"The Bear"

A Cross Country Ski Through Jackson Village

You can guess today was not a Real Estate day. It was a "SNOW DAY"!

This is not the famous Jackson Honeymoon Bridge, but the Wentworth Golf Course Bridge which is about 300 yards farther up the road.

As you can see Jackson has plenty of snow for cross country skiing.

We started out about 11am under beautiful clear skies with temperatures just above freezing.

Nobody was parked at the Mill Street parking lot.

At first I wondered why?

Then I realized it was quite a climb over the snow banks to get to the trail.

No Problem, Up & Over!

"Hey! Who Got Me With Snow!"

First we climb the Yodel Trail from the Jackson Cemetery to the Eagle Mountain House Fields.

The Yodel has a nice easy climb and then a great down hill in both directions.

The Eagle Mountain House Fields are a great place to cruise around over easy terrain and enjoy the sunshine and views.

Behind us is Carter Dome and Carter Notch.

Note the red groomer preparing the race track along the Wildcat River.

My Wife got this beautiful shot of the Wildcat crossing a ski bridge over the Wildcat River.

The Wildcat and Ellis River are two of the rivers that flow through Jackson and join at the Covered Bridge.

Both are great trout rivers in the Spring and Summer.

The Wildcat is the river that cascades down the famous waterfall into Jackson Village.

After you cross the Wildcat you climb up a steep pitch to an old cow field.

This is the start of everybody's favorite trail THE WAVE!

But before you start THE WAVE you can do a loop around the cow field.

The locals call it the Airport because in the middle of the cow field is a short runway, just big enough to land a small plane. It runs left to right just below the Jackson Barn.

The boys' favorite part of the Barn Loop is a Steep Plunge shown here.

The double track makes it great for racing. The boys did it a half a dozen times.

The "Stomach Dropper" at the bottom, limits my enjoyment of this particular run.

This picture doesn't do it justice. It is a real challenge.

The Wave is a 20 minute heart pounding roller coaster ride up and down past brooks and vistas.

It is the type of trail that you can do every day and never get tried of.

We only did it once today, but it is our favorite!

My son almost fainted! It was so fast.

For People who love x-c skiing this picture says a lot!

The snow is PERFECT!

The Grooming is FABULOUS!

Jackson Cross Country Ski Association

It is not all about weekend skiers.

These trails are the best in New England. Those groomers were preparing the course for the J2 Regional Championships.

Everyone knows that when you see those little blue flags you are on a world class race trail.

After playing around on the race tracks. We head back into the woods and back down the Yodel Trail.

Tons of snow and perfect conditions,

as you can tell from this sign.

Snow conditions were not a problem.

After a short climb, a long downhill run back to Jackson Village!

I'm sorry, if you want more you will have to buy a place up here in the White Mountains. Oh by the way, I can sell you one of those!

Check out www.Black-Bear-Realty.com

GOT SNOW?

Bartlett NH is a winter wonderland.

I think the look on my son's face says it all! Real Estate may be slow but that's not the most important thing in life.

10 Important Things

Building Snow Forts

Hitting Dad With A Snowball

Cross Country Skiing

Hot Coco With Marshmallows

Warming Up In-front Of A Fire

Sucking On Icicles

Downhill Skiing In Powder

Sledding With Your Brother

Eating Snow Flakes

Being Happy!

When I first moved to New Hampshire I thought Cross Country Skiing was getting from the Lodge to the Lift Line.

But, now it is my favorite way to spend a day with the family. Yesterday we skied the High Water Trail from The Dana Place Inn down the Ellis River Trail to Jackson Village. It was outstanding! The snow conditions were perfect and the sky clear & bright.

The boys even had enough energy to do the Anklebiters race. Peter's time was 42 seconds & Emmet's was 49 seconds.

Check out The Jackson Ski Touring Website http://www.jacksonxc.org/ or stop by www.Black-Bear-Realty.com

Senator John E. Sununu Discuss Real Estate Issues With Local Realtors.

Manchester, NH. Senator John E. Sununu met with a handful of NH Realtors to discuss current real estate issues and discuss ways of strengthening the current markets. Overall NH has faired much better than other parts of the country in the recent real estate downturn. Prices have seen only a minimal adjustment down and units sold have been reduced by approximatly 20% from the past highs. "The good news is that property owners in NH still have substantial equity in their properties and buyers still find NH attractive for second homes & retirement properties." said Jim Lyons, President of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors® and Owner of Select Realty in Conway.

Senator Sununu highlighted the Federal government's quick response to the Sub Prime Mortgage problem with the passage of the Economic Stimulus Package which increased both the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSE) loan limits allowing more home buyers to qualify for Federally Guaranteed Mortgages. Secondly, The passage of special tax relief for debt forgiveness on foreclosure, short sales agreements, with the lender. Also, Project Lifeline, with six participating banks to help homeowners 90 days or more delinquent, with a 30-day pause in the foreclosure process.

"The Legislature has moved unbelievably quickly through this process and has passed meaningful bills which will help average Americans get through this difficult time." said Paul Mayer, Chairman of the New Hampshire Realtor's Political Action Committee and Owner of Black Bear Realty in Bartlett. "Senator Sununu, was very knowledgeable about how the issues affect property owners in NH and listened to all of our comments."

The skiers are enjoying the snow and we are enjoying the skiers. Although the market is still slow the activity has increased. Homes.com one of the largest internet websites announced "January was our highest traffic month EVER! Over 4 million homebuyers searched Homes.com for properties for sale!"

So, they are looking! But are they buying? 2008 sales in Carroll & Coos counties equaled 82 homes & condos. Down 20% from 2007, which were 106 properties over the same period. Both years are down substantially from 2006 levels of 165 properties.

The good news is that there are more Buyers looking in February which should result in more properties under contract and sold in the months to come.