This is NHPR’s The Big Question. We ask you a question about life in New Hampshire, you submit an answer, and we feature your voices on air and online.
From imposing mountains to dazzling lakes and curious museums, our state has so much to offer.
Whether you’ve been here for a lifetime, or you’re relatively new, maybe there’s something in the Granite State you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t had the chance.
So, for June’s Big Question, we asked you: What have you always wanted to try in New Hampshire, but haven't yet?
Here’s what some of you said.
Pam - Concord, NH: What I'd really love to do is zipline, because it's something that I think sounds equal parts thrilling and terrifying. I have a fear of heights. You couldn't pay me to live in a penthouse apartment. But when I was in high school at Concord High, I was in the very first R.O.P.E.S. class, and we went out and… I actually rappelled down a 50-foot cliff, and that definitely had the experience of being like equal parts thrilling and terrifying. But it was such a good feeling when I had done it afterwards. So, yeah, it seems zip lining would give me that same sort of rush.
Julie - Manchester, NH: I've lived in Manchester since 2002, and I have always wanted to do a hut-to-hut hike in the White Mountains. They just seem very attainable, magical, mysterious… all lumped into one. And I cannot think of a good reason why I haven't done that yet. We are a family of five who love the outdoors. We've hiked in the Ossipee Mountains, the Belknap Mountains… we've hiked individual White Mountains, but we've yet to take on the adventure of doing a hut-to-hut hike. I think that maybe that's something we need to schedule this summer or in the near future, or in the fall, so that we can check that off of our list.
Jessica - Franklin, NH: Something I've always wanted to do is scuba dive. The Isle of Shoals is one of the locations in New England where you can dive with gray seals. We've already dove with gray seals in Massachusetts, but I'm from New Hampshire, so I want to do it in my own state. I have about 300 dives around the world, and for me in New England, the seals are the highlight. I go to several of the wrecks and not all the sites that people go to, but a lot of them, and the ones that I want to go back to are really like interacting with the seals.
Erica - Bristol, NH: Growing up in the late 70s and 80s in southern New Hampshire, hot air balloons were a common sight. My mom describes thinking a dragon was letting loose outside when we first moved into our home. As a kid, I ran shouting ‘hellos’ to the riders till they were out of sight over the trees. There was a field on our property and once we were lucky enough to get a landing, the car with a trailer showed up to haul away the basket and the balloon, and the happy navigators handed my father the customary bottle of champagne as a thank you. Being from a strictly religious Swedish immigrant family, I watched as she promptly and silently poured the bottle down the sink. But the gratitude and excitement wasn't lost on me. Over the years, balloon sightings have become less and less frequent. And now, living in central New Hampshire, I never see them and that makes me sad. I wish I could one day ride over Newfound Lake and all the surrounding forests.
Tracy - Rumney, NH: I have a property in Rumney, New Hampshire. I have always wanted to try skiing in New Hampshire and haven't yet. I've done all the summer things that involve water, and hiking, and caves and bears, and the autumn things of just watching the animals go by and the leaves change color. But never have I skied. Which is a little sad and crazy because my grandparents, from whom I inherited the property I have in Rumney, met at a ski hill that was owned and operated down the road by my great uncle and his wife. So I need to ski New Hampshire.
