Woke up to 25 degrees this morning and decided perhaps it was a good time to head back home. Today's pic is waking up on the last day of the trip. We compiled our trip stats and "best ofs" for the trip. See below. Looking forward to seeing our friends, getting together with the folks and not worrying about how cold it's gonna be when I have to pee in the middle of the night!
When we woke up this morning it was to snow flurries and surrounded by fog. It was a good thing we had seen the Tetons the night before as they were invisible this morning! Knowing we had two mountain passes to get over with the uncertain weather condition, I was a little concerned and anxious to get started. When we reached Jackson Hole, it was rainy and I had visions of us being stranded at the top of the pass in the snow, so when I spotted a public restroom we stopped. I made a mad dash for what I thought would be a quick “visit”, but the latch in the bathroom stall was stuck and I couldn’t get out! I made a few feeble attempts at shouting and trying to get help, but considering it is the off season and no one was around, I wasn’t get any response. I was totally cracking up, not believing that I was stuck in a public bathroom in downtown Jackson, Wyoming!! Meanwhile, since I hadn’t returned quickly Ned decided he might as well make a pit stop too. Ned was already walking out of the building when he heard someone yelling ,“hello, I’m stuck”. At first he thought it was the cleaning lady, but then recognized it was his wife and came into the women’s restroom to rescue me. For the record, it took him a few minutes using his key to get the lock unstuck. Ned, my hero! After that little drama we drove into the rain and fog over the Teton Pass, elevation over 9,000 ft. with a 10% grade much of the way. Fortunately, it was rain and not snow and the fog wasn’t too bad. As we climbed the second pass, at a little over 6000 ft., the weather began to clear up and we had some beautiful light and cloud effects shining on the mountains. We were so surprised when we reached Swan Valley, Idaho on the other side of the mountain range. The skies were blue with big puffy clouds and before us lay a huge alpine meadow. We drove for miles by gorgeous log homes situated on bluffs overlooking the Snake river and fields of yellow harvested wheat. Stunning. Many of the towns we drove thru were uneventful, but we were looking forward to Pocatello. For the last several weeks we had promised ourselves we would partake of a pancake breakfast, but had not yet indulged. (Hard to believe since we’ve eaten just about everything else in every state!). Having read about this great pancake house, Elmer’s, it was well worth the mid afternoon time when we finally arrived. The blueberry pancakes for me, and the cinnamon bun french toast for Ned did not disappoint. We were going to stay at Massacre State Park at American Falls for the night, but after one quick drive around the desolate tundra campground located next to the freeway, we decided to venture on. Along the way, we drove over the Snake River on this amazing bridge in Twin Falls. (See today’s pic). Knowing we had a 10-12 hour drive the next day we decided to just keep pushing on. Thus, here we are in Wells, Nevada camped by the side of a freeway. The good news is that we are having too much fun laughing and entertaining ourselves with all our pictures we have taken (about 1500 so far!) that we hardly mind we are in Nevada. Hard to believe that this is our last night on the road. As usual, I’m a little sad because I don’t want the trip to end – it’s been so much fun and the gypsy spirit in me could do this for a little while longer. After six weeks on the road I think Mr. Ned, the Homebody, doesn’t have quite the same sentiment. Tomorrow homeward bound.
Was that gobble-gobble I heard waking up this morning? Yeah, our campsite neighbor (shirtless and in his skivvies) was throwing dry dog food to turkeys. Just about everyone at our RV camp was either coming in or going out hunting. In fact, all day just about every person we saw was wearing camouflage outfits with orange hats or had antlers sticking up from the back of their pick-up. We even drove by one campground where there was an animal hung upside down and the guy was skinning him. These people take their hunting seriously! When we left Buffalo it was overcast, but not too cold. We drove over Powder River Pass in the Big Horn Mountain Range and through the Ten Sleep Canyon. Absolutely drop dead gorgeous!! As you drive along these incredible rock formations, with every imaginable color, there are road signs identifying the name and approximate age of the geology. Some were 3 – 5 billion years old while the youngsters were 300 million. Unbelievable. The canyon reminded Ned of Bryce National Park. It was also beautiful to see the white snow on some parts of the pass. We reached Thermopolis at about noon. Our destination was the Hot Springs State Park. (See today’s pic). In the foreground across the river are the Rainbow Terraces formed of mineral deposits called Travertine. The Big Spring produces 127 deg. mineral water and as it makes its way down the terraces the water temperature changes and different colors of algae and micro-organisms give the terraces its multi-colored look. In 1896 a treaty was signed with the Shoshone and Arapahoe that gave the public use of one of the largest mineral hot springs in the world. Yes, it’s totally free to the public. We entered the Bath House, changed into our suits and spent 20 min. soaking in the 104 deg. outside pool. There’s also an indoor pool if one so chooses. At the most there were 7 people total in the pool. My favorite part was when one of the guys turned to me and said, “If everyone did this everyday there wouldn’t be any more wars.” So true! When we finally emerged, and were somewhat cleaned off from our showers (the sulphur smell is still lingering a bit in my hair tonight – is that romantic?) I noticed that the 3 guys getting into the car next to ours, all wearing hunter attire and holding their guns, were also in the hot springs with us. It was a warm 65 degrees and after the hot soak we felt like wet noodles. So appreciated after the bout of cold weather we’ve had. We drove through several Indian reservations, and again another gorgeous canyon, Wind River. We were going to stay at an RV park in Dubois, but turns out it was closed for the season. In fact, almost all the state campgrounds and RV parks are closed –including all the campgrounds in the Teton National Park. We stopped at a soda fountain in Dubois and had a great conversation with the woman soda jerk. She called some of the local resorts and also gave us some tips on what to visit if we ever want to see Kansas. We decided to brave one more pass and shoot for a RV park in Moran, outside of the Tetons. The Togwotee Pass is 9658 feet and covered in snow from the storm last week and undergoing construction. The roads were dry, but at least 10 miles was slimy mud due to the construction. Poor Winnie is looking a bit road worn. Looks like I’m not the only one needing to be freshened up. Driving over the pass and seeing the completely snow laden Tetons was amazing. Hard to believe these are the same mountains as six weeks ago.
(Ned again.) We woke up to another sunny day in Custer State Park. Much to our amusement, everyone else in the campground seemed to be bundled up in their big down coats, along with wool caps and gloves. Meanwhile we were walking around in shirtsleeves, remarking about how nice the weather was. Even though our thermometer registered 49 degrees, apparently our experience of waking up to a frosty 23 degrees the morning before made us really appreciate today’s temperature. We also really liked the number of big horn sheep grazing inside the campground, along with lots of bison grazing just outside the gates. Our first destination was a campground further south, called Blue Belle. As we circled this handsome campground we met a nice woman with 2 friendly golden retrievers, camping in a Eurovan almost identical to ours. We spent at least 30 minutes comparing notes about our vans, and swapping stories about our favorite destinations. She’s from Colorado, and gave us a list of several “locals only” camping spots. From there we left to investigate the Needle Highway. After climbing multiple switchback turns and negotiating a short sweet tunnel, we got to the summit, which is called Needles Eye. Here we saw remarkable spiked formations of granite, and an impressive hundred foot long tunnel. (See today’s pick of Winnie emerging from the end.) At every turn along this road the view of the surrounding Black Hills was spectacular. Our next stop was a drive-by of the Crazy Horse Monument. This is a Native American version of Mount Rushmore, portraying the famous Indian Chief, although still a long way from completion. After having just witnessed the splendor of Needles Eye, and enduring all the hype the day before regarding Rushmore, I decided that I prefer stone mountain tops in their naturally occurring form, rather than dynamite-blasted to resemble humans. Heading north we made our way to Deadwood, which we assumed would be a historic mining town with lots of charm. Although this could probably be true, we were amazed to discover that, in its current form, it appears to be a small Reno, Nevada, disguising itself as a historic mining town. We were ready for lunch, and despite repeated efforts to find a place to eat, we were continually confronted instead with establishments filled with blinking and clinking slot machines. We finally found a place to eat, once we had waded past their phalanx of one-armed bandits. We decided that Deadwood must be one of the strangest towns that we had ever visited. Heading west, we entered Wyoming, where we enjoyed the huge, rolling landscape, with its magnificent cloud-filled big sky. As we approached the town of Buffalo, we marveled at the beauty of the snow-covered peaks of the Big Horn Mountains in the distance. We plan to cross the summit of those mountains tomorrow morning, and we’re hopeful that our good weather will continue.
We had an amazing day! Woke up to 23 degrees, but it warmed up to mid 70’s today. This was the first warm and dry day we’ve had in awhile, so it was especially appreciated. We drove into the Badlands and practically had the entire park to ourselves. After spending some time at the Visitor’s Center, we decided to take the Badlands Loop Road and the gravel 35 mile Sage Creek Rim Road. The light on the pinnacles, mounds, grasslands and rock formations was fantastic from every height and angle. (See today’s pic. It was really hard to pick just one picture today, we had so many great photo opps). We stopped several times to take the short fossil walk or just take in the scenery. Fortunately for us we picked up another hour today, which gave us that little extra time to explore Rapid City, Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. There’s a skyline drive that overlooks Rapid City, but the real attraction here is the Dinosaur Park, built by the WPA in 1936. These concrete dinosaurs are pretty cheesy, but Ned and I had a blast crawling all over them and taking silly pictures of each other in compromising positions. Ah the beauty of visiting attractions in the off season! Next, we drove into the Black Hills heading for Mount Rushmore. At first we were a little discouraged (or should I say appalled?) at all the tourista shops, billboards and kitch as we drove into Keystone, the gateway to Mount Rushmore. However, the minute we actually entered the park calmness reigned and you were actually able to take in the beauty of the natural area. Mount Rushmore was fun to see, but what we particularly enjoyed was the “Presidential Trail” that allowed us to walk below the Rushmore Monument and view the sculptures from different angles. We were also able to get some great views of the Black Hills from this walk. Early evening came upon us as we took the Peter Norbeck Iron Mountain Highway. For me, this was the true highlight as we drove through “PigTail Bridges” and one lane tunnels as we spiraled up the mountain. Peter Norbeck built the highway so that you can view Mt. Rushmore from all different angles. A particular stunner was coming out of a tunnel with a straight on view of Mt. Rushmore in the distance framed by the Black Hills – breathtaking! As we drove further into the wildlife preserver to camp at Custer State Park we were surprised by all the Bison grazing by the side of the road. I appreciated Ned’s calmness as we waited on more than one occasion for a wandering Bison to clear the roadway. Over our home-cooked meal in the winniemobile tonight, we took a tally of all the animals we had seen in the Badlands and Black Hills: Big Horn Sheep, Bison, Antelope, Prairie Dogs, a Badger, Mule Deer, Wild Turkeys and a bunny. Pretty amazing day!
If you’ve ever camped or been to a picnic area of a State Park chances are the fire rings and picnic tables were made by Pilot Rock. Ned and I have been camping together for about 7 years and the first thing we do when pulling into a campsite is check out the fire-rings. Yep, over 90% of the time they are manufactured by the RJ Thomas Company – aka Ned’s cousins. (Well, actually they are his double-cousins: two brothers married two sisters the lineage continues and thus some convoluted connection). This morning we got a personal tour of the Pilot Rock plant and saw raw steel being turned into fire rings, grills and such. For such a small Midwest town, it’s quite impressive what these two brothers have accomplished. Their dad started this company in 1959 and today they employ about 60 people. Their products are shipped worldwide, including Disneyland in France! One statistic that I learned and was very impressed with was that in the company’s 50 year history, they have had continuous employment, never having a layoff. After all the small towns Ned and I have traveled thru in the last month, with many of them struggling, I found this inspiring. Today’s pic is Steve (left) and Craig (right) standing amongst their trade-mark fire rings. After the early morning plant tour, Craig and Julie treated us to that wonderful mid-west hospitality with a scrumptious brunch.
Knowing we had a long haul, Ned and I soon “skedaddled” out of Cherokee, Iowa and headed for the Nebraska border. As usual, we decided to take an obscure route, called the Outlaw Trail, along the Northern edge of the State. We were on highway 12 most of the day and only saw a handful of other vehicles, including tractors hauling hay. (It just amazes me some of the remote places people live.) The route was quite pretty with the continuously rolling sand hills and grazing cattle. We finally arrived in the town of Valentine, Nebraska (aw – how cute is that?), and decided to have a corn-fed Nebraska steak at the local “fine dining” establishment. It was quite the local haunt, by the time we left it was hoppin’. Ned and I are currently staying on a wind-chilled grass prairie RV park –brrr. As I write this the van is a rockin’ to the gusts outside. I’m so glad we have a furnace!!! I hear it’s roasting in California so sure hope to pick up some of those heat rays as we head into South Dakota tomorrow.
The state park we stayed at last night was absolutely beautiful, unfortunately it was too wet and cold to do much exploring. Unlike the other states when we meander the back roads, Iowa’s roads are straight. We drove due west most of the day. Our first stop was in Ames, Iowa. We drove around the university, where Ned’s parents both went to college, took advantage of their free internet and stopped to have lunch. The afternoon is when things really got interesting. We drove to Bagley, a VERY small town, about 50 houses and not much else. Ned’s dad was raised here and it was fun to drive by the abandoned high school and take a tour of the town. Ned really wanted to send his sisters a post card from here, but you can imagine the likelihood of that with no stores. We stopped by the one room/one employee post office and chatted with the very sweet postmaster, Linda. When she heard about Ned’s connections to the town, she sold us two of her own Iowa postcards and proudly put the Bagley, Iowa cancellation mark on them so that Ned’s sisters could have a memento from their father’s home town. Very touching! From there we drove down a dirt road, up a small ridge to visit the Dodge Center Cemetery where Ned’s great grandparents and other relatives are buried. It was something to see the headstones with dates from the 1800s, hear their stories, and know they were related to Ned. Quite moving. The next stop was due North for about 2 hours to Cherokee where Ned’s mother was born and raised. We visited the house where she lived from age 4 til she left for college. We think we also found the Methodist Church where his parents were married. It was so much fun to experience and share in Ned’s family’s history. Tonight we are staying at the home of his second cousin Craig and his wife Julie (the same ones we stayed with in Minnesota). We had an absolute blast going out to dinner with Craig, Julie, Steve and Laurie (more cousins). These Iowa guys sure can drink! We enjoyed a German Oktoberfest meal at the Gashaust, complete with lots of German beer and stories. Too much fun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow where we take a tour of the family owned Pilot Rock plant.
(Ned again) We enjoyed our morning with Marc, Sheila, Owen, and Brian, until everyone had to leave for work, school, and daycare, respectively. Debi was particularly pleased when Brian emerged this morning wearing his Obama t-shirt, which matched the PJ top that Debi was wearing. The two of them rejoiced in this fact with the traditional fist bump. We left soon afterward headed toward the Iowa border. We reached Lowden State Park, on Marc’s recommendation, where we admired a beautiful view of the Rock River, along with the very impressive 50 foot tall statue of an Indian warrior overlooking the river below. Soon after we came upon the John Deere Historical Site. We decided to pay the $5 entry fee and check the place out. Much to our surprise, not only does this place contain the archeological digging site of the ruins of John Deere’s 1837 blacksmith shop, and a reconstructed version of his original home, but there is also a very entertaining onsite blacksmith, named Rick, who does a showman-like job of demonstrating the art of blacksmithing. (See today’s pic) I’ve always associated the name John Deere with farm tractors, but John Deere himself was dead and gone long before tractors were invented. His landmark accomplishment was to develop a very specially shaped and highly polished plow, which cut cleanly through the sticky black earth beneath the tall grasses of the Great Plains, allowing farmers to utilize the fertile soil of the prairies. Soon his ploys were so popular, that he moved his operation to Moline, Illinois, to exploit the shipping advantages of the Mississippi River, where the John Deere Corporation is still headquartered and which now employs about 56,000 people worldwide. Not a bad accomplishment for a young blacksmith from Vermont. Our next stop was for lunch at a good Mexican restaurant in the town Dixon (which also happens to be Ronald Regan’s boyhood hometown). From there we took Highway 30 (the old Lincoln Highway) across the Mississippi River into Iowa, where we are now camped at the very beautiful Palisades-Kepler State Park. The weather remains cloudy, and a very chilly 47 degrees. However, we are pleased that the Winniemobile has such an efficient little furnace, and we’re hopeful that our propane supply will last until morning. Debi is cuddled up with her “Born Fighting” book, by James Webb, which she has been quoting to me with great enthusiasm as I’ve been righting this. Yes, her fascination (obsession?) with the Appalachian people continues…
We usually wake up to the sounds of the campground this morning it was to the sound of a little one saying, “mama, mama.” It’s been quite a few years since I’ve heard that! I couldn’t resist and had to go visit Luke. What a sociable fellow he is! We had a wonderful time eating breakfast with Lucy and Luke. Then we were off to the Art Institute of Chicago on a beautiful sunny morning in downtown Chicago. We had a great time looking at all the amazing impressionist paintings in the museum, along with all the wonderful buildings downtown. We enjoyed eating lunch downtown, topped off with a large bag of warm caramel popcorn from Garrett’s. Yum! We decided to take a long round about way to my nephew Marc and Sheila’s house. We drove along Lake Shore Drive for miles and miles, past Northwestern University, Grosse Point Lighthouse and through huge mansions in wealthy neighborhoods. Eventually we worked our way inland and visited one of my alma maters, Wheeling High School. Ned has now visited 3 of my 4 high schools reliving all my tortured high school years. What a guy. We showed up at Marc and Sheila’s in the early evening. I forgot how much fun little boy energy was! These cute little tykes, Owen (3) and Brian (2), were a riot – sharing their toys, showing us their room playing with their dog, Cubbie, and being little bundles of energy. (Today’s pic is me reading to Owen). I last saw them about a year ago when Brian wasn’t even walking. Owen is very curious, talkative and quite expressive. Brian was still checking us out, but he does give great hugs and fist bumps! I also really enjoyed spending some quality time and chatting it up with Sheila and Marc when the boys went to bed. We will definitely have to plan a trip each year to Chicago. It’ll be so much fun to watch all 3 of our grand nephews grow up. Later on today, heading into Iowa.
We left the countryside of Indiana and blew into the Windy City. It was quite eye- opening to go from the quiet two lane roads onto the confusing freeways and toll lanes of Chicago. Ned and I illegally sailed through 3 (we think) toll booths, not really getting that you have to veer several lanes over to the right and pay .30, .60 and then .80. huh?! (Being country hicks is really a pain in the ass sometimes.) We picked up an hour with the time change and were deciding between spending sometime downtown Chicago or looking up a childhood friend of mine before seeing Ned’s niece Lucy. Ned was thoroughly encouraging me to look up my old friend. She opened up a restaurant about 3 years ago so we just popped in. How absolutely wonderful to see my friend Teri Kramer again! We were buddies in 8th grade and really hadn’t connected since then. She has the same great spirit that I remembered and we reconnected immediately. (Mom, Teri especially said to say hello to you. She has some very sweet memories of you, too). Ned and I had a great meal at her very cute restaurant and really enjoyed sitting with her, catching up on our lives and telling stories. After that we spent a little time hanging around downtown Chicago and then drove to Lincoln Park to see Lucy, her husband Ian and their 15 month old baby, Luke - who is adorable!! See today’s pic of Great Uncle Ned playing with Luke. It was such a fun evening hanging out with Luke. He is a very good tempered and engaging little guy. We enjoyed a nice meal with Lucy and Ian and I’m now feeling very cozy in a nice warm bed. It’s been about quite a few weeks since we’ve slept in a real bed, I almost forgot what sheets feel like!
We didn’t have a lot going on today, mainly a driving day between Eastern Ohio and Western Indiana. We covered a lot of ground and left the beautiful rolling hills and fall colors of Ohio for the flat plains. Our big adventure of the day was stopping by DeBrand Chocolates in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We were hoping for a tour of the factory, but unfortunately they only give them on Tues. and Thursdays. We did sample their 52% cocoa bar and found it pretty good, but very similar to Lake Champlain Chocolates. Ned is convinced that all the US chocolatiers are buying their chocolate from the same manufacturer, Callabaut, and just molding their own bars. With the money they charge I really think we should get into this business. (The 3 lb. box was $114!). After traveling for several hours on the flat lands we were expecting to be camping in a grassy field tonight. We were pleasantly surprised to enter the nicely wooded state park of Tippecanoe, which is situated on its namesake river. (See today’s pic). It encompasses 2800 acres with many hiking and horse trails throughout the thick woods. We wished it wasn’t so cold so that we could take advantage of the biking, but at a brisk 48 deg. I wasn’t feeling convinced. We decided to go eat instead. The small town close by has a few fast food restaurants and one nice restaurant that was recommended by the teenage girl working at the park entry gate. We weren’t expecting much, and felt quite surprised by the upscale menu and presentation. The chef even came out to check on our meals. Back at the camper, it looks like it’s gonna be another night battling it out with the skippo cards. We are really looking forward to seeing Ned’s great nephew, Luke, tomorrow in the Windy City.
We left the campground traveling through the gaps and hollows of Appalachia. The colors continued to be fantastic, but we felt a bit claustrophobic in the sunless deep valleys of the mountains. When we finally crossed over the Ohio River and entered the rolling valleys of Ohio, it felt like an entirely different world. Eastern Ohio is stunningly beautiful, made up of colorful hardwood forests, picture perfect dairy farms set in green rolling hills and quaint towns. It was a perfect fall day (crisp weather & fluffy white clouds) to drive through the Amish country of Ohio. Perhaps because it was the holiday weekend, it seemed that every small town was having some sort of celebration. After stopping at one of the numerous cheese factories and sampling every variety of swiss cheese known to man, we arrived at Sugarland, the Little Swiss Village of Ohio. Polka music was broadcast, LOUDLY, over several blocks. When we decided we couldn’t take it anymore (in about 10 minutes), we headed to the next event, which was an Oktoberfest Wine and Cheese festival. Sure enough, as soon as we entered the building a LIVE octogenarian Polka band was entertaining the crowd - no they weren’t very good. (See today’s pic). We finally succumbed to the polka vibe and decided to stay for the event. We tasted more swiss cheese and every wacky cheese concoction imaginable (pumpkin swiss cheese balls, apple strudel cheese topping & burgundy wine cream cheese spread to just name a few), but finally decided upon a bratwurst sauerkraut sandwich for me and Mr. Ned decided to go whole hog with the bratwurst, sauerkraut AND accompanying brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. Gotta love the mid-west. Now in the heart of Amish Country, passing numerous horse and buggies, laundry on the line, and Amish crafts everywhere, we decided to visit the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center, aka the Behalt Museum. We were initially very interested in learning about the Amish way of life and thought this would be an educational and informative introduction. The Center also had a cyclorama, and after our incredible experience visiting the Gettysburg cyclorama, we couldn’t pass this up. Mmm, it felt more like an indoctrination of the Mennonite faith. The circular painting, 10 feet high and 265 feet long depicted every ghoulish and grotesque persecution and milestone of the Anabaptists. We were “treated” to a laser pointer description of each scene, the entire presentation lasting 30 or so minutes. This was after the 15 minute video on how cool the Mennonite and Amish way of life is. Shell shocked, we drove to the next town and lo and behold, they were having the Holmes County Antique Festival, complete with a parade! We decided to hit a local Laundromat (our clothes were still sopping wet from our previous day bike ride and the van was taking on a cheesy aroma) and watch the parade. We stayed for the vintage cars, but left before the decorated fire engines. When we finally arrived in Loudonville, our camping spot for the night, guess what – the town main street was closed off for their “Annual free street faire!” We immediately headed to the campground, secured our spot for the night, and took a tour of the State Park highlights. This included the gorge overlook and covered bridge. Call us crazy, but we decided to check out the street faire. It was really awful; about 6 blocks of fried carnival food – including fried cheese on a stick, bright new Kubota and John Deere tractors and kiddie rides. Feeling that the night was still young, we took a half hour ride into Wooster to check out the happenings. For a college town it was pretty much dead. We ended up eating a late dinner at a Greek Restaurant and had a delightful conversation with the owner. Fun Day.
(Ned again) Once again we heard torrential rain throughout the night, but woke up to beautiful blue skies. Instead of the Interstate, we took Highway 40A (the Old National Highway, which started as an ancient Indian footpath, and was then used by trappers, explorers, militiamen, and pioneer settlers.) As we climbed over several passes of the Appalachian Mountains, and although we got rained upon at times, we were pleased to see that the fall colors of the Maryland Panhandle were just coming into their peak. We stopped and took photos of the beautiful Casselman Bridge, built in 1813, the largest stone arch in America at the time, and used continuously until 1933. (See today’s pic) Right up the road from there we stopped at the little town of Grantsville, an Amish & Mennonite mountain village, and ate lunch at Casselman Hotel, a historic roadside inn. The lunch of honey-dipped fried chicken, baked beans, applesauce, and warm bread served with fresh apple butter was comfort food for us on this stormy day. We even bought some freshly baked ginger cookies for the road. We entered West Virginia, continuing to marvel at the bright fall colors, interspersed with beautiful farmland. At Clarksburg we stopped to buy some supplies and the weather had suddenly become warm and muggy, which reminded us of our trip through the south a year ago. After listening to several of the locals talking, we realized it even sounded like we were in the south again. Soon we found our way to North Bend State Park, which features a Rails to Trails bike path (a former train track bed, now converted to a hiking/biking trail) which we were eager to try out. The weather remained a warm 75, but the sky seemed foreboding. Nevertheless, we decided to try out the Rail Trail, and see if we could make it to the town of Cairo, several miles away. We had fun biking through an old railroad tunnel, and across several bridges, but then started to feel a few raindrops. We decided to keep riding, and see if we could make it to Cairo. Within a few minutes the skies completely opened up on us, and we started to question the wisdom of our plan. Finally, having never found Cairo, we turned around and, squinting through the deluge of rain, frantically splashed our way back down the now flooding bike trail. We started cracking up at how wet we were getting, and somehow could not suppress the thought of how mad mom was going to be at us when we got home! By the time we returned, we looked like wet rats, although the air temperature had remained warm enough, so that we never really got cold. However, it felt very good to get on some dry clothes, and relax in the van sipping warm mochas as the rain poured down outside.
Today was a very eclectic day that ran the gamut from idyllic bucolic country life to the ravages of war. Knowing that we had a lot to do, we made a concerted effort to leave our campsite early. Before we even hit the main highway, about a mile from where we were camped is the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site. We really didn’t know what it was all about, but it was a gorgeous day and we were inclined to take advantage of the good weather so we thought - what the heck let’s check it out. Good choice! Once again we had the park to ourselves along with a very attentive ranger eager to share information on the iron making operation. Hopewell Furnace is a very well restored and recreated 1771 village demonstrating the iron making process, including the blast furnace complete with a working 72 foot high water wheel creating compressed air for the furnace. Ned particularly enjoyed seeing how the iron molds were created from sand. We could have spent the better part of the day here, but I was anxious to explore Lancaster County and the Amish Culture. We hung out for a bit in Intercourse, browsing some of the woodworking and quilt shops. It really is quite interesting to hear the Pennsylvania Dutch language, see the horse and buggies, women dressed in Amish garb, and fields being plowed by horse. (See today’s pic). I was also enthralled by all the Amish laundry hanging on the clothes lines. Quite a spectacle! We also visited the Intercourse Pretzel Factory, but unfortunately had missed the tour by 20 minutes or so. Nonetheless, we managed to stock up on hard pretzels and chocolate covered pretzels for munching on the road. We were hoping to have a late lunch sampling the local fare in Lancaster at the Central Market, one of the oldest operating farmer’s markets in the country. Unfortunately, it’s not opened on Thursdays – Doh! We managed to find lunch at another local central market in a neighboring town, but were quite unimpressed with this particular Amish food. Ned’s chicken pot pie was a misnomer and really starchy dumplings in broth and my sausage & peppers wrapped in a pretzel was indigestion inducing, at best. We tried to salvage the meal by topping it off with Shoo-fly pie, but that didn’t go well either. (We tossed it.) We continued to meander down backroads towards Maryland when we came upon Gettysburg National Historic Site. It was about 4ish and we knew we had a couple of hours to go til the campground, but once again thought we might as well see what Gettysburg had to offer. OH MY GOSH – one of the all time BEST EVER historic sites we’ve ever visited. One could easily spend days exploring everything this place has to offer. Unfortunately, we only were able to spend about 2 hours here before being kicked out. We saw an in-depth movie narrated by Morgan Freeman on the Gettysburg Battle during the Civil War and what led up to it; a multi-media cyclorama that enacted the entire battle incredibly made from a 377ft. circular painting that was completed in 1884 (totally restored in 2008); and the most comprehensive inter-active display and museum about the battle and the Civil War. It was truly an absolutely incredible, fantastic experience. Sitting here at the campsite, and thinking back on the day, it really does seem surreal - to experience the peacefulness of the Amish in the morning and end with the brutality of the Civil War. Interesting day, to say the least.
P.S. Planning our day for tomorrow and reviewing maps & books, we just found out that on the way to our campground tonight we drove through Catoctin Mountain Park. We had no idea at the time that this is the location of Camp David!
As we drove out of the campsite this morning, we were surrounded by a whirlwind of leaves, which pretty much set the tone for the day. After a steady, drenching rain for most of the night, the sky this morning was crystal clear and the fall colors looked really vivid and crisp. We enjoyed driving through the Catskills and even though we had a rather long drive ahead of us to our destination in Pennsylvania, we decided to drive through the Delaware Water Gap, along the Hudson River. It was listed in several books as a great scenic byway, but maybe we’re jaded. After all the fall colors and beautiful back roads of New England and Canada it didn’t seem that spectacular. I did get a kick out the Poconos - hard to believe that this was once considered a honeymoon mecca! I had convinced Ned that we needed to visit one of the old honeymoon resorts imagining something really romantic. Mmm –Ned it said it felt more like a bad 50’s prison movie. We were definitely not feeling the love. I think we’ll stick with the Winniemobile. We left the fall colors behind us once we entered Pennsylvania. Lots of trees and forest, but for the most part mainly green. The winds, however, have picked up dramatically. We were blown about in the winniemobile and noticed a lot of downed branches. Our one big tourista stop of the day was the Daniel Boone Homestead. Yes, Mr. Kentucky Frontiersman was actually born in PA. We practically had the place to ourselves and after being cooped up in the car for awhile, were getting a little silly. (See today’s pic – Ned pretending to be Daniel Boone.) He “borrowed” the shovel from one of the sheds and was pretending it was his frontier rifle. Too funny. We’re camped at a very upscale State Park, quite close to the Amish Country. At this point we’ve showered in every possible concrete, stucco, fiberglass and plywood structure you can imagine. This campground is deluxe, including fully tiled individual large showers – that are free! I foresee a l-o-n-g, luxurious hot shower in my future.
We woke up to sunny but cool weather in the Adirondack Mountains. You can definitely tell that we’re not in New England anymore, because everybody seems to have a New York “wise guy” accent here. It was great to be heading south toward some hopefully warmer weather. On our way we saw some more fantastic fall colors. (It really helps when the sun shines on them.) We stopped along our way to visit Saratoga Springs, which I love because it’s referenced in my favorite Edith Wharton novel, The Buccaneers. I especially wanted to see the famous mineral baths. Saratoga Spa State Park was absolutely gorgeous and all the hundred-year-old buildings were still in use and nicely maintained. Our next destination was Woodstock, which we had hoped to reach via the scenic route 9W along the Hudson River. Somehow at Albany, we got onto the east side of the river and took the “scenic route” down 9J. What seemed like an eternity later, we were able to cross back over the Hudson. This however did afford us the unusual opportunity of crossing the Rip Van Winkle Bridge (in the free direction, no less!) We wandered along the scenic route for a bit and then finally entered the Catskills. When we reached the town of Woodstock, yes THAT Woodstock, the temperature was the warmest we’d felt in a week. We took advantage of the great weather and had a late lunch al fresco. It was great fun watching all the people “living the dream”, in full tie-dye and rainbow regalia. Ned’s favorite was our “host” at the restaurant with his gray-haired ponytail, bright colored boxer shorts, mismatched socks and weird little Asian shoes. After lunch we strolled through the town, browsing the old Hippie memorabilia. (See today’s pic) As we rolled into the Kenneth L. Wilson Campground in the Catskill Mountains, in our VW camper van, complete with tie-dyed license plate frames, we realized that, in fact, we ARE living the dream, baby. Never did find any Jewish comedians. I guess I’m just stuck with my husband’s off-the-wall sense of humor.
We enjoyed driving over Snuggler’s Notch so much yesterday, that we decided to take the long way into Burlington and drive over the pass again today. We were not disappointed the colors were spectacular. We enjoyed taking the long round about way into Burlington to our final destination of Lake Champlain Chocolates. We showed up for the 1:00 tour and I was not disappointed! We got a LOT of samples (white, milk, 54%, 70% and a truffle). Of course, we had to taste the ice cream too. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them make different chocolate items such as the cherry cordials, chocolate Santas, & chocolate honey-carmel drops – all done by hand. What I enjoyed even more was Ned correcting (under his breath) our tour guide as she described the chocolate process. (Silly girl didn’t know that putting untempered chocolate in the fridge causes FAT bloom not sugar bloom or her description of the process to make chocolate liquor was actually the description of how cocoa powder is made…) Soon after, we bid farewell to Vermont, and caught a mid-afternoon ferry across Lake Champlain to Upper State New York. Our big surprise of the day was the Ausable Chasm. We had just started on Route 9 and came upon a massive stone bridge that reminded us of the Carriage Roads in Acadia. As we crossed, we were amazed at the HUGE falls and large chasm below. We parked, walked mid span across the bridge and spent some time viewing the monstrous cavern filled with gushing water. It’s a 150 foot drop to the depths of the chasm. I was a little more timid (understatement) than Ned at looking over the edge, but wow what a sight! Today’s pic doesn’t do it justice. It’s shot looking out from the bridge, rather than straight down. We proceeded on Route 9 thru the Adirondack Mts saddened by all the run down and abandoned motor lodges and resorts. Talk about a bygone era. Most of the campgrounds are closed for the season, but we found a small RV park that has all the amenities – electricity, internet, laundry, etc. – thus my many posts on facebook tonight! Tomorrow we head to the Catskill Mountains in search of Jewish comedians.
(This is Ned, filling in for Debi.) Hurray! We woke to blue skies. As soon as we cleared the mountain-top fog on our way out of the campground, we were treated to some more amazing autumn colors. Our first destination was Waterbury, home of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. We located Ben & Jerry’s quickly, but felt slightly alarmed when we attempted to enter the driveway and saw that we were behind three very long fifth wheel trailers from Texas. This trend continued as we found our way to the factory and became aware of the nearly frenzied state of many of the other visitors. Nevertheless, we managed to get our photo taken. (See today’s pic) Once inside, we learned that a $3 fee was required for the tour of the production facility, even though nothing was running, since it was a Sunday. Debi and I decided to forgo the tour, but she still wanted to know where we got to sample the ice cream. Never one to be deterred by the rules, Debi quickly escorted me down the hallway where all the tours groups were finishing their tours. Voila, she had found the sampling room, and as soon as the next tour group entered from their factory tour, we were all offered a tray filled with paper cups of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Debi and I quickly helped ourselves, and then nonchalantly wandered back out of the room. Debi turned to me, thoroughly enjoying her ill-gotten sample, and said “Stick with me babe!” We ended up purchasing some Envision Whirled Peace cones, and touring the Flavor Graveyard, which was pretty funny. Our next stop was Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Visitors Center, which shows a beautifully produced video introduction regarding their global philosophy, but alas, does not offer a plant tour. We did, however, buy a pound of coffee from them and enjoyed a delicious hot Mocha. Our next stop included a one-stop tasting of Cabot Cheese, a local winery, and Lake Champlain Chocolates. From there we drove through the very upscale ski community of Stowe, very near where we located our campsite for the night at Smuggler’s Notch State Park. Once we knew we had a place to stay for the night, we headed out on an adventure to see if we could locate the cabin on Lake Salem (in the northeast corner of the state) where Debi has very fond memories of spending three summers with her family between the ages of 6 and 9. On our way, we drove through the pass at Smuggler’s Notch, which is absolutely phenomenal, particularly when bathed in fall colors. (Thank you James for this great tip!) We then headed in a northeasterly direction across some of the most beautiful rolling hills and mountains filled with autumn colors that we have seen so far. This was further dramatized by the fact that our course toward Lake Salem headed us directly into the eye of an approaching storm, so our windshield was thoroughly pelted with rain at times, while the color display remained as beautiful as ever. When we finally arrived at the little town of Derby, and were approaching Lake Salem, Debi was feeling very excited to see if any vestige of her great childhood memories remained. But after only a moment of hesitation, she announced “I think that’s the place!” Sure enough, the little cabin remained almost exactly as she remembered it, including the back sleeping porch, and little dock on the lake where she fondly remembers being taught how to row the boat and fish by her grandfather (Big Papa). She stood down near the water and was savoring sweet memories of her summers spent there. At almost that exact moment a huge thunder clap rumbled nearby, and we both agreed that Big Papa was still there. Just down the road we stopped to eat at a local restaurant, where the owners have a herd of Elk fenced. As we got out of our van to look at the elk, the sky opened up with huge drops of rain, which created the most beautiful and intense double rainbow above the herd of elk that either of us has ever seen. We both agreed that Big Papa was really trying to make the point that he was very glad that Debi had returned to this magical place from her childhood
The bad news is that it rained almost all day. The good news is that it scared off most of the tourists and yes, we’re in Vermont. We left New Hampshire in dense fog, with maybe a ¼ mile visibility, looked at each other and said, “Mmm, maybe not the most ideal conditions for leaf-peeping.” However, by mid-morning the fog had lifted and we actually got some pretty spectacular views. (See today’s pic). For most of the day it felt like Thanksgiving, cool and damp, but somehow special like we were still in for a treat.
We spent most of the day on highway 100, also known as the Green Mountain Highway. Along the way we saw covered bridges, miles of rolling hills bursting with color, and our first New England moose! We couldn’t believe how few other people were on the road considering it’s the weekend and the height of fall colors. It was nice having it all to ourselves. That suddenly came to an end when we entered Weston and decided to visit the Vermont Country Store. Now we know where everybody was! This quaint, old fashioned country store is stocked with every nostalgia item you can dream of, and they give out free samples of cheese, cookies, crackers, fudge, and jams, to just name a few. Geez, you’d think people were starving the way they were lapping it up! Ned and I browsed for a little while, excited to find the elusive New England soft drink, Moxie (I like it, since the aftertaste is bitter like Campari, while for Ned, the jury is still out.) We decided we’d seen enough and split for other adventures. We headed for the Sugarbush Maple and Cheese Farm, run by the same family for generations. Nothing about their operation has changed since 1946, which made it charming to see how they tap the maple trees for sap, haul it by draft horse to the boiling shed, and then boil the water out of the sap until it becomes syrup in a long wood-fired troughs. We couldn’t believe it takes from 40 to 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. No wonder maple syrup is so expensive! After Sugarbush we drove around Woodstock and thought it was a really interesting place with lots of character. Next we stopped at Long Trail Brewery, where we took a tiny self-guided tour of their process. I thought Ned should get their 6 beer sampler, but since that amounted to 24 ounces of beer, and (even though I try to) I don’t like beer, we decided instead to eat their popcorn and leave. Next we found our campground at Gifford State Park, and are heartened that we can see the full moon tonight. Maybe we’ll get some blue skies tomorrow.
We got a couple of sprinkles last night, but woke up to bright blue skies. What a nice gift for our last day in Maine. We exceeded our usual “pokeyness” and really took forever to get down the last stretch of coast. To put this in perspective, it took us about 5 hours to drive 75 miles or so! For the most part we stuck to highway 1, with occasional jaunts down peninsulas and through villages. One of our stops was in search of Walker Point, aka the “Bush Compound” in Kennebunkport. We read in the paper that the ex-Pres was in town and a commemorative anchor was unveiled in front of his place yesterday. We decided to take a peek and sure enough saw the HUGE compound in all its glory, including the anchor with the “wet paint” sign still on. Lots of secret service vehicles around and people milling about their house, but no personal sighting of Mr. or Mrs. George Herbert Walker Bush. We survived. By about 2ish we were starving and finally settled on a seafood restaurant a little more upscale than we’ve been used to dining. In other words we weren’t sitting outside at a picnic table, but were seated inside with silverware! I’m sure gonna miss those crustaceans, tasty little suckers! (See my farewell pic to them). Our overall take on Maine: Northern Maine is more a blue-collar area, Mid-coast has a lot of the B&Bs, shops & villages and the Southern Maine coast has long stretches of sandy beaches. For the first time on the trip we began heading west (yes, I was a little sad, but Ned reassured me that we still have a good 3 weeks on the trip so I felt better), and headed into New Hampshire. We were pleasantly surprised by how absolutely gorgeous this area is. After being near the ocean for the past week it was fun to head back into the mountains. We are camped at a densely wooded campground near the summit of Mount Monadnock. It’s very quaint and reminds me of campgrounds from my childhood. (You know before they paved the campsites. RV’s would not be comfortable here). Thoreau claims this was his favorite hiking area, and I can definitely understand why. We left the sunny skies of the coast and it appears that weather is headed our way. The temperature has dropped considerably so Ned and I are dining on jiffy-pop and hot chocolate in the winniemobile, hunkering down for a cold and stormy night.
We’ve been having a grand time really being pokey and meandering down the coast. In fact, we decided to stay an extra day on the coast to just take in the fishing villages, scenery and anything that catches our fancy. Today that included stopping by the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland and spending a couple of hours viewing the Wyeth collection, including the works of N.C, Andrew and James. We were so inspired by Andrew’s depictions of Maine’s classic coastal landscape and the dramatic lighting from the storm clouds moving through the area, that we decided to try and simulate Andrew’s style with our camera. It was fun driving down the Maine peninsulas and stopping frequently to try and get just the right shot. (See today’s pic – what do you think?). The lightening really was fantastic. For the third day in a row we hit up another roadside lobster stand. Today I went all out and had a whole lobster and an ear of corn ($12-can you believe it?!) and Ned went for a 7 oz. lobster roll and a cup of steaming lobster stew. Oh yeah, baby we’re growing claws but loving every minute of it! The towns are all charming and quaint, and we never get tired of seeing the fishing boats, lobster traps, salt box homes, & white houses with black shutters that are ubiquitous along the coast. We ended the day at LL Bean in Freeport, wondering around their flagship store. It was pretty impressive, but didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without (or store in the Winniemobile). We weren’t too impressed with the State Park campground, which was unusual for Maine. So far, they’ve had the best campgrounds of any state! (Actually, I was a little creeped out by the only other campers in the campground, which were some very sketchy looking guys). We opted for a small, private very funky campground nearby. We are really enjoying coastal Maine and look forward to another day on the coast tomorrow. Who knows, we might even go for a fourth day of lobster!
Walker Ranch Recreation Area & Benton Hot Springs, We spent the last 4 days going off grid and exploring some unique areas around the hi...
