October 10th

Wednesday (the 8^th) found us on the road traveling to Baxter State park in Maine.  If wasn’t exactly planned that way we just decided to do it.  The ride and the weather were beautiful.  We pulled in to Baxter and while we were registering at the gate it started to rain and then lightning and then thunder.  It rained so hard….15 minutes later the sun was out.  We got a site with a lean-to on it.  Strange thing was that you had to drive a smidgen on the AT.  It just didn’t feel right.  We had a nice site next to the river, a nice campfire and  good weather.  Met a hiker, B-man who told us he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend on Mt Katatin on Friday.  How sweet.  He appeared to be about 55.  I’m sure he was younger than he looked.  We found out later that his girlfriend was about 25.  Ah, trail love!

Baxter was beautiful!!   The colors were so vivid, bright.  We were in the trees not just looking at them.  I couldn’t stop taking pictures.  We did a little hiking then slept well in the van.  It was all good. 

After we left Baxter we headed to Monson.  Jerry hoped to hear loons on the lake there.  We ended up staying at Shaw’s, a well known hostle on the AT.  We slept in the van but had use of their bathroom.  That is always a plus.  No loon sounds but Jerry id run in to BlueBerry Bear, someone he hiked with in GA back in March.  The three of us ate supper together and then stayed a little listening to music and ‘open mic night’.  It was all good.

We met blueberry again for breakfast and then said our goodbyes.  BlueBerry is from Lexington so our paths may cross again.

Friday we headed up to Canada.  No real destination in mind except perhaps Niagara Falls on our way back in to the states.  Crossing the border was interesting.  We were told to pull over and two border patrol guys searched our van.  We had to move away from it while they did it.  They spend about 15 minutes and seemed to look everywhere.  That was an interesting feeling.  The van was a mess  but they left everything as they found it.  We ended up in Quebec .  In the afternoon we took a ferry to Old Quebec.  There’s a lot of history there that we need to check out We walked a bit and Jerry had a beer.  We took the ferry back a short time later.  

We are in a motel once again.  It is Cold out.  The leaves seem to have left their homes in the trees.  We’re feeling that it is about time for us to head south back to KY, family and friends.

Oh, Man....

…my goodness.  Maine has certainly been a wet state since we’ve arrived yesterday, Monday.

But let me backtrack a little to catch up on the last two or so days.  Friday night we stayed in Lincoln NH at the Mt. Coolage Motel, a place where Jerry and I stayed when he was hiking the AT.  There is nothing special about this place except that the motel owner reminded us both of Bob Newhart as he played the Innkeeper on the Newhart Show many years ago.  Well, Bob ( I think his name was Dennis) was gone but we stayed for two nights anyway.

This is the Franconia Notch area.  A very popular tourist area.  There were so many people cars were circling the parking lots trying to find a space to park.  People were everywhere and the most common language heard was not English.  We headed up the road a little to Cannon Mountain and there I took my first Tram ride.  Yep, I did it.  When we got to the top we were in a cloud, not much to see.  We hiked a little and soon the cloud lifted and we could see forever.  Well, it seemed that way anyway.  We enjoyed some hot chocolate and took some pictures and then rode the tram back down the mountain.

We then headed north to Gorham – so much traffic the overlooks stopped traffic with people trying to get in.  We finally made it to Gorham where we met up with Dan (Gray Ghost) and his wife Becky.  Dan and Jerry hiked together a little back in March when Jerry spent a month on the south end of the trail.  We enjoyed dinner with Dan and Becky.  We then spent the night in a room in Gorham.

Monday THE SUN WAS OUT.  Woo Hoo!  Since we left Genesis the sunny day have been very, very scarce.  So, on Monday our plan was to take a tour van up the road to Mt. Washington.  I had done this before and Jerry hiked it in 2010.  The van ride is the way to go.  You can drive your own car but believe me it isn’t worth it.  The road is narrow and steep – no guard rails.  I’m sure I would have been in tears if we had tried to drive it.  The day was beautiful and we could see all the way to Canada.  It is a rare event on this mountain.  It was time well spent.

After the ride we headed to Maine.  We camped in a National Forest Campground in Maine.  For the first time Jerry joined me in sleeping in the van.  He had so little faith in the adventure that he set up the tent so that he could move in to it during the night.  Much to his surprise (and mine too) he made it through the night.  We woke to rain this morning so even though we didn’t use it we had to pack up a wet tent.  We’ve gotten good at folding up the tent under the rain fly – a trick I first tried out in Yellowstone last year.  It really does work.

On into Maine this morning (Tuesday.  It is a good thing that Jerry’s watch gives us both the time and date.  Saves us the embarrassment of having to ask someone that information.)  I just realized that Maine rhymes with rain.  And that is what we’ve had all day.  Rain and more often than not, RAIN. 

We followed the AT a bit.  Jerry showed me where a canoe is used to cross a river and then we stopped for lunch at a lodge.  And then we got stuck.  And then we got a room.  We were planning on sleeping in the van, really we were but the rain just kept coming.  We did take a ride this afternoon, in the rain.  There is a road that loops near a ‘pond’.  In our neck of the woods it would be called a lake.  The girl at the desk that Jerry talked to said that it was paved but turned to gravel but was completely passable.  So off we went.  There were vacation houses along the shore of the pond.  Paved road turned to gravel.  Gravel road turned to dirt or rather mud in the rain.  We traveled for awhile, there were a number of turnoffs along the way.  I was beginning to feel like we were in an awful version of a corn maze.  Lucky for us God/fate smiled upon us and Jerry decided to make the decision to turn around and go back the way we came.  Sometimes that is the best decision ever.  The road/mud was beginning to turn into very deep puddles/lakes.  It began raining even harder and even though it was only 5:00 things were getting dark.  Needless to say we made it out alive and without having to spend the night in the van after all.  It just would have been crazy spooky.  Back in the room the rain seemed to stop so we attempted to take a walk by the time we got to the door it started to drizzle again but we forged ahead.  Only to have it rain harder.  We ate supper in the lodge to the sound of lightning and thunder.

Jerry was so hoping to hear loons tonight since there is a lake on the property.  He has heard them before and wanted to share the experience.  That is one reason we ventured in to Maine.  Hopefully they will be around in the morning.  There is also suppose to be a lunar eclipse tonight.  Perhaps if the sky clears up and the gods smile upon us we will experience a Loonar Eclipse. 

Same day...

….another blog

Today started out with blueberry pancakes followed by a dive in the hills – along with millions of other people.  We parked to do a short hike and ended up talking to a NF Ranger for some time.  He was very helpful and friendly.  We started a short hike to Franconia Falls that turned in to a little over a 6 miler.  We hadn’t taken water with us because we weren’t planning on a 6 miler.  They trail itself was a easy one, an old railroad bed with a very gradual elevation.  It was good.  The rain held off until the end so we only got a little wet.

We had lunch in the car which was dried than having lunch at a picnic table out in the rain.  Tonight we are warm and dry in a motel room. Considering that they are predicting over an inch of rain tonight the room is the right place for us to be.

Tomorrow – Laundromat in the morning and then…we’re really not sure.  Monday we’re hoping to meet up with a guy that Jerry hiked with during his spring hike on the beginning of the AT.  Gray Ghost has flipped flopped and will be near us in Gorham on Monday. 

If we get some sun soon we hope to get to the top of Mt Washington but the forecast isn’t too promising.  At this point it looks like mostly rain during the coming week. 

No bear or moose sightings yet.  Hopes are still high.

There is music coming fro the sky....

…….and from the shore line of Lake Champlain.  The flocks over head are headed from north to south, noisy and interesting to watch as they fly in and out of formation.  The birds in the water have been congregating near our tent site.  The sun, finally the sun, is slowly sinking in the west.  Let me catch up with the last few days.

On Sunday, still at Genesis we made a morning grocery run. On the way back we decided to make a side trip to Mohican Camp just a little ways from Blairstown.  The A.T. passes through the camp.  We did a little walking.  There what been a wedding there the day before ant the guest were just emerging from the cabins.  From the looks of things the celebration was a good one.  We made one more stop before going back to tackle our packing up tasks.  For two weeks Judy had been talking about Hot Dog Johnny’s.  She tried her best to find time to get us there but it hadn’t happened just yet so we typed in Hot Dog Johnny’s NJ into our phone and then right before us were directions.  We were lucky to find the place and to find out that the lines were not too long.  Just a hot dog stand that sold only hot dogs, fires and drinks.  On Judy’s suggestion we ordered a Birch Beer Float.  We decided to share it.  It was good.  The hotdog and fries were okay.  Apparently this place has a reputation that has spread far and wide and now we’re a part of it.

We had dinner with Judy and Len Sunday evening.  Then said goodbye.  Headed back to Genesis to finish packing.  Monday morning found us on the road by 8:00.  A final goodbye to Judy and the apprentices. A stop at a coffee shop and then back to the farm to pick up something that we forgot.  Another final goodbye.

On the road we headed to VT. By way of NY.  The day was very overcast and rainy now and then.  We ended up in Bennington VT.

We spent two nights in the Greenwood Campground neat Bennington VT.  A nice place.  The lodge had a hostel, private rooms, tent sites and RV sites.  The couple that ran the place was very nice.  We seemed to hit it off and we spent the evenings sitting in the lodge talking with them, staying out of the chill and rain until it was time for bed (8:00).  I slept in the van one night and it worked rather nicely-listening to the rain of the roof rather than the rain fly.  We visited a few places in Bennington including the AT&T store.  I’ve been having some trouble with my phone-very frustrating.  But so far I haven’t had to find an Apple store – keeping my fingers crossed on that one.  The first night there was a wonderful surprise.  Just about 15 minutes before sunset the sun popped out so we could watch it set.  There is color in the leaves and when the sun is out they are brilliant! 

On Wednesday we headed north in VT.  We stopped at the Chocolate Barn, alas, the Barn was not made out of Chocolate but only sold chocolate, it was delicious though.  A little down the road we stopped at a nursery.  There seems to be a thing with scarecrows up here.  They are everywhere and this nursery was just a little over the top in that area.  It was enjoyable even though the rain continues throughout the day.  Thank goodness for rain jackets. 

We stopped for lunch on Wednesday in Rutland and ate at the place where I did work for stay back in 2010.  Nice walk down memory lane.

Wednesday night we found ourselves at Button Bay State Park in VT.  A very pleasant place on Lake Champlain.  This morning after high and low for the fuel canisters in order to heat up water for Jerry’s coffee.  We found ourselves in town at a hardware store and then at Subway for a breakfast sandwich.  We decided to take a ride up the road and found ourselves on a ferry to NY.  Took in a back road through the Adirondack Mountains.  In a field, off the road less traveled we saw what I believed to be a wolf.  It was hunting and kept a watchful eye on us as we watched it.  We took in a museum and walked a fort site from the 1700’s.  By the time we got back in from our fuel for breakfast run it was 2:00.  Jerry took out a kayak out on the Lake.  He stopped at 2 little islands and, no surprised to those who know him, he picked up garbage. 

It is evening now.  The sun has been out all afternoon.  The air is chilly.  Tomorrow (Friday) we are headed to Lincoln NH and to a motel that we stayed at 4 years ago when Jerry was doing the A.T.

Let the adventure continue….