The commercial campground was well-kept and offered Kayak
rentals. We rented two fishing Kayaks
and paddled around the lake a bit to see how we liked them. We decided, we prefer one two-seat boat where
we can stay together. We took the Jeep
exploring and stopped at several waterfalls where we saw locals swimming in some
very cold water.
Of course, no trip to
Vermont is complete without a visit to the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
factory. We took the tour and received
free samples of their Milk and Cookies ice cream that is really good.
On another day, we drove over to Killington,
VT to hike some trails. We thought we
were going on a 3-mile loop to a beautiful outlook. Unfortunately, one of us had the map
incorrectly oriented 180 degrees and we found ourselves hiking “The Long Trail”
which is part of the
Appalachian Trail. We figured it out about 4-miles in near
a peak when we came across a sign warning that we were in a dangerous and
desolate area. A thunderstorm was headed
our way and soaked us completely as we made our way back down the
mountain. We have added dry cloths to a
bag we keep in the Jeep and I now have a much better compass in our hiking bag.
Holiday weekends are prime times for family and friends to
get together and enjoy camping. As
full-timers, we enjoy seeing all the RVs on the road heading to the best
camping spots; but that means we need to find a spot and stay put as
campgrounds are filled to capacity. Fortunately, Pattie’s sister lives in
Peterborough, New Hampshire and Fourth of July weekend was a great opportunity
for us to visit her and camp at her horse farm.
We had a good time visiting with them and Pattie even got to ride one of
the horses.
As the campgrounds emptied, we were able to easily secure
one of the prime spots in Newfound RV Park near Newfound Lake in NH. With a mid-week stay and the Passport America
rate, this full hook-up spot was less than $20 per night. We rented a canoe and paddled around a few
islands in Newfound Lake before taking a hike around Wellington State Park. The park has a nicely maintained beach that
was crowed with families enjoying the warm day.
We decided to take a hike along the edge of the Lake and after about a
mile, we came to a small cove with a beach big enough for two people. With no one around, we ignored the no
swimming sign and cooled off in the clear water.
Our next stop was in Bethel, Maine where we attended our
first Jeep Jamboree back in 1988. The
small town seemed the same and we found the pottery store where we bought some
lamps 28 years ago. Pattie couldn’t
resist and bought herself a nicely colored coffee mug. It rained most of the time we were there so
we explored the back roads in the Jeep and stopped for short hikes to see
waterfalls. Along one road, we saw a
young moose that was in no hurry, so we watched him stick his head behind a
tree to hide from us. Of course, the
other eight feet of his body was exposed, but I think he thought if he could
not see us we could not see him.
Heading north, we camped at Eustis, ME. Here we rented paddleboards for the day and
took them to various spots to explore the Flagstaff Lake and its
tributaries. This was Pattie’s first
time on a paddleboard and I guess she didn’t realize that part of the fun is
loosing your balance and falling in because she didn’t. I did a few times and enjoyed the cool
waters.
Heading east, we stopped for 5 days at Palmyra, ME. We took day trips from here to explore the
lakes to the north. One back road was
flooded from a beaver dam, so I had to put on some old shoes and wade through
to check the depth before crossing. We
were about 2 hours into the backwoods and I couldn’t risk flooding out and didn’t
want to turn back.
The paved roads here
suffer from frost heaves and many roads are gravel. They took their toll on the Jeep causing the
steering damper to rupture. Fortunately,
Palmyra has a Jeep dealership that was able to make the necessary repairs (I
spent a day repairing their repairs) and we were on our way.
Now, we are headed toward the coast for some Lobsta. They don’t have “R” in their alphabet in
Maine.
Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!
No comments:
Post a Comment