USA at last: Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont

Before leaving the Walmart parking lot in St John New Brunswick we made use of the internet access from Starbucks for a last e-mail check and were glad we did. We found one of importance--a document that had to be signed and witnessed and mailed to our broker. The timing was pretty close--not licensed to operate in the U.S. our broker could not take instructions from us if were were in that country! We printed it out and went into the next door CIBC (bank) where we had our signatures witnessed, mailed the envelope and set off for the USA.

We weren't in a big rush, we weren't planning on going far so didn't set off until afternoon. Looking for a place to stop for lunch we saw an information (?) symbol on a highway sign and took the exit. It was 10 miles to the town of Black's Harbour where the information centre was located and it was closed when we got there! We parked in the lot, made a sandwich and backtracked to the highway and south once again.

At the Canada US Border crossing at St Stephen, New Brunswick and Calais, Maine, we were greeted with "Where are you from? Are you on your way home?" When told "Not directly, we'll spend a month or six weeks in the US then head into Mexico for the winter" the border agent asked if we would be leaving any thing such as gifts in the US. We said no and were sent on with a "have a nice trip". The agent's demeanour through the entire conversation was brusque to say the least. No sign of a smile or any hint of friendliness or smile. Nevertheless the words were good and shortly after we had entered the country we realised that we had not thrown out (as planned) our planter of herbs that travel on the dash!





Half an hour south of the crossing we stopped for another "Location" photo with AbqL the traveling rock. Here near the town of Perry we crossed the 45th parallel.

The rain and fog stayed with us for most of the day, the temperature however was quite reasonable. We stopped at a boat launch where there was room to turn around and gave the dogs a bit of a break. Believe it or not there are a couple of fishing boats at anchor just off the beach. Click the picture, you might make them out.

About half an hour later on a very rough section of road through a construction area all the warning lights flashed just for a moment, accompanied with a momentary sound of air dumping the all returned to normal. Except for the speedometer which now read ZERO! After a while of Gillian monitoring our speed on the laptop (which is connected to the engine computer) she decided to bring up a larger gauge that would display the speed in MPH in a font large enough for Art to be able to read from behind the wheel. Just the occasional glance would be enough to keep us safe and free from tickets!

After the break the weather continued to deteriorate, increasing rain and wind until we arrived at the campsite in Bar Harbour, Maine. We chose a site not too close to the trees not so much for the satellite, but to be clear of falling branches! The forecast was for increasing winds overnight with sustained speeds of 30 to 50 knots and gusts to 70 knots. The trees were swaying and bending, gusts would occasionally rock the motorhome but not enough to cause the satellite dish to loose the signal!

The ground had been wet here for quite a while, long enough in any case to allow these mushrooms to flourish alongside our campsite. Though pretty, we knew enough to NOT be tempted. With our recent run of luck they would have proved deadly! Or perhaps they are a rare delicacy that we missed out on! Any one out there recognise them?

October 1st! Already!

Once again we set off at "the crack of noon" heading for New Hampshire.

Besides just seeing the country one of our aims this trip is to add the "stick on states" stickers to our map. Our rule is that just passing through a state doesn't earn a sticker--we have to spend at least on night in the RV. This adds a complication to route planning.

Weather today was much the same, scenic though and still the fall colours to enjoy, although some sunshine would be nice.

As we drove off Art realised that the speedometer was working again! Last night he had posted a question on www.rv.net and this morning had received a full explanation as to how the signals to the gauges are processed and what may have caused the problem; a loose or slightly corroded terminal in a connector some where along the line. Apparently all the info on all the gauges is carried via a three wire cable--ground, power and data. Each gauge takes the data it needs. It seems that you can switch connectors from one gauge to another and the gauges will still work normally!

An hour and a half later we stopped for fuel at Bucksport, Maine for fuel. Art was intrigued by the very common sign offering "clean" diesel. He wonders if he could buy dirty diesel at a cheaper rate and allow his fuel filters to earn their cost!

This was a pretty spot, we took a few photos and while Art fueled the rig Gillian walked up the street to a grocery store to stock up. Fuel done Art pulled around behind the station to wait for her return.

Moving on we came across a beautiful bridge that had replaced the old one and shortly after that an interesting formation in a rock cut.

At 6:15 in the rain, the last town before we left New Hampshire (remember the comments above about routing!) we pulled off the freeway to Seabrook just 2 miles short of the Massachusetts bordedr . No RV parks in sight, we had set the GPS to Walmart in Hampton. The navigator (who shall remain unnamed as she would be cooking dinner) had by mistake clicked on one located 18 miles south of where we had planned to stay. Same road, different address!

We pulled in to find signs posted "No Overnight Parking or Camping. Tow Away"! Not impressed. (Some municipalities have bylaws prohibiting this) Gillian went into the store to speak with customer service to ask if they had any idea where we could stop for the night. We were told we could in fact stay here! The sign was there to give them the option! We could park "over by the bank". Before the "sun" went down we were joined by two more rigs.

In the morning we woke to something strange: a bright light shining through the window! Sunshine!

We set off on a beautiful day, wonderful scenery, we very much enjoyed the drive. We found a nice lunch stop where Gillian could walk the dogs along the river.







The fall colours were much more enjoyable in the bright sunshone than in the previous dreary rain.










We continued to enjoy the views as we traveled througn the many villages, fall colours or not. It was so nice to see a bright sunny day again.









By 4:30 had arrived at our stopping spot for the night, Greenwood Lodge and Campsite near Bennington, Vermont.



The view from the rig at our campsite was wonderful. As the sun set it became stunning.

The dogs loved this place. Lots of walks in the woods, a stream and mill pond. . . . Though Trekker was not allowed in the swimming hole pictured the stream and mill pond not far away was allowed and he got his swim. This would be a wonderful place to spend your vacation. We imagine that during the summer it would be very popular. We almost regret that it is too far away to visit regularly.