Showing posts with label NEW HAMPSHIRE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEW HAMPSHIRE. Show all posts

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #3 - STOP #34

It's hard to believe that we have been in Vermont for the last six weeks, but it's time to move back over to New Hampshire before heading further south and eventually back over to Cape Cod for the Labor Day Weekend.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment on our Facebook Group page and hope that the comments keep coming. I also suggest everyone makes it a habit to read the comments as well as this blog.

With this being our second time through the New England area we haven't been doing any of the vacation type sightseeing like we did last year. Most all of the big cities and attractions are off limits if you're trying to social distance, instead we're staying home, relaxing or working on a few minor projects around THE POD and ROVER.

TUESDAY - Today is a waiting game for us. Like most of our friends back in South Florida did yesterday we are now preparing for the what Hurricane Isaias, now Tropical Storm Isaias, has in store for us up here in southwestern New Hampshire. As with all tropical storms the two main concerns are high wind and high water.

First concern is the wind! Our forecast here is for sustained winds of 30MPH with gusts up to 60MPH later tonight. It's not so much the wind, but what might happen regarding the trees surrounding THE POD. I'm not sure when the last time a strong wind cleared out any dead branches from the trees high above us. I don't see any concerns from down on the ground, but you never know what lies high up in the trees.

I hope these trees are as healthy as they look!

Second concern is the water! The back bumper of THE POD is only a few yards away from the Ashuelot River and there is a flash flood warning for this area beginning later this afternoon. We have been assured by the campground owners that the river is in no danger of overflowing the banks enough to reach our campsite. Guess we'll just keep our fingers crossed on that one!

A river view from the front door of THE POD

WEDNESDAY - Tropical Storm Isaias didn't live up to the warnings that where sent out up here in our area. It seems that New Jersey and Delaware took the worst the storm had to give and by the time it reached us in southwestern New Hampshire it was little more than a bad thunderstorm.

We do have two branches, big twigs actually, on the roof of THE POD that will have to be removed before we hit the highway on Friday. Our winds and rain started around 7PM and was all but gone by midnight. We did however record our highest wind to date with our personal weather station with a 25MPH gust around 9PM. The rain was a complete non-factor in our area with the river behind our campsite rising only a few inches.

This morning we saw on the AccuWeather website there are over 1.2 million people in New Jersey without electricity and another 69,000 without power in New Hampshire, we're fortunate to not be one of them. I suspect most of the affected New Hampshire residents are along the eastern coastline, nearer to Maine.

Our hopes are that anyone reading this post was not too severely affected by the storm! If you care to share your experiences, please do so in the newly opened Facebook Group comments section.


... if you wish to receive an email notice when there is a new blog post!

PLEASE NOTE:
After you subscribe a company named Feed Burner will send you an email to once again verify that you wish to subscribe to TWO PEAS AND THE POD to which you must reply before you will receive notices.

If you prefer

to be notified of new blog posts.

We encourage everyone
to leave their comments
in our Facebook Group!

We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

Labels:

MORE TIME IN THE FOREST

TUESDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #3 - STOP #26


What a difference between this campground and the last! Even though we only moved a short 17 miles south from our last campsite the difference is like night and day. Back at Russell Pond we were only a three mile drive from Interstate 93, but it was all uphill and in the middle of the forest.

Here at Campton Campground we are again just three miles from Interstate 93, but this time we are at the edge of town and just 100 yards from the major two lane Highway 49 that has traffic all day long.

Another major difference between these two campgrounds is their elevation. Russell Pond is at nearly 1000 feet higher elevation than where we are now and that means milder daytime high temperatures and cooler nights.

With the forecast for highs in the low 90s going into this weekend we may be just tempted to pack a picnic lunch and drive ROVER back up to Russell Pond to dip our toes in the cool waters.

Now that sounds like a good idea!

THURSDAY - One desirable advantage of being located on the edge of town is the ease in which we can decide to skip making our own breakfast and instead choose to drive the short distance to Dunkin Donuts and then eat our breakfast in the picnic area of a nearby park. We can't afford to have a $20 breakfast everyday, but it was a nice change from our usual cold cereal or oatmeal.

With not a lot else going on here this week I thought I would just share a few campsite photos.

Tucked way back into our forested campsite.

Picnic table and fire pit, what else could we possibly need?

Sure glad THE POD wasn't here when that tree was cut down.

SUNDAY - All week long this has been a quiet and peaceful place to camp but on Friday afternoon that began to change. It seems this is where the local "young adults" like to hangout and party on the weekends. By Friday night the campground was half full and on Saturday the other half showed up.

During the daylight hours everyone seemed to behave fairly well, but come nightfall the music got louder and then the karaoke style sing-alongs began. This went on an hour or so beyond the posted 10PM quiet time but by noon today all was back to normal.

It never got to the point where I felt the need to complain to the camp host, but I sure was hoping they could hear it from their campsite and take it upon themselves to regain control. That didn't happen!

I understand the local teens needing a place to blow off some steam. With a global pandemic, stay at home orders lifting, relaxed social distancing requirements and most importantly, widespread parental unemployment, they need to get away frm their homes and vent. I just wish it wasn't two campsites down from where I'm trying to sleep!

Today is our last day at Campton Campground so we decided to go out for lunch and ended up here at the Full Circle Food Truck. Tricia sampled the Fried Fish Sandwich on a Subroll ($7) and I elected to go for the Baked Lobster and Macaroni with Cheese ($10). Both were surprisingly better that we expected!

I knew we had picked a good place to eat because when we arrived there were four other cars and a motorcycle waiting for their cooked when ordered meals to be prepared.

The perfect lunch spot!


... if you wish to receive an email notice when there is a new blog post!

PLEASE NOTE:
After you subscribe a company named Feed Burner will send you an email to once again verify that you wish to subscribe to TWO PEAS AND THE POD to which you must reply before you will receive notices.

If you prefer

to be notified of new blog posts.

We encourage everyone to use
the comment section below!

We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

Labels:

ON THE ROAD AGAIN ...

TUESDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #3 - STOP #25

For the first time in two months we are heading down the road to a real campground, where we can spend some time getting back in touch with nature. While it was great spending time visiting with family and friends, it will also feel good to once again start traveling and experiencing new destinations.

Campsite G01 at Russell Pond Campground

You may be wondering about those two poles on the back of THE POD? The one on the left is our cell booster antenna and the one on the right is our new weather station that measures wind speed, temperature and humidity.

Last summer we were also in this same area of New Hampshire, but only spent one week in the National Forest, instead we headed further north up to Maine and Acadia National Park. This year we are spending two weeks in the forests of New Hampshire before heading next door to Vermont for a six week visit.

WEDNESDAY - With nice sunny weather we decided to go for a long scenic drive through the forest and scout out what the free dispersed camping areas look like on the north end of the White Mountains National Forest.

The first location is on Gale River Loop Road which was probably used as a logging road back when that sort of activity was going on around here. Now the USFS has created 11 free campsites and several hiking trailheads along the roadway. Only a couple were large enough to accommodate THE POD while most were better suited for Class B Motorhomes (i.e. conversion vans), truck campers or tent camping.

In one site was a restored 1970's era Volkswagon Campervan. A middle aged couple were outside enjoying the sun and we just had to stop on the roadway and chat (at a safe distance of course) about their beautiful camper. Turns out they are a semi-retired couple who work seven months a year at Disneyworld in Orlando and travel the rest of the year around the United States in their camper. This was their first time trying the free camping in the White Mountains National Forest and it was only their second day here.

The second location is just a couple miles away on Haystack Road. Once again there were 11 campsites but these were larger and at least half of them would accommodate THE POD.

The third location is Old Cherry Mountain Road. The entrance road to the 9 campsites here is a little rough and steep which would make it difficult and unwise for us to try and bring THE POD for a visit. However ROVER was up to the task so we went and had a look. Not surprisingly all these sites were small and unusable by us, but would make for a wonderful tent camping experience.

The fourth location is Jefferson Notch Road. Upon our arrival here we found a locked gate blocking the roadway and prevented us from getting a look.

With all of our intended locations scouted it was time to head home. One thing all these sites had in common was they were all well spaced apart, sometimes by a half mile or so, and they were all right on the edge of the road, where dust and traffic noise could be a problem. With all that said you can't beat the price, it's FREE!

Tricia's camera is still not working and we haven't been able to find a place open to get it repaired without mailing it away, which would create the bigger problem of where to get it mailed back to us. Instead I created links to all of today's sites where you can see other people's photos and comments from our favorite campground review site, Campendium.

THURSDAY - With heavy fog, rain and cloudy weather forecast for today we still wanted to get out and explore. First we went to scout out our next reserved campsite at Campton Campground, just 15 miles south of our current location. It's not quite as nice as what we have here at Russell Pond Campground.

Just to show how foggy it was this morning, first is a photo of nearby Beaver Pond, followed by a photo of Russell Pond later the same afternoon.

Beaver Pond around 10:00AM

Russell Pond around 4:00PM

FRIDAY - WOW! What a difference a day makes! Here is another photo of Russell Pond taken this morning from nearly the same position as yesterday's photo. With weather like this we just had to climb back into ROVER and go explore some more.

Russell Pond around 10:00AM Friday morning

Today we plan on scouting six more National Forest Service campgrounds along one of America's Scenic Byways known as the Kancamagus Highway. While the highway is only 34.5 miles long it offers many spectacular hiking opportunities, scenic overlooks and of course the campgrounds. From the highest point of the highway at Kancamagus Pass (2855 feet) the eastern half of the highway roughly follows the course of the Swift River down into the town of Conway where it meets up with the Sacco River.

ALONG THE KANCAMAGUS HIGHWAY

This rather unique entrance to the Covered Bridge Campground was originally built in 1858.
A lot of detail and craftmanship when into the original construction and 1970 renovation of this covered bridge.
A pedestrian suspension bridge over the Swift River.
The grandeur of the White Mountains National Forest.
Today's tranqil picnic location on the south bank of the Swift River

NOTE: With Tricia's camera still broken
all photos in this post were taken by using just our two cell phones.


... if you wish to receive an email notice when there is a new blog post!

PLEASE NOTE:
After you subscribe a company named Feed Burner will send you an email to once again verify that you wish to subscribe to TWO PEAS AND THE POD to which you must reply before you will receive notices.

If you prefer

to be notified of new blog posts.

We encourage everyone to use
the comment section below!

We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

Labels:

MOUNT WASHINGTON COG TRAIN (NH)

Our Location:
Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch State Park
Franconia, NH

Of all the ways to reach the summit of Mount Washington this has got to be our favorite. It's not the slowest way to get there, you could always hike the 3 miles to the top of the mountain.

The Mount Washington Cog Railway has been in use since 1869 and we were here just after they celebrated their 150th Anniversary on July 3rd. It's one of only two historic cog trains still in use in the United States, the other being the Pike's Peak Cog Railway in Colorado. You bet we are going to check that one out too when we get out west in a couple of years.

MOUNT WASHINGTON COG TRAIN

Yep, we are headed in the right direction, it won't be long now.
The Base Station for the Mount Washington Cog Railway.
View from the second floor balcony of the Base Station.
Some of the specialized equipment used to build the cog railway back in 1869.
Sure is a cloudy day up at the summit.
Well it's finally our turn to climb the mountain.
It's quite a slow 2.8 MPH rollercoaster ride up to the summit.
The switch track area for passing trains coming down and the water refill station for the steam engine.
Here comes the cars going back down.
The track is now in position for us to start climbing again.
That's Jacob's Ladder ahead, a steep 37.4% grade that we'll have to climb.
Hope no one else is coming down the tracks around that corner.
Now we've got our head in the clouds!
On the steam engines when coal doesn't make it into the burner it simply gets kicked over the side.
This is where the hiking trail crosses the cog rail.
We're nearing the summit now.
Pulling into the Summit Station.
Everyone is glad to arrive at the summit.
Pretty cloudy up here today, not like when we drove up two days ago.
Back at the Base Station we watch as the last train of the day prepares to leave.
Listening for the ALL ABOARD signal.
And the stream engine is off.
Sure takes a large head of steam to get up this mountain.

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SLIDESHOW

Option 1 - Do nothing and cycle through the photos at the predetermined speed.

Option 2 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and use the forward and reverse arrows that appear on the left and right centers to speed through the photos. Photos will still change at the predetermined speed if you wait too long. Keep your eye on the clock in the upper right hand corner.

Option 3 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and click on the pause button. You now have full control to go forward or reverse at your own speed. You can also select any of the little round buttons under the photo to navigate through the photos.

WANT TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT A LARGER SIZE?
1st - Click near the center of any photo and it will open to a larger size than what appears in the slideshow.
2nd - Click on it again and it will open to it's original full resolution size.
3rd - You will have to use your browsers back button to return to the slideshow after viewing the photo.

Labels:

DRIVING THE MT. WASHINGTON AUTO ROAD (NH)

Our Location:
Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch State Park
Franconia, NH

Now that we have all of our hiking done for the day it's time to let ROVER do some of the work! Mount Washington is the tallest mountain in the northeastern United States at 6288 feet. While it's not even in the "Top Ten" if we start talking about anything east of the Mississippi River it's still a quite a sight.

The drive up the mountain was a little scary, but we took our time and didn't let the little sports cars and motorcycles behind us make us rush. When ever we had a chance we'd pull over and let them all pass. The drive back down was a whole different experience!

MOUNT WASHINGTON AUTO ROAD

Waiting in line to start the drive we read the sign on the right. Can you read it?
Maybe this will help. We saw a couple of cars make a U-Turn after reading this.
In mid-July there was still a large patch of snow on the mountain.
We start the seven mile climb around and up the mountain.
Yep, they were right! No guardrails!
No guardrails here either.
A look back at the road we've climbed so far
Two way traffic, people going up have the right of way because we're the one's on the edge!
We are getting near the top.
These pullouts are for going back down and having a chance to pull over and cool down your brakes!
Our view from the parking lot at the summit.
Hey look, here comes a cog train.
It's 20 degrees cooler at the summit than it is at the base.
Part of the weather observatory on the summit.
The distant view on a pretty clear day.
That bald spot in the middle of the shot is the parking lot where the Auto Road starts.
The Mount Washington summit marker.
The Tip Top House hostel located on the summit.
More of the weather observatory.
Chains are used to hold down the building during the fierce winter winds.
More of the observatory equipment.
Looking at the road going back down.
Time for ROVER to take us safely home.

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SLIDESHOW

Option 1 - Do nothing and cycle through the photos at the predetermined speed.

Option 2 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and use the forward and reverse arrows that appear on the left and right centers to speed through the photos. Photos will still change at the predetermined speed if you wait too long. Keep your eye on the clock in the upper right hand corner.

Option 3 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and click on the pause button. You now have full control to go forward or reverse at your own speed. You can also select any of the little round buttons under the photo to navigate through the photos.

WANT TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT A LARGER SIZE?
1st - Click near the center of any photo and it will open to a larger size than what appears in the slideshow.
2nd - Click on it again and it will open to it's original full resolution size.
3rd - You will have to use your browsers back button to return to the slideshow after viewing the photo.

Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)