Here are the pictures of our Jeep. It has about 85K miles on it. It is a V8 with all time, on demand 4 wheel drive (Quadra Trac II On demand  4WD System). The tires of Toyo tires.

Edmunds Pricing Sheets:

• Edmunds Trade In Value
• Edmunds Private Party Value
• Edmunds Retail Value

Today was a very SHORT walk with the dogs. I went for a nice run yesterday that only had a minor flip/fall. Yes I completely wiped out yesterday — must have watched too much wipeout on TV and tried to act it out. The good thing yesterday was the lack of bugs — and I didn’t even use bug spray. Well there were just a couple bugs, but since I was running they had trouble “sticking” to me.

Today was a whole different story! I lathered up with my OFF Deep Woods Sportsmen spray and took the dogs for a nice long walk. Well that is what I planned for anyway. Unfortunately about three minutes into the walk I was under attack. I could see the flies all around Bailey and Brandon. I could hear and feel the flies all around my head. I am sure I scored cool points with a sporadic mixture of fast walking, jogging, and sprinting — all the time wildly waving my arms all around my head. It was horrible. I must not have put on enough spray or these black flies don’t care too much about it.

I guess I’ll do a research on these critters and see if I can counter their attack next time. From what I hear the New Hampshire State perfume is something called OFF and Citronella. They also tell me the Black Fly is the State Bird….

As you can see we are on the Free Fun theme this year. We love yogurt — especially the frozen stuff. Deanna loves cows and farms too. On a few trips to the Manchester Regional Airport we have passed by Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, NH. This is where they make some great organic yogurt. If you don’t read carefully, when researching the visitor’s center, you might assume you can take a tour of the facility. We didn’t read carefully….

Anyway, they are doing construction (growing – which is great for them!) and the facility is not set up for tours. However, the visitor’s center still has a short 12 minute video explaining a bit about the yogurt factory. The great part is that they make you taste all sorts of yogurt. I did use the word “make” and it is a really nice form of the word…. The lady gladly talked about the yogurt and passed out samples. We each bought a scoop of yogurt too. A scoop for a dollar – you can’t beat that price!

We learned a bit about this new fad of Greek Yogurt too. The reason it has so much protein is that it is strained. That is why it is so thick too. Yummy!

The Amoskeag Fishways is a learning center where you can watch the fish migrate through a fish ladder. The salmon swim upstream and this is how they get around a dam built years ago. Who would have thought fish could use a ladder.

The fish migrate in June and if you check your calendar it is June. Too bad it is May through early June. We missed it and only saw two tiny fish that were just hanging out in the viewing area. Yes, you can watch the fish through a couple of large windows and witness the fish climbing the ladder.

If we get a chance again next year, this is on our list to watch. For now at least we can share some pictures of the fish ladder so you can get the general idea. Basically it is series of small falls that a fish “climbs” or swims up. Pretty cool!

With the fantastic weather in full swing we took a short trip (about 4 miles) to look at the Nashua National Fish Hatchery. It appears to be a really happening place — I  think we were the only ones there. Anyway, it was still pretty cool. We saw some great looking rainbow trout and Atlantic Salmon. Those salmon look impressive and it made me want to catch one! This fish hatchery supports Atlantic salmon, American shad and other aquatic species restoration efforts in the Merrimack River and other rivers. Each year the Nashua National Fish Hatchery utilizes approximately 1,300 Atlantic salmon for egg production. Once spawned, the domestic fish are surplus to program needs and are released into the Merrimack River for the largest directed Atlantic salmon fishery in New England.

Today we strolled around the North Bridge in Concord, MA. This is where the first shot of the revolutionary war began. It is pretty interesting to walk where major events in history took place. That is one of the nice parts about living in New England. There is no shortage of historical places here.

As you can see there is a lot to look at and Lane is taking a closer look at the bronze place on the large stone where a small part of the story is told.

Today we took the kayaks out on the Nashua River. We tossed our kayaks in the calm river at 111 and 199 in Pepperell. The boat launch there is for car top boats and it is a little messy if you aren’t careful. Ms. Graceful Deanna :) almost fell in getting out of the boat. But don’t let that scare you as she almost falls in EVERY time we take the kayaks out.

The water was calm and the weather was great! We were the first ones there, but cars quickly showed up after we left. On the way up the river we saw a little raccoon cross the river in front of us. Our short trip took us to an old bridge where some kids were jumping in the water. We passed about 10 different boats in four different groups on the way back. It was a really nice day for a nice little paddle. Time for a Sunday nap — I am still recovering from my trip to Florida….

With a warm day planned by the weather man we decided to take another refreshing kayak trip. We are really busy studying for tests, but we still found a way to take an hour or two to exercise and relax. Today’s paddling was on the Nashua River. After a little searching we found a nice blog describing the Nashua River launch point near Stellos Stadium.

It was as described by the kayaking couple. We paddled for about an hour and stopped to relax. The water was clear, cool and refreshing. As we floated our way back we noticed some sort of hawk or falcon nest. Next time we will bring the camera to share some photos. There were a few power boats that cruised by and we saw about a dozen kayakers along the way.

The nice part about this place is that it is less than 5 miles from our place. This means we can go frequently and explore it more.

Today we pulled the Heritage Featherlite kayaks out of storage and tossed them on the our Yakima rack. We took a short 35 minute drive to Massabesic Lake in Manchester, NH. Massabesic lake is a city water supply that allows boating but no swimming. We stopped at the main park entrance to try out the port-o-lets before launching the boats. Of course we quickly discovered there was not a boat launch at the main parking area along.

We got back in the car and headed around the lake. Near the first bridge on Route 121 was a nice place to launch. After a few minutes we had the boats ready to go. The water was clear and very cool. With the 80+ degree weather it felt nice as it dripped on us. Of course we did not put our feet in the water since it is a city water supply, but we were tempted.

We paddled our kayaks around for a good hour and then sat and listened to the silence for a little while. The sun felt nice and there was a light breeze. After a little relaxation we headed back and slept like babies!

It is supposed to be 90+ degrees tomorrow – looks like another good day to head out after church.

Spring is here and it is time to hit the bike again. So, here goes….

Yesterday I pulled the bikes out of storage. Man, do they need some cleaning! Anyway, I couldn’t find my Pro Link chain lube so I had to use a little old teflon bottle I found in my tool box. It worked, but I think I’ll go buy some good stuff in the next week or two. Anyway….

I finally made the Mountain Bike operational and prepared to take it out for  a short spin. I figured I would find the Nashua River Trail and give it a look. As I put on my shoes I broke the little string that holds them on. The shoes are great, but I never loved the little ratcheting design to tighten them. So I rigged up a knot and made it work.

The ride was nice. There were several cyclists on the roads. The weather is still great, but rain is on the way. That should give me time to figure out what I should do with my shoe…find some chain lube…and recover. I know my chubby body is going to feel the first ride (at least in one or two areas for sure!)