and the fastest wind ever observed by man, Mount Washington, New Hampshire is the home of the World's Worst Weather. Since 1932, the adventurous staff of the Mount Washington Observatory has been right there in the thick of it, living and working in one of the planet's most extreme places The mission of the nonprofit Mount Washington Observatory is to advance knowledge and understanding of the natural systems that create earth's weather and climate. This is achieved by operating its unique mountaintop weather station, collecting and analyzing weather data, performing scientific research, delivering educational programming, and interpreting the heritage of the Mount Washington region.

These Dickson charts document the wind speed at the summit. This first chart is from July 20, 1996.

This chart is from December 4, 1980. The average windspeed that day was 116 mph!

This chart was recording the winds speed of the day we visited, October 16, 2017.

My favorite part of the tour was learning about Marty, the cat the lives at the summit of Mount Washington. I didn't get to see him in person, even though I kept my eye out for him the entire time we were there.

Cats have been a near continuous presence at the summit observatory since its beginnings in the 1930s as a weather station. The first cats were mainly strays brought up to serve mouse-catching duty but also to offer some companionship to the observers, as the crew stayed for much longer shifts back then. (Today’s weather observers rotate out after a week.) Over the years, the summit cats have had far more company that in those early years, with TV crews, state parks employees, and visitors arriving via foot, Auto Road and Cog Railway.

Marty was voted to become the Mount's next mascot in 2008, he replaced Nin who was retiring as the mascot at the age of 17.

He's basically a celebrity

After our tour of the weather station, we had time to go out and enjoy the extreme weather on the summit. It was an incredibly windy day, which is hard to capture in photos. It was so windy we had a hard time walking to this sign to take pictures, the wind was strong enough to blow us over.

Watching the weather up there was incredible. It literally would change in the blink of an eye. The two photos below were taken minutes apart from each other. 

The Tip-Top House is a historic former hotel in Mount Washington State Park. Built in 1853, it is the oldest surviving building in the summit area of Mount Washington, and is believed by the state to be the oldest extant mountain-top hostelry in the world. It features exhibits concerning the mountain's history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to explore the inside of the Tip-Top house, we were also anxious to get back in the main building and out of the cold and wind!

Our last stop on Mount Washington was the Weather Discovery Center which is an interactive science museum with lots of hands on exhibits and lessons to help guests explore the science of climate and weather.

These little plants are known as summit survivors, they are hardy enough to survive some of the harshest weather conditions in the world.

Examples of some of the wild life that can be found on the mountain.

After an eventful and educational morning at the Mount Washington Observatory, we made our way back down to the base and back to our hotel.

We made a quick photo stop at the Jackson Covered Bridge on our way back to the hotel. This bridge was built in 1876 and is nicknamed the Honeymoon Bridge from the tradition of lovers kissing under the bridge for good luck. It is one of 20 examples of the paddle ford truss bridge design.

Signs of fall!

When we got back to the hotel, we had the most delightful lunch at the Rosebrook Bar. We had beautiful views of the New Hampshire mountains and our meal was delicious. I had a grilled chicken sandwich served on a cranberry ciabatta bun

My dad ordered the grilled pineapple that came topped with jam and toasted coconut, talk about gorgeous presentation!