Category Archives: shakedown trip

Checking Out The Van

Finally, we got The Goshawk ready for a local mid-week camping trip to Ricker Pond State Park. I had reserved the only on-shoreline spot we could fit into and as I write this looking out the door, I can see early sign of autumn’s colors reflected in the water while a soon-to-depart Common Loon cruises and calls. Few campers, mid-seventies temps, and a nice forecast. What’s not to like?

After a quick setup, Penny and I took a pretty walk where this Great Blue Heron posed for us.

Sally is coming tonight with the kayaks so we’ll hit the water in the morning. While we are waiting, we tried some selfies to pass the time. Penny is up and frisky after a couple of tough medical weeks so we should have a couple of good shakedown days as we get ready for longer journeys.

A Ride on the West River Rail Trail

I have walked, skied, and biked rail trails around the East and have to say that the West River one is the best I’ve seen. It’s scenic, very burst, and remote so I can let my anti-social (re dogs) Vizsla off-leash and not be bothered by hordes of joggers, cyclists, or dog-walkers.

We took a walk Friday afternoon and I was struck by the quiet. No road noise – nothing but the river and birds. This morning, we went out early and needed a jacket and gloves, which were in the van, but I was too lazy to turn around. I had set up the “Springer” attachment which allows Penny to jog alongside the bike. We use that in the park.

The rail trail goes right through the campground. We start at the southern section and head a few miles toward the big Ball Mountain dam.

It’s easy, when traveling along the trail, to visualize the small trains that once plied this 33-mile route. Lots of ledge cuts, stream crossings, and river crossing (which are mainly abutments.)

The bird calls were amazing. Of course the Veery and the Hermit Thrush are among my favorites but I also saw a dozen or more Ovenbirds. They are usually tough to spot in spite of their constant singing but these were on the path, in the low branches, just not worried about this guy and his dog. I am not carrying my camera since I don’t have my laptop with me so that’s why I haven’t posted bird photos.

Penny is 12 and moving pretty well but I don’t want to over-tax her so we stopped at where the railroad crossed the river. She enjoyed checking the place out and I enjoyed the view, spotting a couple of Common Mergansers downriver.

The trail continues, less bike-friendly, down toward the flood control dam. We turned around and ended up with a two hour outing with about 35 bird species. We earned the bacon and pancakes with maple syrup that I cooked outside after our return.

This campground is the last place where Mary and I camped – we had a lovely time last fall. Saturday marked the two-month anniversary of her death so the walks, bike rides, even the black flies that loved her and ignored me, are gentle reminders. One advantage of knowing most bird calls is that you can bird with tears in your eyes.

Winhall Brook Campground

On our first night at Winhall Brook Campground, a crisp fall temperature taxed our puny electric heater so we cranked up the radiant heater in the early morning to take off the chill. Penny loves it; she curls up right in front of the heater, toasting herself.

After a morning walk ( Broadwing Hawk and Winter Wren best birds), I sat in the sun outside the welcome center checking emails and blogs.

This is the water/electric loop. We are at S19 which is nice. The units are closer together than many of the no-hookup sites.

There was a lot of turnover in the loop today with three big rigs showing up. Foliage season is starting to attract many visitors. The colors are improving each day.

We took a mid-day drive a few miles up to the local cemetery where my Dad and Mom, and both my Pearson grandparents are buried. It is a beautiful site with a view of Glebe Mountain and a number of maples starting to show brilliant orange and red. Mary and I weeded and cleaned up around the gravestone – it was a good visit. Many of my aunts and uncles are buried there as well.

After fueling the truck in Londonderry, we bought a Vermont Apple pie and some local ice cream for supper.

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This place has been in business for 20 years and while a tourist attraction, makes a mean apple pie.

Last night, we had a delightful young couple from North Carolina over for dinner. It was simple: salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, bread, apple pie and ice cream. We never socialize but this was fun: they are tent-camping for three weeks around the Northeast and in the midst of car problems so this was a nice break for them.

I checked out the north loop this morning (Red-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbirds) which was empty. There are some excellent lean-to sites along the brook and the West River. I wasn’t impressed by any of the RV sites although some looked fine. There are no hookups on the North loop but a clean restroom, nice playground, and an attractive pavilion.

The West River looking south. Winhall Brook enters from the right. Water levels are low.

We have showers in the forecast today and serious weather system hitting later on. At first, we planned to  just hunker down and read – and be glad that we are not tent-camping in the wet. Been there, done that.

Taking a closer look at the forecast once we found 4G coverage, we decided to hook up and headed home early rather than slog home tomorrow in heavy rain. We’ll definitely be back.

An Early Fall Road Trip

After several weeks of repairing a rotted area of the front entry to our house, with the wonderful help and guidance of my brother Barry, I decided that a change of scenery might be nice. I had been wanting to check out a campground in southern Vermont so when Mary said that she was all for a getaway, and I checked availability, we were reserved for three nights at Winhall Brook Campground in South Londonderry.

This is our first experience with Corps of Engineers sites so it was great, if unusual for federal areas, to find that they had a section with water and electric hookups, which given the nighttime temperatures in the forties, were important to us.

The Airstream had been sitting down under the pines for a month so I moved it up to the house, removed some road dust outside and cobwebs inside, and then began the process of restocking it for the trip.

The trip down Sunday was easy – a beautiful Vermont day with light traffic. We picked up Route 100, Vermont’s ski highway which runs through the heart of the state, and saw dozens of motorcyclists and many a cyclist out for a Sunday ride. The meandering road and scenery is fun, even while hauling a trailer.

No one was at the campground’s welcome center so we headed out to our site, having pre-registered. I was concerned about the narrow bridge we’d have to cross (limited to vehicle 42′ or shorter – our truck and trailer is 45′) but it we had no problems. It was tight and I tucked in my mirrors.

We met the host, found our level spot in amongst the trees, and set up with ease. The power is strong, the water tastes, great, and the neighbors our quiet.

There is no cell coverage but the office has a good wifi signal. After a good night, we have warmed up the trailer and Penny and I are heading out for a chilly bird walk.

Put this campground on your “to-do” list. Did I mention that with the interagency pass that it’s only $13 per night? Best deal we’ve seen in years – for one of the best campgrounds we’ve visited. What’s not to like?

Shakedown – Day 1

As I wrote in the last post, I hitched up the Airstream last night and we began to load. This morning, when I brought some more items out to the refrigerator, I found that the inside was room temperature. “One more glitch, and a serious one,” I thought. We were getting ready for church, the temps were heading to 80, and for a few minutes, I thought that the trip was not going to happen. But then I had a revelation – the tow hitch was lower and I had rolled off the levelers, so the rig was far from level. And reefers don’t work when the are not level.

So, I pulled down the driveway and then backed the rig, in four-wheel-drive up the winding driveway, missing the big ledge on one side and the ditch in the other, ending on the one level spot we have. I brought out some freezer packs to protect the food we’d just loaded, and went off to church. To cut to the chase – it was working fine when we got home.

After a rest, we finished loading and headed out, worrying about dark storm clouds to our west. It was an easy trip until it wasn’t. With about ten minutes to go, a deluge hit. I was on a snake path of a highway, VT 232, fighting to see the road and no pulloffs to stop at when we rounded a corner and encountered two trees across the road. Here’s what we saw through the window wipers:

You can’t see the intensity of the downpour but believe me, it was raining hard when I ran out in shorts and flip-flops to tug on these.  Two of us pulled, slipped, fell, but moved the darn things.

During a brief lull, I ran out and tried to move the trees with no luck – getting drenched in the process. Three or four cars showed up heading toward us and finally, one guy got out and started tugging. I joined him and we got both trees moved to the edge of the road. I was soaked and covered with pitch and bark but we were on our way – with one more delay for downed trees.

Ricker State Park is set up for lean-to and tent camping with onlybabout five RV sites. And they are tough to negotiate. I had reserved the one that looked the biggest and most remote, but when we got to it, we had several trucks sort of in the way and a real tough back-in. Plus it was raining just enough to make Mary’s job of helping challenging.

So, I got smart. I asked our neighbors, “Any of you good at backing up trailers?” They allowed how Kevin was a pro at it and sure enough he was. With Joe giving directions, he turned that rig around, backed it carefully down the narrow access, and was done in five minutes. I’m not sure I might not be still at it. Turns out that Kevin drives big trailer trucks for a living.

The rain has pretty much stopped and the warblers are singing as night falls. There goes an Ovenbird “disturbing” the silence. Hope to get the boats on the water tomorrow – it looks like a pretty pond. Glad we are here.

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