2012 Big Truck Across the Northeast, Day 9

Day 9 felt a bit different, mostly because this was the longest we have stayed in one place out of all of our trips.  3 nights in the same campsite - those are some serious roots for us.  If you combine it with the 2 days at Camden State Park, we've now spent 5 days in the same state.  Maine has been incredible, so we're a little sad to be leaving, but New Hampshire and Vermont should be pretty interesting in their own right. 

Much of today was spent in the Big Truck, so I'll get to that in a minute.  First, the guy that has the job that I want.  Imagine mowing this lawn, given the backdrop.  Can't imagine there is a whole lot of stress.  Sure, once in a while he hits a Marmaduke-sized pile of crap, or runs out of gas, but all he'd have to do is look around, and all is well.

We took care of business at Bar Harbor Campground, packed up, and had a lady reserve our site while we were still on it.  Getting an Ocean View site is like Black Friday at Walmart, nothing is too cutthroat and people are not shy.

From there we got on the road & headed up through Bangor, with a quick stop for lunch. There is comedy, then there is listening to 2 people tiptoe around the pronunciation of Bangor, going to great lengths to either not say it, or over-enunciating like this.

 The rest of our drive through western Maine felt like we had gone back in time.  Kimberly commented on the seemingly endless supply of trees, as we followed US2 (a 2 laner, like a cross between M22 and M119 in Michigan, with the altitude multiplier set to 100x) along a multitude of rivers, across dams, and through old school bridges like these.

These are not for the faint of heart, as we met one dump truck and one logging truck in the oncoming lane of each bridge.  I think those drivers view it as a game, because they barely slowed down and were definitely reveling in the fact that they could visibly see my blood pressure spike over 400 as they passed.

Next we stopped for gas, even though we were at half-tank, since gas stations were becoming few and far between.  The area along our drive was filled with spectacular natural scenery, but the communities we passed through looked very rugged, lots of vacant properties, rotting vehicles, and rundown homes. Some of our mobile research confirmed that the paper/lumber industries were struggling, so jobs were leaving the area rather quickly.

While filling up the Big Truck, I took special note of this helpful request.

 

Is there any other possible way to prepay? This seems like the basis for about a 20 minute Seinfeld routine.

As we entered New Hampshire & the White Mountains, we discovered the true nemesis of our cross country rig of choice – high winds.  One of the guys I used to ride with had his BMW K1200RS blown right off the centerstand at a lookout on the way up Mt Washington, so I was aware of the potential.  This is about how it felt inside our rig.

When we arrived at our exit (Franconia Notch State Park), we could see that our campsite at the base of Cannon Mountain ski area was going to be pretty picturesque.  This is from the offramp, unfortunately the lift was just closing as we were pulling in.  Maybe tomorrow…

Our accommodations are a bit different here than our previous stops.  This one involves 7 sites along the back of the parking lot, with a ski area maintenance shed & snowmaking equipment directly behind us over the berm.  Doesn’t sound that great, but here are some views. We’re not complaining.

This is Echo Lake, directly behind the campground.  Jordan immediately sniffed out the beach, and plans an early morning invasion with her sand toys, and her ducks.

And the view from the site…

Plus you know you are in the middle of nowhere when the campsite info comes with the dreaded 'how to handle a bear attack' pamphlet.  I'm sure once I see a giant black bear I'll just peruse this handy card and live to fight another day.

Our neighbors include a French-Canadian one-upper (he has seen or done anything and everything anyone else here has, but just a little better or sooner than all of us – kinda like the hipster who knew ____ before it was ____ ), a super loud dude that looks and sounds like Borat, only if Borat had 2 screaming toddlers that played in (yes, in) the campfire until 10pm, and a couple of recluses like us (thank you).

They do, however, help to reinforce the stereotype we have started to build.  People in the northeast (alert – sweeping generalization in progress) eat very healthy, drive one of the following – a Subaru, Volvo wagon, or an even older Subaru, are generally polite and inviting (and extroverted), and sound like any character from these Dish Network commercials.

As light was fading, I made a quick run into town.  As we discovered earlier in the day, we are actually camping about 2 minutes from the Appalachian Trial. 

I stopped to grab this picture, careful not to give off the scent of a grilled cheese or Pachouli oil, for fear that this guy would leave his drum circle and devil sticks to come after me.

All told, this place is about the most quiet and peaceful we’ve ever stayed in.  Full moon, clear sky, bright stars (no blue diamonds), and fresh mountain air.  A bit different than the ocean spray of Acadia, but impressive in its own right.  Here is the signoff pic, taken just over an hour ago right out the back of our site.

Tomorrow we may ride the ski lift up the mountain to see the Notch from above, as well as check out the Flume gorge down the road.  Then it’s off to Vermont, just south of Burlington for a few days, camping on Lake Champlain. Stay tuned.