merrymeeting lake

first storm o' the season

The weather in NH is notoriously shifty. Two weeks ago I was hustling through bike trails in near-perfect conditions and then out of nowhere the temperature dropped about 100 degrees in one day and we got walloped with a great early season snow storm.

The storm started out on Saturday with some rain and by mid-day it was sleeting and we thought it would fizzle out entirely. By late afternoon, though, the wind was howling and the snow was flying sideways. My boys, the dog and I had some fun in the first flakes of the season. Visibility at the lake (above left) was just about zero.

By early evening it was clear that this storm was going to linger and make a mess. We lost power around 3:30PM and it would not be restored for three days. No problem, right? My wife cooked up an amazing meal using cell phone flashlights and the propane burners and we built a ‘campsite’ around the fireplace for the guys to stay warm. On Sunday we woke up, packed up and escaped to where power and heat were more plentiful. With the car running I hopped out to grab one gorgeous picture of the sun hitting camp:

We came back on Monday to check on camp and make sure no pipes were freezing (and have a blast outside).

With Tuckerman zooming around we explored, dug out and ate lots of fresh snow.

Here’s to winter!

And…the calm after the storm.

it's been a while!

Yikes! We have not posted since early May! We had such a busy, awesome season at the lake there just has not been time to sit down at the computer and type anything. The summer is winding down, though, so we can refocus some attention towards our neglected blog!

Last week I had an hour to kill so Tuckerman and I ran up Mt. Molly to take in the view of the lake. No foliage yet which means summer is still in full effect!

These late summer days are pretty awesome here at Merrymeeting. The end of the season is also a bit bittersweet as we say farewell to our barely used boats.

After camp we were booked solid with private lessons but both boats were sold early in September so the fun had to end. The Black NXT22 (Betty) went with its new family down the road to Rochester, NH while the blue NXT22 (Fred) is currently traveling across the country to Bend, OR! I gave both boats a full detail, oil change and topped off the gas for the new owners before they rolled out of the driveway.

On Fred’s last day at camp (Monday, September 26) we had a beautiful sunrise and calm water. That steam coming off of the lake is really just the nice warm water turning cold (although as of yesterday, September 21, the lake was still in the high 60’s!).

Just because the campers are gone does not mean there are no kids having fun at Water Monkey!

Finn and Kai have been taking full advantage of the entire property. The beach is now their private play zone and the upper property is a giant driving course for their Raptor PowerWheels!

That is it for now. As always you should follow our Instagram account (@watermonkeycamp) for more consistent posts. Coming in the next couple of weeks will be our season recap!

Get out and have some fun!

-Evan

april showers bring...may showers

As hard as I try I cannot control the weather. In the summer I wish I could snap my fingers and make the wind disappear on the lake. Come winter I would like to dance a jig and get a few feet a powder. Every fall…well fall in NH is pretty perfect. This spring, though, I have definitely been trying to will the rain away but have had no luck yet. It is great for our trees, grass and the health of the lake but is really delaying our landscaping, painting and outdoor work at camp (and keeping mountain biking trails too wet to ride).

These shots are typical of the weather lately. The lake is super high (and a wee bit chilly still). Up at the cabins I was on the roof blowing leaves and pine needles away and snapped this shot just before the sky opened up on me.

The bottom line is that, according to our instagram poll yesterday, 72% of you say the sun will make an appearance again someday and that is good enough for me!

See you outside!

It's a new year!

Happy New Year to all of our campers and friends! We have been busy these past few weeks assembling our new staff and helping parents sign kids up for camp. Paperwork is not always fun so I try to get to the lake and tinker around a few times a month during the winter. I was up there the other day and things are looking icy!

So far there is not much snow yet and, weirdly, the lake is still mostly unfrozen but there is a glaze over pretty much everything else!

Someone definitely appreciated the open water:

Hit us up any time!

-Evan

Fall at the lake

Camp is always gorgeous but we are currently in that not-so-sweet time in NH after the leaves have turned brown and mostly fallen and before the snow has covered the ground.

Tomorrow I will be getting started on fall cleanup around the property and then hopefully we will have a fresh blanket of fluffy snow by the weekend!