Texas Gulf Coast to Maine

Aug 23-11 our last day at Niagara Falls today we went to both the NY and Ontario sides of the falls. Summertime in Niagara Falls NY is packed with free outdoor concerts, festivals and all kind of events. Most of today was spent on Goat Island there you have excess to Terrapin Point above the Horseshoe Falls, to the Cave of the Winds, Top of the Falls Restaurant, the Three Sisters Islands, Luna Island between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls and the Rapids. We made all of them except Cave of the Winds and the Restaurant. Luna Island got its name because on full moon nights you used to be able to see moon bows. Since the flow over Bridal Veil has dropped the moon bows don't appear any more. But on sunny days you can see rainbows below the American & Bridal Veil Falls. Beautiful Niagara Falls is an experience that will last a life time. Wish that we could stay a few more days but the open road calls and we will leave tomorrow.

Aug 24-11 our plan was to spent tonight in The Adirondack Mt's. We were to take  NY 104 to Oswego, NY then NY 3 to Watertown and turn east to to the mountains. We were told that NY 3 was a scenic drive along the lake. After looking at the map I decided to turn north and drive the Lake Ontario State Parkway to Rochester, NY then back 104 an on to Oswego. The parkway was a mistake it was the worse road we had been on chuck holes so big that i couldn't drive 30 mph and it took US about 20 miles to find a way off of the parkway & back to 104. We missed the bypass an ended up on 104 through Oswego. Now the good part going up a hill on the narrow road we were flagged down by a lady who had just passed us. We stopped and she said that black smoke was coming from the back of our trailer. When i checked a tire was low & hot, we couldn't stop here  no place to pull off the road. After we topped the hill I saw a parking lot that I could get into. It was Kathy's Wings & Pizza. We had broken a spring shackle on the 5 th wheel we were here until our roadside service could make repairs. The people that owned the Pizza place were nice said we could stay as long as needed. I could not have moved anyway the trailer could not be towed. We have Good Sam ERS. they sent out a mobile repair man he made a list of needed parts & said he would be back tomorrow as soon as he found the parts. We ate Pizza that night.

Aug 25-11 The mobile repairman showed up at 10:30 am. He is well equipped to do road side repairs an air compressor jacks and more tools than a lot of garages. By 1:30 pm he had us ready to hit the road again. Good Sam paid for the service call and the first hour of labor and we were  out $550.00, but we were just glad that the needed parts were found and installed this soon, just love Good Sam. Kathy's Wings & Pizza couldn't have treated us any better. If in Oswego NY stop by and have lunch, the food is good. They are located on corner of Maiden Ln. & NY 104.When the Mobile repairman left we thanked the owner of the pizza place and were on the road again. Our plan was to spent the night in the Adirondack Mt Park, didn't work out that way no res. so couldn't find a vacant camp site.This was our route Oswego NY 69 to Rome NY 365 to NY8 to Lake Pleasant in the Adirondack Mountains. It was about 9:30 pm and I gave up on a camground, looked at our old trusty map and decided to go on NY 8 into Warrenburg, NY and stay at their Super Wal-Mart. our first night at Wal-Mart on this trip. 

Aug 26-11 Up early and on the road to Marshville, Vermont to Groton Forest Roan Campground. Its a passport member and we called to make res. for two nights.Normally we wouldn't travel that far in a day but we want to makeup some of the time we have lost. Our route is I 87 to Glen Falls, NY then north on NY 22 to Whitehall, NY US 4 to Rutland, Vt US 4 Vt 100 Vt 107 then I 87 north to Montpeller US 2 to Marshville & Groton Forest Road CG. After setting up camp we turned on our TV to get the news we had not heard the news in a few days too busy just getting were we wanted to go. The first news we heard was about Hurricane Irene (not good) it is predicted to hit the middle of Vermont on the 28th with damaging winds and 10 to 12 in. of rain and here we sat in the middle of Vermont. The camper next to us said that after a 6 in. rain in May there was  about 20 in. of water in this campground. So tomorrow morning we will be headed west to northen NY. Never thought we would be running from a Hurricane in Vermont. Yes the Texas coast but not here.

Aug 27-11 WE were up early and on our way to northern NY We backed tracked to Montpellier, Vt. then I 89 to Burlington, VT. & on north on I 89 to Swenton, Vt. There we took VT 78 to US 2 to Champlain, NY At Champlain we stopped to eat and decide were we were going from there. The latest News said that the storm was tracking more in an eastern direction. So we felt good about staying in this area and started looking for a camp site The Asuable River Campsite in Keeseville was close and its a PA Park so we could camp for 1/2 price. I called for res. and they asked if we wanted a river site are on the hilltop. They said that the hilltop site was easy in and out. The hilltop site sounded good to me we just wanted a safe place to wait our the storm then back to Vermont.Its a nice park the sites are large, grass sites but on solid ground with FHU. Not many campers on the hilltop campground , most are in the river side sites. There are a lot of seasonal campers here. There is a nice swimming pool and Rec Hall in the River Campground its a nice day hope the storm misses here.

Aug 28-11 This morning there is a slight mist and gloomy looking clouds. The news cast are now predicting that the storm is now tracking in a northwestern direction. We will just have to wait and see what happens.
By around 3 in the afternoon the rain showers are getting harder and more often. Around 5 pm the wind picked up and the rain was coming down pretty hard. At 6 pm I decided that we should go to Plattsburgh and get a motel room to ride out the storm. At the motel we watched TV news and all we heard about was the flooding in the middle parts of Vermont Still raining and some gust of wind when we went to bed around 12 midnight.

Aug 29-11 Quite a lot of wind and rain last night but no problems here at the Motel. Around 9 am it had cleared off and the sun was out a nice day after the storm. We drove out to Asuable River CG to see how the trailer had weathered the storm. The road into the campground was covered with about 2ft of running water. I thought that our trailer would be flooded. DW was optimistic and said no we are up high enough and if we didn't get any wind damage we would be OK. Nothing we could do until the water ran down and we could get into the campground. To kill time while we waited for the water to run down. We drove to Keeneville and on to the Asuable River Chasm the Chasm is down stream of our CG. The Asuable River was churning and dangerest there, not out of its banks because the chasm is so deep here. We took a few pictures and on the way back to Asuable CG we stopped at a road side store at Rulf's Orchard, looked around and had one of their fried apple pies for lunch. By 2:30pm we couldn't wait any longer & went back to the campground road. Its still flooded but the water is receding,still too high to get into our trailer. I took a picture of the flooded road just wish that I had taken one this morning. We drove back to Plattsburgh and bought supplies at Wal Mart At 4:30 pm the road was passable and we got to our trailer it was high & dry no damage the flood had not gotten up in the hill top CG. The lower river CG was not so lucky. They had lost 19 RVs, 3 were washed down the river never to be seen again. PTL no lives were lost. Ever thing by the river was lost Rec Hall & swimming pool were no more.
I will give the Owner an AAAA rating for with their big 4 wheel drive truck they with help of two campers with big trucks pulled a lot of RVs up on the hill before the high water forced them to quit. I have attached photos of the hilltop CG with the RVs ever where, there were not any RVs here before the flood. They didn't have time to un hook any thing just hooked on to the trailers and took off so there was some damage as  water lines etz were broke as they moved to higher ground 

A lot of the seasonal campers were not in the CG when it flooded. Some of the campers in the River CG did not try to move their RVs, didn't think that it would flood until the local law ordered them to leave. By then it was too late for some. The water came up so fast, the owner said that from the time the river first topped its bank that it was only two hours and ever thing was under water. Sixteen RVs were flooded washed up against trees and each other three had washed down the river and never found. The CG Rec. Hall and swimming pool were a total lost the river just washed out ever thing in the lower CG. We felt so sorry for these people some lost ever thing and I don't know if the CG Owners will be able to rebuild. Attached are a few photos of the River CG showing some of the damage. The photos just don't show how bad it was.

Wow.

Aug 30-11 We Think The Lord that we and our RV made it through the storm in good shape. Was sure glad we decided to stay in the Hilltop CG.Now we Just have to wait for the roads to be repaired and opened in Vermont and New Hamshire. The storm did much more damage than most people thought most of the roads in Vermont are closed because of washed out roads and bridges. The Vermont Visitor Center told us they didn't want anyone coming in until more of the roads were opened again. The Asuable River Campsite cosed after the flood, but said that we could stay as long as needed while waiting for road repairs.

I 87 north is open so we decided to take a day trip to Montreal Ontario. Nothing we can do here the lower CG is still closed. No problem at the Canadian Border usual questions about guns & drugs looked at passports and sent us on our way. To me Montreal is just another big city we drove around and stayed lost most of
the time. We did stop at a big farmers market and bought some famous Canadian Maple Syrup and Maple candy. Interesting but quick trip. I was glad we had a GPS as it led us out of Montreal  and on our way to the USA.

On the way back we decided to detour into Vermont to their Welcome Center on US 2 near Alburgh, VT. to check on condition of the roads. They said that a lot of the roads were still closed and the few open were being used to haul in supplies. The Lady at the Center told US 2 and I 89 were open to Burlington, but most roads east were still bad.

We decided to drive US 2 to Grand Isle sounded like a good route. It was a beautiful drive we stopped at North Hero's to Look at the Welcome Center its in a road side store.  We ate a sandwich and headed back to Asuable CG will check with the Visitor Center late tomorrow on road conditions, when the roads open up we will go on to Maine, Vermont & New Hamshire will have to wait till later in our trip.

Aug 31-11 Most of today was spent at the CG. I had some damage to the trailer from the spring shackle that broke in NY and needed to make some repairs to keep the water out. The owners opened the Lower CG and said that we could go have a look if we wanted, we took a few pictures. The ones that we posted a few posts ago.

Late today we got word that US 2 was now open all the way to Maine. We will be heading east to Maine in the morning

Sept 1-11 Up early today and on our way, north to Champlain NY then US 2 & VT 78 to I 89. We stayed on I 89 to Montpelier, VT Then US 2 To Shelburne, NH We have res. for two nights at the White Birches Camping Park its a PA Park. Shelburne is just a few miles from the Maine New Hamshire border. It was only about 170 miles to Shelburne so we were there before noon. Today we cooked burgers at the CG. After lunch we back tracked to Gorham to so a little shopping for supplies at the Wal Mart we passed earlier in the day. Then drove north on NH 16 to Berlin, NH before returning to camp for the night. Tomorrow we will go south to explore in the White Mountain NF. The attached are a few photos of the Campground

Sept. 2-11 today Friday we headed south on NH 16 to explore the White Mountain Nat. Forest. our first stop is at the Wildcat Mountain Tramway. The summit is 4062ft; Wildcat Nt is on the eastern edge of the White Mountain Nat Forest. If you look east from the summit below is the scenic Wild River Valley. Some good scenic views from the top of Wildcat Mt. We may do this again when we come back through NH.

Next we drove south through the Glen Ellis Falls Scenic area to Glen then west on NH 302 to Bartnett, NH and visited the Covered Bridge Gift Shoppe this gift store is inside of an old Covered Bridge just beside the Hy. interesting place. On our way back to Glen we stopped at a picnic area along the river, we could see the flood damage here some of the trail was washed out.And concrete picnic tables had all the soil washed away from under the tables. Flood damaged but still a scenic area All the roads were in good shape the ones that were damaged have been repaired.

At Glen we went south on NH 16 to North Conway and west on NH 112 to the Swift River Covered Bridge in White Mt. N F We have seen enough of this part of NH to know we will be back later in this trip when we have more time to explore. Back to N. Conway and there we found Peaches a great little Breakfast and sandwich shop on 2506 W Mt. Hwy (NH 16). We had gourmet sandwiches for lunch stop and eat here if you get the chance www.peachesnorthconway.com

On our way back to White Birches CG we drove north on Me 113 along the border to US 2 We checked out some NFS CGs along the border in NH. Kind of remote no hookups but nice if your RV isn't too big This part of NH is very scenic we will be back to leaf peek when the fall colors start. Tomorrow we are headed to the Maine Coast some were north of Bar Harbor, Me. Good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise again.

Sept 3-11 today we are headed to Harrington, Me. and The Sunset Point Campground. We have res. for 4 days. Sunset Point is right in the Maine Coast we plan on exploring the Bar Harbor area then move futher north. We stayed on US 2 to Bangor Me. Then US 1 to Sunset Point CG at Harrington, Me. Sunset  Point is a very nice and well kept Campground. It is a small CG only about 23 sites a few with water & elect. only the rest with FHU., they have clean restrooms & showers (just didn't use them) and a small laundry which we did use. At the office are paper backs you can borrow or trade, DVD movies that rent for $ 1. The owners are great they will help you any way they can. We noticed a red box of tomatoes on the table in front of the office so we asked what they cost. The answer they are from our garden and are free to campers just take what you need don't be a hog. We had fresh tomatoes for sandwiches & salads during our stay here. Maine Lobster Boats come in about 1 1/2 miles from Sunset Point the  camp owner will pick them up and deliver them to your RV for you to cook or he will boil them for you. I know we will have to try the boiled lobster but I will let him boil them.

Our campsite is right on the Bay we can look out the back window of our RV right at the bay this is a very beautiful and scenic spot to camp Sunset Point is a PA Park so for members its $ 15 per night and they honor the discount for as long as you want to stay. We liked Sunset Point so much that we ended staying here two weeks and just taking day trips to explore  &  sight see instead of moving our RV ever 2 to 3 days. We spent most of this evening here at Sunset Point walking some of the rrails along the bay.

Just a few more pictures at and around Sunset Point. The bay at the end of the road is were the lobster boats came in

Sept. 4-11 Sunday First thing this morning I ordered two small lobsters they Will be about 3 1/2 pounds each. The owner will pick them up at the dockcook them and deliver to our RV around 4 pm today $ 21.00 for both a great price.

We headed to Bar Harbor to look over the  town, shop a little and try to orientate our selves to the area.Bar Harbor is a great little tourist town, a small park downtown by their Harbor to relax in or picnic. Checked on whale watching tours and booked on the Atlantic Cat for Wed. Sept 7 we hope that the weather is good. the tour will be 7 to 8 hours.

Since Bar Harbor is in Acada Nat. Park we made a loop through the park and stopped at The Bass Head Lighthouse. The LH is maintained by the US Coast Guard and neither the Lighthouse nor Quarters are open to the public. But you can park in the lot and walk to the LH grounds it's a neat LH we took pictures and headed back to Sunset Point to try our first Maine Lobster.

The lobsters were delivered to us on Plates with nut crackers to crack the lobster with. I thought that they were good but DW didn't like them said that they were way too salty. We both like lobster baked or broiled much better. But hay we are in Maine and had to try their boiled lobster. After supper DW propped up her feet in the recliner and I took a short walk around the campground before dark.

sorry just noticed that i posted the lobster photo twice

Sept 5-11 Monday morning we are having trouble with our GPS so are heading to Best Buy in Bangor to return it  In Ellsworth we made a wrong turn and found a gem in this War Memorial for all Maine veterans. We were glad for that wrong turn. We walked around looked at all the memorials took pictures. The museum was closed but there  is a lot of history depleted on the grounds and a restored Covered Bridge. After about an hour we went on to Best Buy in Bangor this was the second time that we have returned our new GPS so guess we will go back to using our old one.

Out of Bangor we took Me. 9 to Cherryfield hoping to see some Maine wildlife or maybe a little color in the trees. We drove on some of the back roads late in the evening we were told that the back roads here was a good place to see moose. No luck on the moose and guess it's still too soon for the leafs to be turning A lot of driving today and didn't accomplish any thing that we started to do except return the GPS

Sept 6-11 Tuesday, Today will be spent in Acadia Nat. Park. First stop Hulls Cove Visitor Center, we parked in the parking lot its 52 steps on the stair way to the visitor center was tiring on these old bones but worth it, lots of interesting exhibits. This is the place to began your exploration of Acadia we spent about an hour looking around picked up maps and info. on the park. We also picked up our park pass here the entry permit was free with our Golden Age Passport. We drove the Loop Road, stopped at Jordan Pond and checked out the Blackwood's Campground. It's a nice CG no hookups but spaces big enough to park our 30ft 5th wheel would be a good place to camp if you were going to spend a few days here to hike the trails. We made a stop at the Otter Cliffs some good views from the cliff. Our next stop on the loop road was Thunder Hole here the sea waves come in through a small opening in the hole and are pushed higher by the incoming waves if you are down on the lower part of the over look, you are going to get wet. The views along the loop are spectacular.

There are 57 miles of Carriage Roads build by John D Rockefeller Jr. You can hike them or ride your bicycle. Or you can take a ride on one of their Horse Carriages. Maybe sometime we can take a ride on one of their Horse Carriages just not enough time today.   

Next we drove up to the top of Cadillac Mt at 1532 ft it is the highest point along the North Atlantic Seaboard. Don't get caught up with the views on this winding scenic road wait until you reach the top as part of this road runs by some steep cliffs.If you were alone on top of Cadillac Mt. at daybreak from Oct. to March you would be the first to view the sunrise in the USA. When you stand at the view point looking east in front of you are Frenchman Bay with its several islands the views are spectacular from Cadillac Mt.

The mountain is named for Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac the frenchman who was granted possession of this island in the late 1600s by King Louis XIV. Later Cadillac founded Detroit, inspiring the name of the prestigious automobile.

This afternoon we drove up to Somesville then south a few miles on Me. 102 then cut over to Me 198. We have a picnic lunch with us and start looking for a picnic area after a few miles we just pulled to the side of the road and used our tailgate for a picnic table not the first time we used the tailgate. After lunch we drove along the coast on 198 to Southwest Harbor, Sea Cove, Bernard a very scenic drive. At Bass Harbor we hit Me 102 again, we stopped at Seawall CG and checked it our nice but too far from our planed route. We stayed on 102 back to Somesville then US 1 to our camp at Sunset Point. It was late when we got to camp and tomorrow will be a long day.