Week Seven - Wednesday, Oct 10

A rainy/misty morning, great weather for moose, like the gal (moosette?) we spotted enjoying a big slurp at roadside north of Mount Washington. We passed from New Hampshire into Vermont, and at a gas stop across the line, we ate farm-raised elk burgers (not moose!) for lunch. We drove toward Cabot VT since we wanted to tour Cabot Creamery (the cheese people). They put on a good show and – and you’ll be surprised to learn this – they give free samples of their cheeses, with amply stocked shelves directly behind! It worked – everybody bought something. 

Our next aim was Stowe VT and Gold Brook CG. We enjoyed another beautiful drive today, with fog fingers drifting about the mountains most of the day… like a New England painting. We finally finished the second “everlasting” massive cabbage at dinner tonite. But, on my way to the shower I spied wild raspberries near our campsite and picked enough to top our cereal in the morning. Life is good!

Mount Washington Cog Railway! Week Seven - Tuesday, 10/9

Hold your breath and don't look down!  All aboard the Mount Washington Cog Train!

Left Bill and Faye's for the Kancamangus Hwy in New Hampshire's White Mtns on a clear, sunny morning. Yesterday was cloudy and drippy. Perfect timing! Today we were treated to gorgeous autumn color at every twist and turn of the hwy. We drove on toward Mount Washington and the cog railway. On the way, we secured a site for the nite at Crawford Notch campground.

The original "little train that could," Mt Washington Cog Railway has been climbing to the summit of Mt Washington since 1869. The track runs along a steep, 3.1 mile long trestle whose maximum gradient is over 37%, making it the second steepest mountain climbing train in the world, second only to the Pilatus Bahn in Switzerland. The entire run is built on a trestle, taking visitors on a scenic adventure from the 2700' base station to the summit of the 6288' mountain, 'home of the world's worst weather', but this day we could see to the top, and we could hardly believe our eyes at the straight up route we'd take. The little engine looked like a broken toy, but it did the job, jerking along the cogs and belching black smoke all the way. The Appalachian Trail crosses the summit of Mount Washington, and the stone cairns show the way to hikers when the mountain is socked in by bad weather.

The temp was maybe 40ish when we arrived at the summit and we stayed only 20 minutes before the whistle blew. Our descent was nothing short of miraculous. Clouds drifted in and light rain began again while we ate dinner. Like I said, perfect timing!

Week Seven 10/7 - 10/13

Sunday 10/7 and Monday 10/8. Left behind the scores of robins gorging on berries, the moose poop that looks like malted milk balls, and all those ladybugs. Do ladybugs hibernate or migrate or just die? Hope we also left the biting gnats when we left Aziscoos CG in Wilsons Mills ME, driving thru really spectacular White Mountains of New Hampshire, and brother Bill and Faye's home in Thornton. We arrived for lunch (as planned) and then they took us on a tour of Owl's Nest Golf Club (where they live). It's great to see them. Love their new townhome with its mountain views. We ate dinner at Sunset Grille, and admired the clouds and a flaming red sunset when we came home. Those clouds commenced dripping rain around 3 AM and continued till midmorning. Sky never cleared and the temp remained cool, but when the rain quit, we toured the area, inc Newfound Lake and Sculptured Rocks Geologic Site. Stopped for fresh corn at a farmer's mkt. Enjoyed a fine dinner that Faye fixed, and a fine visit all around! Leave tomorrow for ??

Week Two, Sept 2-9 -- Boston, a mini-Nykvist reunion and on to Acadia Nat'l Park

What a great family time we all had!  Loved seeing my two brothers, Rus and Bill, and their families.  Niece, Kris and her hubby Rob, their two cute little ones, Anna and Kyle, plus, nephew Jon and his friend, Lauren. We didn’t have time for a bike ride, darn it, but we did talk about bike riding! Maybe we’ll catch up to Bill and wife, Faye, in NH on the return trip ….  Nice, nice time. (Thanks, Anne, for the delicious spaghetti dinner on our arrival Sept. 1st.)  Thanx everyone for a wonderful visit!

 

Anna

Kyle

Jon and Lauren

Jimmy, Bill, and Rus ... aka the Three Goofy Mouseketeers!

Anna

Jimmy and I left Tuesday, aiming toward Freeport ME.  We stopped at Nubble Lighthouse for lunch and a look-see, and spent the nite at Recompense CG on Casco Bay. Beautiful weather. Jimmy bought a red windbreaker at LL Bean, as he figured he might need one on this trip!  We also purchased an indoor-outdoor weather station, which we know will come in handy. 

Beautiful lighthouse setting.

 

Camden-Rockport ME was the next stop, staying at Megunticook Campground.  Using seawater Jimmy hauled up to our campsite in a collapsible canvas bucket, we had a fantastic boiled lobster dinner. We didn't have a big enough pan to cook both lobsters, so one went in our largest (but still kinda small) pan and the other boiled in our skillet!  Still, it was the best lobster ever!!  The kicker is that we bought the lobsters from the back of a pick-up truck! 

On to Bar Harbor, along the picturesque ME coast, with a stop and a walk at Moose Point State Park. We have four nites at Bar Harbor CG, with a water view – our longest stay thus far – so we can spend plenty of touristy time in Acadia Nat’l Park.

On Friday, we took the bikes out on the carriage roads in Acadia (a hot day, too bad), including a climb to the top of Day Mountain – whew, what an effort – but what a view!  With lots of hills in between, we were tired when we finished up. Wowzers on this day!  We were really grateful for the shuttle service to haul us and our bikes back and forth to the CG. We toured the Seawall and Bass Harbor, climbed on rocks, watched an otter fetch dinner, and enjoyed some bird watching ... eider ducks, etc. Oh boy, lobster for dinner again!

Next we bussed to Sand Cove to hike the boulder-strewn shore, past Thunderhole. The day was cloudy, and unfortunately, soon rainy. Lovely anyway. Comfy and cozy in our RV on a cool, rainy nite. Very enjoyable time in ME. Photos to follow, compliments of Cardrecovery.com ....