This Week at the Lodge 1/22-28

The big news is SNOW … a rare commodity until now, but there’s LOTS of fluffy powder after the most recent storm, making conditions ideal for skiing. Cold temps have kept the awesome ice sculptures in town perfectly intact, and if planning a visit, they are definitely a ‘MUST SEE’! Dana and I have been cross-country skiing all week. After overcoming the initial inertia, I was in fine form and didn’t want to stop; I can’t think of anything that makes me feel healthier than XC skiing!

Two of our favorite guests, sisters Gene Fontaine and Eloise Brittain have spent the week with us here at The Lodge, inspiring everyone with whom they come in contact. At 90 and 91, they ski every day, and live and love life to the fullest. Gene, still the world traveler, has many adventures planned after she leaves us today. Eloise still composes music and plays in a praise band, and has recently been on the lecturing circuit. Their zest for life is marvelous as well as contagious. Gene’s son and wife spent the week with them this year as well, and cousins from Vermont also met them here for a couple of days. “Cousin Wilbur” could be heard to remark each morning as he came down the stairs, ”It’s another grand and glorious day of golden opportunity.” Wow.

The best bet for this week is skiing, either downhill or XC with the discount passes we have for our guests. The upcoming weekend will bring the annual Snow Sculpting Competition, an event that attracts a wide variety of sculptors, both amateur and professional. The winning team of this State Championship will receive a trophy and an invitation to compete in the United States National Snow Sculpting Competition, to be held at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 2013. Each team will be given a cylinder shaped block of snow 4 feet in diameter by 8 feet tall to create their snow sculptures. Most of the teams will start sculpting on Friday, January 28th and continue working through the night on Saturday to complete their sculptures in time for the judging on Sunday afternoon January 30th starting at Noon. Judging is based on creativity, technique and message. Other activities planned for the snow sculpture weekend include a welcome reception dinner, with a bon fire and roasting of marshmallows, sleigh rides and more. Come on up for a visit to see this absolutely marvelous and enchanting art form!

This Week at the Lodge: 1/15-21

For those of you who remember our dear friend and front-desk co-worker Carlene Sullivan … you’ll get a real kick out of this!! Carlene, aka The Snow Goddess, has been called upon year after year in the Mount Washington Valley to perform her famous snow dance whenever Mother Nature has eemed to abandon us. Bikini clad, Carlene would don her downhill skis and perform her snow making ritual … always with great results. This year Carlene has been teaching yoga in Goa, India since October … but that was okay, because we had a huge snowstorm at Halloween. The day before Thanksgiving, the snow gods were also smiling when they sent us 14” of snow perfectly timed for the Polar Express. After that we were blessed with a white Christmas on Christmas Eve. But since then … nothing! A HUGE snow drought. It was depressing for all of us anxious to get out on our cross-country skis. So last week I wrote an email to Carlene begging the Snow Goddess to do her magic, despite her being half way around the world. Unbeknownst to me, Dana sent her a similar email also, and Voila! We got an awesome storm right afterwards! A few days ago she sent a photo of the Snow Goddess to the local newspaper, where she appeared on skis, surrounded by sari-clad Indian women. It was just what the doctor ordered for the 3-day Martin Luther King weekend!

This week we were also  blessed with a visit from our son Christopher and his wife Elizabeth, and we tried out some of this fabulous new snow with our XC skis up at Great Glen Trails with our FREE Lodge Passes. It was AWESOME!! The trails were great, the views spectacular, and we got a healthy workout with our kids. So the news this week is come on up and try it out for yourself … we’ll give you free passes and a trail map. You’ll feel so exhilarated and healthy … a fun way to follow up on those New Year’s resolutions that are starting to fade from our minds!

This Week at the Lodge - January 8-14

1st Place 2012 Ice Carving  Competition

Top carvers from around New England returned on Monday morning for the 17th annual Great Ice Carvers of New England Invitational Ice Carving Competition at the Wentworth, starting at 10 am. Competitors have 3 hours to transform a 300-pound block of ice into amazing works of art, and we are always amazed to see the results.  The temperatures look to be cooperative this week, so hopefully they will last well into the month. They are very definitely worth coming to look at. We can give you directions once you are here.

The results are in!!  Dennis Hickey, co-owner of Ice Breakers, won first prize for his magnificent dragon.  Second place winner was Chris Gould for his carving of a fish swimming through the sea grass, and third prize went to David Soha for his carving of Tinkerbell.  The ice carvings were judged on workmanship, creativity and technical difficulty.  Nine extraordinary ice carvings will be displayed on the veranda of The Wentworth.  As always, Fritz Koeppel of The Wentworth was an elegant host.

The weather has been cooperating and snowmaking efforts continue up at Great Glen Trails. The teaching area is open with plenty of manmade snow, good tracks set as well as good skate lanes - all at no charge. They also have 20 km of carriage trails open for snowshoeing, and the tubing hill is also open. All Lodge guests can enjoy these activities FREE of charge with our guest vouchers. 

2nd Place Winner

3rd Place Winner

We are ending the week with an awesome snowstorm that has delivered almost a FOOT of snow. One of our guests told us that his Thursday XC-skiing was the BEST he has ever experienced. Time to dig out my XC equipment!

Our dear friend Gail

On a very sad note, we are shocked and saddened beyond words to hear that our friend and mentor, Gail Olson,  from The Lodge at Jackson Village passed away last Thursday. When we bought the Lodge 7 years ago, Gail was such a blessing to us, showing us the ropes on a day to day level, as well as becoming a valued co-worker (once we knew what we were doing!), and a good friend. We all had such fun here together that even putting in the long hours required by the hospitality business didn’t seem like’ work’ when Gail was around. I will never forget her telling me during those first few confusing weeks that I was a “quick study” as she helped me learn all the 'ins and outs’ of the computerized reservation program. I don’t think I was a quick study at all –in fact I felt totally overwhelmed and incompetent – but her positive outlook and encouragement kept me going in a way I will always remember and appreciate. Our very first afternoon check-in “alone” (after Gail had gone home for the day) came about 4 days after we purchased the Lodge, and was a comic disaster!! All the guests arrived at once, the credit card machine stopped working, the computers went down and we were in a total panic! Gail told us to call if we had any problems, and I don’t think she’d been home for 10 minutes when we gave her that desperate SOS phone call. Gail was walking back though the door minutes later, smile on her face, and put everything to rights. Everyone who knew her here (our family, employees and guests) loved her, and still ask about her. She was a beautiful spirit and we will all miss her very much.

This Week at The Lodge … January 1-7

Hallelujah! It was a white Christmas in Jackson after all! We were beginning to wonder about that when the Polar Express train visited a snow-free ‘North Pole’ this year … but Christmas Eve Day dawned white and snowy and beautiful! It was a veritable wonderland. Despite the lack of ground cover, 2011 was the happiest and most successful Polar Express season we’ve EVER had! Happy guests, happy staff … it was the culmination of a great 2011 for us. But out with the old and on to the new…
New Year’s Eve rolled in with mixed precipitation in the morning, a fire crackling in fireplace from morning till night, and wine, cheese & crackers, homemade cookies and cocoa available for nibbles for old and new friends alike. It was a relaxing day for all. A fabulous moon shone amongst a sky full of stars in the evening; a great way to start out the year.

This week in Jackson the temperatures have dropped, making the snow-making efforts on the slopes quite productive for skiers, until Mother Nature cooperates later in the week with some snow in the forecast for Wednesday and Friday. The lower temps have made ice skating over at Nestlenook Farm totally wonderful!  Skate under 3.2 million lights or take a horse-drawn sleighride under the warmth of a 'buffalo robe'.  Rent your skates or bring your own!  Looking to next week, we’re anticipating the annual Ice Carving Competition coming up in Jackson on the 9th … but more on that next time! Have a great week,

-- The Lodge Lady

Return of the Pumpkin People

The Return of the Pumpkin People

The population of Jackson, NH consists of about 884 Yankees and other assorted folks. Unless it happens to be the month of October, that is, in which case the head count swells to a whopping 932 … or thereabouts! The reason? Pumpkin People!! Check out this year’s zany crop of vegetal vagabonds …

For the last 24 years, magical, intriguing Pumpkin People have been coming to the White Mountains of Jackson, NH in time to greet the changing foliage and the hordes of ‘Leaf Peepers’ who come to view them. Just how they first arrived or where they originally came from is still a mystery, but year after year these wonderful, colorful characters show up on our doorsteps, in front of businesses and in every conceivable posture and setting all over town. It happens in the blink of an eye. September 30 is a day like any other, with the sun setting at a noticeably early 6:29 pm. Then suddenly, on the First of October, it rises upon scores of pumpkin-bedecked faces in the midst of amusing and playful antics. No one sees them come into town in the dark of night, but we welcome them back with open arms!

The Pumpkin People announce themselves on a map of our village, their whereabouts marked for all to see. During the month of October you will see people walking all over town, maps in hand, scouting them out so they don’t miss a single one, and voting for their favorites. It is good, clean fun during my favorite -- and I think one of the most beautiful -- seasons of the year.

My husband and I decided to hit the ole ‘Pumpkin Trail’ yesterday, viewing most of the sights. He drove, and I was the co-pilot, giving directions and snapping tons of colorful photos! I’d love to take you on a tour to view them, too!

We might as well start right outside the front door of our inn, where Mary Pumpkin, er … I mean Mary Poppins awaits us, umbrella and satchel in hand. She seems to be wearing some very familiar clothes … in fact, they’re mine! Thank goodness for that umbrella, which has come in mighty handy so far. I t has been heck of a rainy week here in New England!

Rapumpzel awaits us next over at the local deli, her long tresses trailing from the second floor.

Across the street at a private home is a display that is always awesome and ‘over the top’. DD puts on quite a show, but then, everything she does is always top notch. Don’t you just love her ‘Pick Your Own’ apples?! This year DD’s theme was Pirates of the Carribbean, and here are a few shots of her labor of love:

Over at the Wentworth Inn are Johnny and June Carter Cash, with their song “Jackson” (how appropriate!) playing in the background!

Going up past Jackson Falls, which is still flowing mightily from all this rain, we come to the Carter Notch Inn, whose always off-color and slightly risqué displays are always a hoot-and-a-half! This year they made a “wind farm” … a take off on a local happening, just north of us, where a huge wind farm is in the making. There will be 33 gigantic windmills erected, and all summer we have been watching the 140’ blades drive by on their way to the site. Dick and Sally’s wind farm, however, was of a slightly different nature …!

And talk about ‘hoots’ … these adorable owls are perching outside our local florist shop!

Near the covered bridge is a pumpkin watering can, sprinkling what is left of our summer blooms. Nearby at our local beauty salon, Debony has some of the happiest and sweetest flowers around!

This Magician cuts a woman in half … hope he’s successful! Don’t you just love the feet coming out of the left side of the box?

Story Land is our local kids attraction, a mini Disney Land started over 50 years ago by a local couple. It has grown into a major destination, full of good. Clean wholesome family fun. Is it any wonder that they chose a fairy tale theme?

This butternut squash plays the part perfectly in our local massage therapist’s rendition of Edward Munch’s painting, The Scream. Sorry the photo is a bit skewed … her massage shop is on a sharp curve near the covered bridge and there were cars behind us when I quickly snapped the picture!

Frankenstein, The Mummy and Count Dracula regale us over at the Covered Bridge House B&B.

These adorable little fraulines wave a warm welcome at the Bernerhof Inn:

 Stevie Wonder plays his keyboard, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves adorn a front porch, and the Smurfs frolic on a golf course.Who can resist the happy chef cooking away at the Wildcat Tavern, the Up, Up and Away display at the White Mountain Puzzle shop, or John Lennon and Yoko One as they Give Peace a Chance? There are a few more … a water skier, a Sumo wrestler and Beetlejuice:

In the display of Cruella Deville over at the Inn at Ellis River, our neighbors spent fully as much time creating the beautiful and elaborate set as they did on the Pumpkin People themselves. What dedication!

Let’s Give Thanks …. for our Military Men!

Musicians play a large part in the Pumpkin People World … Here are Elvis, The Beatles and the Jackson Five on their recent trips to Jackson!

October Pumpkin People may be fun and games, but like us, they are not immune to tragedies … Last year  the Shannon Door Irish Pub re-enacted Finnegan’s Wake.

Here are two local celebrities: Tom and Atticus.

In response to the tremendous amount of roadwork and construction that has taken place in our area, these clever construction workers work near a local bridge:
A hunter snoozes while the local game stops by to check him out. To his right, the Addams Family makes an appearance in town:

So, that’s a little look at what we do here in the mountains to celebrate the fall. Come on up and take a peek for yourself!

The Leaves they are a'changin

I think it was only yesterday afternoon  that I was standing at the front desk and looking outside, when I commented that 'fall colors seem to be  coming in late  this year' ...  Well, forget that I ever said such a silly thing, because, (as they say), "What a difference a day can make!" As I look out the front door this morning, the beautiful maple tree near the iconic New England weathered barn over at The Thompson House is magically tinged with orange and red ... the kind of color that will creep into the leaves in succeeding days transforming it into a deep and triumphant scarlet ...  the stuff with which calendars and coffee table books are filled this time of year!  Here at The Lodge in Jackson, NH, we await the arrival of the Pumpkin People next week, and the many folks who will come to view them and our magnificent foliage.  We hope that you will be one of them!

Bicknell's Thrush Tours - June 1, 4, 7, 11, 12 and 15

The Mt. Washington Auto Road offers birders a unique opportunity to view the Bicknell's Thrush in their breeding habitat. Bicknell's Thrush is an extremely rare species with very limited breeding grounds. It is the rarest and most secretive of the breeding thrushes in North America and it is the only bird whose breeding is restricted to the Northeastern part of the continent. Join us for these early morning tours to see this elusive species.

Tours depart from the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road at 5:30am. (Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to departure.) Tours last approximately 2 hours.
Cost: $50 per person
Advanced reservations required.

To book your Bicknell's Thrush Guided Tour, please contact Mary Power at 603.466.3988 or email.