6/13/09
left Tionesta and headed for Niagara Falls.
Went over the bridge and tried to find the casino. It wasn't in a very good part of town and the parking lot was fenced in. however, it was pretty full and Nan didn't want to try to stay there. So we headed back over the bridge, to a passport park on the island. It was interesting that on our way over the first time it was $3.00 with the car and rig. On the return over the bridge, it was $2.75. hmmmmmm, wonder if the bridge shrunk on the way back over!!!??? We decided that we just weren't very good tourists. We were impressed with the volume of water flowing, we were not impressed with the area. I guess we felt that they just weren't REAL waterfalls. Our idea of waterfalls were those that were in the midst of the forest and were surrounded by natural beauty and awe. Niagara was very very touristy and surrounded by industry and buildings and large population. It was good to see it, but our impressions were “been there, done that, don't need to go back”! Sorry, New Yorkers, we weren't blown away by this wonder of the world!
12' clearance on way to the falls, DUCK!!!! on our way to the falls, we found ourselves truckin under a 12' overpass, OMG! DUCK NAN! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, just made it. We had just measured the height of the rig a few days ago because we knew we were going to be around some low clearances. This one wasn't marked!! caught us by surprise. What we had measured was 12'3”. whew, somehow, either the clearance wasn't correctly marked, or we somehow measured wrong!! but we were again protected by MOM! My higher power!! She has taken care of us for years, and hasn't abandoned us on this trip.
6/14/09
Since we were not enthused with the area, we decided to head east again, and left Niagara falls. We headed to Finger Lakes and Seneca Falls. We intended to stay at a casino, but it wasn't there! We also thought that there was a passport park ½ way down the lake, so we headed to that, well, it was very small and not great, so we kept on going and ended up at our favorite cg, Wal-Mart in Ithaca, NY.
6/15/09
Nan was getting the itch, so we left the Wal-Mart and went to a casino that was just 35 miles south. It was in Tioga, NY. The casino was Tioga Downs. We got a bit lost and missed the driveway which I was sure said it was a racetrack. Nan said that NY was a state that allowed off track betting, so we thought there wasn't a regular casino there. I looked on my trusty map with casino's marked, and we decided to head to another casino back up north along the other side of Seneca Lake. Dang, on our way out of town, we passed a huge dome, a real casino, right alongside the racetrack!! turn around, go back, and found a HUGE parking area. We parked at the back of the lot, along some nicely own lawn and with not a single vehicle or anything anywhere within 500' of us. It was perfect! We stayed for a couple of days, that's all we could afford!!! but Nan had a great time (didn't pay for our trip) but next time!! and we had a really relaxing time. And it was sunny!!!!
6/17/09
We finished having fun and relaxing in the sun, on to the next place!! where was that???? we didn't know, so we started driving again. On our way, we found another COE park in Jamaica, VT. Well, my trusty mapping program got it wrong again. But just a little bit. I guess they have a lot of people come in and tell them their gps directions were way off. We went to where we thought the park was, and ended up on the top of a hill, at a dead end, at the dam for the lake. Oh what fun it is to try to turn around!! we disconnected the car and I sent Nan on a search for the cg. I got the rig turned around and headed after her. We finally found the cg and it was well worth the search. It was quite small but it was pretty nice. We had electric, but no phone service and no Internet! There was a very very large challenge to get to the campground. From the entrance, there was a road that was about 1 ½ lane road, making a sharp left had turn into the camp area. The bridge itself was slightly wider than the rig. We had about 6” on each side of the mirrors. SO, we attempted to swing wide, or as wide as the rock wall next to the road would let us, and turned sharp to get to the bridge without taking out either side of the rig. OK, back up, try again, ooops, that didn't work, how about this way? Nope that didn't work either. Out comes the old geezers to tell us how!! thank Mom, we backed up, went slightly past the bridge and turned sharp again, back up a bit, then go ahead, whew, finally, we got lined up and were able to get across. Dang, don't want to do that again. What was really interesting, it was a piece of cake getting out again!! ???? While here, we took drives into the Allegheny National Forrest. Back roads are us!! we loved it. One of the sights we found was little walls all along the roads, not necessarily in front of private property, they were hand placed boulders, for miles along gravel roads, slightly hidden by undergrowth. Huge homes tucked back into truly wilderness areas. What the hell did these people do for a living around here? No obvious commerce, no obvious large cities nearby, but very very ornate and large homes. hmmmmmm. Quite a dilema! The country surrounding the campground was gorgeous, we thoroughly enjoyed the drives and sights. One of the unique things we found on our wanderings was a large rock outcropping which someone, or many someone's, placed a large quantity of those little rock people, 3 rocks piled on top of each other. It was quite cute. There must have been more than a hundred of these little people all over the large boulders in this little area of boulders. That was quite the find.
6/23/09
Winhall Brook to Elmore state park. Headed out to visit Anne and Susan in Elmore, VT. On the way, we stopped at Ben and Jerry's headquarters. We did the tour and got free ice cream and then went and bought some more. It was pretty interesting to hear the process of how the business got started and that both of the guys who started it weren't even involved in the business anymore. They were off in the world of the rich and famous enjoying their windfall!! We met Anne and Susan there and then planned on meeting at Elmore State Park. After we got set up at the park, they stopped by and we set a plan to go kayaking at another state park nearby. The next morning, we got our stuff together and thanked Mom for the sun. Anne decided not to go, so Susan came by to pick us up. We went to this back country lake and found many other kayaks and canoers on the lake. It is a lake that is closed to any type of motored boats and left for only kayakers and canoers. It was fantastic, huge and many places to go to see all kinds of beautiful areas. Susan knew of a small island where it was marked off to protect the loons nesting areas. We went up to the edge of the marked off area and were able to observe a couple of loons hunting for food and sitting on nests.
left Tionesta and headed for Niagara Falls.
Went over the bridge and tried to find the casino. It wasn't in a very good part of town and the parking lot was fenced in. however, it was pretty full and Nan didn't want to try to stay there. So we headed back over the bridge, to a passport park on the island. It was interesting that on our way over the first time it was $3.00 with the car and rig. On the return over the bridge, it was $2.75. hmmmmmm, wonder if the bridge shrunk on the way back over!!!??? We decided that we just weren't very good tourists. We were impressed with the volume of water flowing, we were not impressed with the area. I guess we felt that they just weren't REAL waterfalls. Our idea of waterfalls were those that were in the midst of the forest and were surrounded by natural beauty and awe. Niagara was very very touristy and surrounded by industry and buildings and large population. It was good to see it, but our impressions were “been there, done that, don't need to go back”! Sorry, New Yorkers, we weren't blown away by this wonder of the world!
12' clearance on way to the falls, DUCK!!!! on our way to the falls, we found ourselves truckin under a 12' overpass, OMG! DUCK NAN! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, just made it. We had just measured the height of the rig a few days ago because we knew we were going to be around some low clearances. This one wasn't marked!! caught us by surprise. What we had measured was 12'3”. whew, somehow, either the clearance wasn't correctly marked, or we somehow measured wrong!! but we were again protected by MOM! My higher power!! She has taken care of us for years, and hasn't abandoned us on this trip.
6/14/09
Since we were not enthused with the area, we decided to head east again, and left Niagara falls. We headed to Finger Lakes and Seneca Falls. We intended to stay at a casino, but it wasn't there! We also thought that there was a passport park ½ way down the lake, so we headed to that, well, it was very small and not great, so we kept on going and ended up at our favorite cg, Wal-Mart in Ithaca, NY.
6/15/09
Nan was getting the itch, so we left the Wal-Mart and went to a casino that was just 35 miles south. It was in Tioga, NY. The casino was Tioga Downs. We got a bit lost and missed the driveway which I was sure said it was a racetrack. Nan said that NY was a state that allowed off track betting, so we thought there wasn't a regular casino there. I looked on my trusty map with casino's marked, and we decided to head to another casino back up north along the other side of Seneca Lake. Dang, on our way out of town, we passed a huge dome, a real casino, right alongside the racetrack!! turn around, go back, and found a HUGE parking area. We parked at the back of the lot, along some nicely own lawn and with not a single vehicle or anything anywhere within 500' of us. It was perfect! We stayed for a couple of days, that's all we could afford!!! but Nan had a great time (didn't pay for our trip) but next time!! and we had a really relaxing time. And it was sunny!!!!
6/17/09
We finished having fun and relaxing in the sun, on to the next place!! where was that???? we didn't know, so we started driving again. On our way, we found another COE park in Jamaica, VT. Well, my trusty mapping program got it wrong again. But just a little bit. I guess they have a lot of people come in and tell them their gps directions were way off. We went to where we thought the park was, and ended up on the top of a hill, at a dead end, at the dam for the lake. Oh what fun it is to try to turn around!! we disconnected the car and I sent Nan on a search for the cg. I got the rig turned around and headed after her. We finally found the cg and it was well worth the search. It was quite small but it was pretty nice. We had electric, but no phone service and no Internet! There was a very very large challenge to get to the campground. From the entrance, there was a road that was about 1 ½ lane road, making a sharp left had turn into the camp area. The bridge itself was slightly wider than the rig. We had about 6” on each side of the mirrors. SO, we attempted to swing wide, or as wide as the rock wall next to the road would let us, and turned sharp to get to the bridge without taking out either side of the rig. OK, back up, try again, ooops, that didn't work, how about this way? Nope that didn't work either. Out comes the old geezers to tell us how!! thank Mom, we backed up, went slightly past the bridge and turned sharp again, back up a bit, then go ahead, whew, finally, we got lined up and were able to get across. Dang, don't want to do that again. What was really interesting, it was a piece of cake getting out again!! ???? While here, we took drives into the Allegheny National Forrest. Back roads are us!! we loved it. One of the sights we found was little walls all along the roads, not necessarily in front of private property, they were hand placed boulders, for miles along gravel roads, slightly hidden by undergrowth. Huge homes tucked back into truly wilderness areas. What the hell did these people do for a living around here? No obvious commerce, no obvious large cities nearby, but very very ornate and large homes. hmmmmmm. Quite a dilema! The country surrounding the campground was gorgeous, we thoroughly enjoyed the drives and sights. One of the unique things we found on our wanderings was a large rock outcropping which someone, or many someone's, placed a large quantity of those little rock people, 3 rocks piled on top of each other. It was quite cute. There must have been more than a hundred of these little people all over the large boulders in this little area of boulders. That was quite the find.
6/23/09
Winhall Brook to Elmore state park. Headed out to visit Anne and Susan in Elmore, VT. On the way, we stopped at Ben and Jerry's headquarters. We did the tour and got free ice cream and then went and bought some more. It was pretty interesting to hear the process of how the business got started and that both of the guys who started it weren't even involved in the business anymore. They were off in the world of the rich and famous enjoying their windfall!! We met Anne and Susan there and then planned on meeting at Elmore State Park. After we got set up at the park, they stopped by and we set a plan to go kayaking at another state park nearby. The next morning, we got our stuff together and thanked Mom for the sun. Anne decided not to go, so Susan came by to pick us up. We went to this back country lake and found many other kayaks and canoers on the lake. It is a lake that is closed to any type of motored boats and left for only kayakers and canoers. It was fantastic, huge and many places to go to see all kinds of beautiful areas. Susan knew of a small island where it was marked off to protect the loons nesting areas. We went up to the edge of the marked off area and were able to observe a couple of loons hunting for food and sitting on nests.
They are wonderfully beautiful birds. We docked on a small island and had lunch and then headed out again for more paddling. It was a bit warm and I had a scarf on Trav's head to protect him from the sun. It was pretty cute. The paddle was a complete success and we had a terrific time. Later that day, we drove up to Trina and Susan's house way off the beaten path. What a fantastically beautiful place they have. Anne made a beautiful dinner and we had a great time with all of them. You don't get away with visiting Ann and Susan without playing the game of Sequence! We played 3 games and had a really fun time. Nan and I just enjoyed reading and sitting in the sun the following day, little knowing that we wouldn't see the sun for another couple of weeks! Actually, we have not seen the sun for more than about 10 days in the last 2 ½ months!!! Now we know why it is so green here! But enuff is enuff, and we decided to try to head out to find more sun.
6/27/09
We were having a difficult time with our door and it seemed to get worse. So I found an RV service place in auburn, me. They were also a certified repair place for the Allison transmissions. We had a gauge that wasn't working for the transmission temperature. I was getting a bit nervous, so decided to have it looked at. On our way to auburn, we drove thru the white mountain national forest. We drove the scenic byway called Kancamangus Hwy. This was really a beautiful drive. As we were driving, we decided to stop at a campground in the national forest for a day or 2. we didn't have to be in Auburn for another 4 days. We pulled in and there were HUGE spaces, and it was almost empty! We went for other drives and found some great gravel roads to follow and see the back country a bit.
6/27/09
We were having a difficult time with our door and it seemed to get worse. So I found an RV service place in auburn, me. They were also a certified repair place for the Allison transmissions. We had a gauge that wasn't working for the transmission temperature. I was getting a bit nervous, so decided to have it looked at. On our way to auburn, we drove thru the white mountain national forest. We drove the scenic byway called Kancamangus Hwy. This was really a beautiful drive. As we were driving, we decided to stop at a campground in the national forest for a day or 2. we didn't have to be in Auburn for another 4 days. We pulled in and there were HUGE spaces, and it was almost empty! We went for other drives and found some great gravel roads to follow and see the back country a bit.
which came first, the rock or the tree????MOOSE!!! where were the moose!! didn't find any as we drove around, but we weren't discouraged yet. I drove out at sunset to see if I could find any at some of the places we found during the earlier drive. Went to a prime moose spot and sat for about an hour and a half but no luck. Next day we took some other back roads and tried to keep dry, yes, it was still raining and it was a gully washer that didn't quit!! that evening I went out again to a different place to sit and wait. Didn't have to wait long, there was a truck sitting right in front of a sign that read “no parking or sitting”! He was parked and so I pulled up behind him a ways and sat for a bit. As I was getting ready to pull out, I was the rear end of a large moose crossing the road. I got out, in the rain, and grabbed my video camera. At least it wasn't raining so hard I couldn't see, as it was earlier. As I was looking to find where he went, I saw some cars pulling off the road about 100' up the road. Low and behold, there he was, in all his glory. Fabulous!! he was HUGE! A bull with a rack that was the largest I'd ever seen on any wall mounted moose. I sat down in the wet grass and watched and watched and took some pics. I couldn't quite get any stills because it was so dark, it wasn't quite sundown, but it was so overcast and the rain made it really hard to get many good stills. But my video was running!! it was great!! he started moving away and I followed along the road and he went to the area he first headed into from the other side of the road. He was very close and there were many people stopped to see. It was like Yellowstone and seeing a bear along the road. Anyway, he did his obligatory poses for the people, ate a bit, and then turned around and faded into the forest away from all the excitement!! ahhhhhhhhhh, it was terrific!! hopefully, I'll get to see another before we leave Maine!!
6/29/09
The rain was starting to get to us, so we decided to go ahead and head for the Wal-mart in auburn to get to the repair facility early the next morning. No let up of wet and we sat at WM and waited for tomorrow.
6/30/09
I had them check a few things on the rig and was hoping they would be able to fix the door and the temp gauge. They took the rig in and ran a diagnostic and found a sensor was bad. It was ordered and would be in the next day. They didn't have time to do the door, so they were going to wait for the sensor and do the door the next day at the same time. Well, yours truly got bored and decided to try the door again. I got brave and took off the outside frame. I was able to reach into the lower mechanism and found a bolt that could be tightened in order for the rod to pull a bit more and trigger the mechanism shorter. It worked!!! I fixed it myself!!! oh, how I love it when something works!!! so, all we had to do was wait for the sensor. What I didn't expect was that they charged to talk to them, and it ended up costing much more than we expected. But at least our minds were eased as to all of our concerns. It was still raining, and we were getting more and more frustrated. We took off headed east again.
7/1/09
we found a passport park near bar harbor and stopped to spend a few nites. The woman at the desk was quite the bitch!! she complained about passport members and how they didn't want to pay. She said she had 7 kids to feed!!! HA! Not our fault she had 7 kids, which I HIGHLY DOUBTED, didn't she know what caused that?? we didn't know why she even accepted passport if she felt so negatively about them. When we pulled into our spot, we saw there were only 6 other rigs in the whole place. My, my, wonder what her problem is? Isn't it better to get something than nothing!!!??? she was a pretty pissy rep of her slogan on her sign, “EVERYONE IS TREATED LIKE FAMILY”. Ha, wouldn't have stayed except we were tired of the rain and figured we'd get water, dump, and get Internet before we went to WM again to be a lower class citizen. We are going to leave the rig at WM for the day to go to Bar Harbor and see the island and the Acadia National Park. After we set up we took off to check out the area and found a crowded place to eat, always look for crowded for good food!! it was a BBQ Pit and Lobster Luau??? we sat at picnic tables outside, thankfully it wasn't quite raining, just misting!! but a bit cool. We had lobster and loved it. Our hands were covered in butter and wonderful fresh lobster. It was fun and we loved the FRESH fare.
We are headed out for bar harbor shortly, so if we ever get another Internet connection, we'll fill you in on what we found there and beyond!!!!
take care everyone. HUGS TO ALL!!!
6/29/09
The rain was starting to get to us, so we decided to go ahead and head for the Wal-mart in auburn to get to the repair facility early the next morning. No let up of wet and we sat at WM and waited for tomorrow.
6/30/09
I had them check a few things on the rig and was hoping they would be able to fix the door and the temp gauge. They took the rig in and ran a diagnostic and found a sensor was bad. It was ordered and would be in the next day. They didn't have time to do the door, so they were going to wait for the sensor and do the door the next day at the same time. Well, yours truly got bored and decided to try the door again. I got brave and took off the outside frame. I was able to reach into the lower mechanism and found a bolt that could be tightened in order for the rod to pull a bit more and trigger the mechanism shorter. It worked!!! I fixed it myself!!! oh, how I love it when something works!!! so, all we had to do was wait for the sensor. What I didn't expect was that they charged to talk to them, and it ended up costing much more than we expected. But at least our minds were eased as to all of our concerns. It was still raining, and we were getting more and more frustrated. We took off headed east again.
7/1/09
we found a passport park near bar harbor and stopped to spend a few nites. The woman at the desk was quite the bitch!! she complained about passport members and how they didn't want to pay. She said she had 7 kids to feed!!! HA! Not our fault she had 7 kids, which I HIGHLY DOUBTED, didn't she know what caused that?? we didn't know why she even accepted passport if she felt so negatively about them. When we pulled into our spot, we saw there were only 6 other rigs in the whole place. My, my, wonder what her problem is? Isn't it better to get something than nothing!!!??? she was a pretty pissy rep of her slogan on her sign, “EVERYONE IS TREATED LIKE FAMILY”. Ha, wouldn't have stayed except we were tired of the rain and figured we'd get water, dump, and get Internet before we went to WM again to be a lower class citizen. We are going to leave the rig at WM for the day to go to Bar Harbor and see the island and the Acadia National Park. After we set up we took off to check out the area and found a crowded place to eat, always look for crowded for good food!! it was a BBQ Pit and Lobster Luau??? we sat at picnic tables outside, thankfully it wasn't quite raining, just misting!! but a bit cool. We had lobster and loved it. Our hands were covered in butter and wonderful fresh lobster. It was fun and we loved the FRESH fare.
We are headed out for bar harbor shortly, so if we ever get another Internet connection, we'll fill you in on what we found there and beyond!!!!
take care everyone. HUGS TO ALL!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment