Twin Mountain and Mt. Washington, New Hampshire

On August 13th we left for NH after having brake wiring installed for the tow dolly on the newer Gulfstream MH. Evidently the previous owner towed with four down. We spent that night at a Walmart in Littleton NH , not wanting to have to set up at our destination campground that late in the day. Little did we know that we would often go to Littleton for shopping and laundry. The next day we drove on to Twin Mountain Motor Court & RV Park and have been here for almost two weeks. This was the first sign of vacationers at the motel area in front of the RV park. And this is the view from the drive when leaving the park . The area is overrun with motels and cabins and people are always coming and going. Our view from our camp sight is still the mountains across from the motel, cabins, and RV's.

We have two handicaps in this park and we will know to ask more questions when making reservations for the future. One was nearby shopping which is almost non-existent here. The other is cell reception which is really the most missed of the two. Therefore, we drove up out of the valley about 6 miles to make cell phone calls and to use the computer which is cell connected. So for a week we went up the road and pulled off at this look-out and connected with home. That got old real quick and we found that the owners here would give us a password to use their wi-fi which solved the computer problem. There is also an 800# phone in the game room which can be used, if we ever get to the store to get a phone card. In the mean time we still drive up the road for a phone.

Most of our time here has been spent taking care of business of the trade in motorhomes, transferring insurance and rearranging our STUFF. We did find a need to get rid of some and to get a computer center for Gary to use for his pencil drawing. Thus he has a desk, an easy chair and a TV in the rear of the MH with three windows in that area. This leaves the dinette area free for me to get busy with scrapbooking, finally. We now also have plenty of walking space and more kitchen. This MH has a computer area in front of the passenger seat and we've made use of that rather than move the computer around. We really are enjoying all of the space and the weather here has been very good. Just rain once or twice! Last Friday we took the guided auto road trip to the very top of Mt. Washington which is the highest mountain in the northeast of the United States at 6288 ft. The road is narrow and part gravel , as you can see from this old photo. And it is not too much different now except for some blacktop. We did meet and pass a dump truck on the way up. Gary was glad to leave the driving to them as he would have had difficulty with the drop offs in some areas because of his acrophobia. The view was great and it was comfortable as it was 74 degrees and very clear sky and sunny. We could see the Mt. Washington Hotel down the mountain side , but have not had a chance to go and look it over yet. We also saw the ski slopes and the cairns (they are pyramid piles of rocks placed by man) which mark the safe path areas for hiking and climbing up the mountain. Many people do both. On the trip back down we saw a few people preparing to hand glide down . We decided that we would leave that to others!

We visited the Red Barn Museum at the bottom of the mountain seeing one of the original coaches used to ride to the top . And it also has a slide show which showed the wagon and horse teams at the top when people first began using the road for enjoyment. It also has been used over the years for sport car racing . I believe it was the same as the boat racing along the St. Lawrence River as entertainment for the rich. It is still used for runners and bikers competition with the road closing to autos on those days. The road is only open for traffic from mid May until sometime in October when weather conditions make travel a danger. The weather station at the top is in use year around, thus some people are on the top all winter living in the buildings there , not able to leave until the snow melts. Note the one building that is actually chained down to keep the wind from lifting it from it's foundation.

When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we found that a COG railroad with tourists was arriving at the same time. This train car is pushed up the mountain . You can see both the rail tracks and auto road from the same view .

However, because there is not much in the way of conventional shopping there seems to be a lot of small local shops. The local shops are quaint but limited in choice of merchandise. I did find a good size scrapbooking store, but did not need anything and did not like their prices. There is a town, Bethlehem, just up the road from us and on our way in to Littleton which seems to be a Jewish community which I find interesting. Bethlehem is also the location of at least two golf clubs and many of the quaint shops and cottages, as well as antiques. We hope to spend a day there looking at the merchandise. I would like to find a small chest with two drawers that we could put casters on and use for storage in our living area. By putting casters on it, we would be able to move it in to the corner of the sink cabinets and it would stay there during travel. If I don't find one in these shops, I will have to resort to the assemble yourself kind at Walmart. So cross your fingers for me.

Rick, we think of you each time we are at Walmart. And when going down the freeway the other day on our way back from Littleton, we thought maybe we had located some relatives?? Last evening we went in to Littleton and met up with friends Bob Parker and Donna Huffer from Salem, OH. We enjoyed a visit with them as well as dinner at Applebee's. They are on their way through, coming from Newfoundland, Novia Scotia, and Maine going back to Salem to see Donna's daughter who has some medical problems. They will then move on west and south to New Mexico and Arizona for the winter. Since we plan to winter this year in Florida, we will probably not see them again for a couple years.

In Florida we expect to see some long time Salem friends and also our new Canadian friends. This is what makes RVing fun as well as the sight seeing. We will begin our trek south after seeing Maine. We can not be sure of the timing as it will depend on the weather. We are beginning to see tree colors change already. So keep watching, maybe we will see you out there!

Had to include these photos taken from the TOP of Mt Washington. What a view!! Note the very scrubby pine at the top which is caused by the severe weather and winds. Many of these look like shrubs, but are actually trees many, many, many years old.