#21 Between Lake George and Canada

#21 Between Lake George and Canada

Side Note:  With the exception of our friends, we found many New Yorkers pushy and unfriendly. In the laundromat they push into you and don’t even say excuse me. Many look angry.  When Derrille asked for directions on one of the trails, the lady right next to him wouldn’t look at him or respond.   Very different than what we find on the West Coast.  We also noticed jaywalking is big, and even at a crosswalk the walk/wait signs are ignored.  One lady at a highway four way stop with traffic lights, looked both ways and then went right through the red light. Hmmm

Hello Massachusetts

We crossed the state and were booked into the Boston Minuteman RV Park in Littleton. Very few RV campgrounds exist across our route, which is why I chose this one.  As we turned in, there was no doubt this was not a big rig park.

 They said we would fit.  Uh huh!  We were carefully guided into an area where we parked nose in, unhooked the car, and then turned the RV perpendicular to sit correctly in the site.  Jay and Lynn backed into a depression.  Fortunately it was just one night.

 Derrille and I planned on a half hour to back us out of this tight spot missing this lovely fire pit, picnic table, the RV directly behind us that we had to maneuver around, and a couple of cars and trucks. We were pleasantly surprised to see it only took 15 minutes to get us out safely.

Hello New Hampshire

Hello Maine

                                                This is what their city limits sign say.

Traveling north on I-95 between Augusta and Bangor Maine township signs pop up along the road, but rest stops do not exist. So when the exit to Pittsfield looked good size we pulled off and into this plaza to rest and eat.  To our surprise 8-9 cars were also there eating lunch and resting. We also saw two trailer and two semis. 

 

The Pumpkin Patch RV Park in Hermon, Maine exceeded our expectations.  The park is located fifteen minutes out of Bangor Maine and beautiful.  As you can see this park definitely handles big rigs.  Long, large gravel sites with an expanse of grass on each side.   Excellent showers, a book area, a store are available.  This park serves as the launching area for many caravan groups headed for Canada.  They also allow mail, so this will be our mail drop after Newfoundland.    We went to dinner at Chase’s family restaurant. Our other choice was a truck stop diner.  Little did we know that the truck stop has a 45 minutes wait most nights.  We will eat there on the return trip.

We stayed next at Our Brother’s Place in Houlton, Maine.  Houlton sits 4 miles south of the New Brunswick border.  The rain soaked grass sites felt mushy, but they did accommodate our size.

July 1 Canada Day, Lynn want to go into New Brunswick and check out the longest covered bridge in the world.  It was about 40 minutes from the RV Park.   First we went to Volumes Book Store: a purveyor of new and used books, Maine souvenirs and gifts.  They claim to have over 250,000 titles!   Some came home with us.

Hello New Brunswick!

Moose signs every few kilometers.  Signs seem to be a sure bet that we won't see any critters.

The bridge spans the St. Johns River and measures 1282 feet. The bridge was built in 1901 and covered in 1922.  Toll: 3 cents/pedestrian, 6 cents/single horse and wagon, or 12 cents for a double team.   In 2001 the 100^th Anniversary of the bridge closed the bridge for a party similar to this year.  A few legends come with the bridge concerning making wishes come true and about kissing in the middle.

We had hoped to drive across it today, but it was closed for a Canada Day Party.  A $75 ticket got you a salmon or chicken dinner, a live band, dancing and fireworks.  This darling couple dressed in holiday finery had tickets!  We were not alone in our disappointment.  We met people from all over Canada and the USA who came today to cross the bridge.  I took lots of photos for families while Lynn, Jay and Derrille walked through the side walking bridge.  It was fun to see.

Here are a couple of shots of the St. John River from the bridge area.

These large wooden statues stand outside the Covered Bridge Gift Shop.

Check this out.  I needed to go to Urgent Care in Houlton, Maine on Sunday June 30th.  The facility was new and gorgeous AND it had granite curbing!

Side note: for RVers with tankless water heaters, that heat hot water on demand, or info to share for those who have these systems.

Are you having problems with your on-demand hot water??? You may have worms!

Although I had showered Sunday morning, the heat on demand water system did not produce any hot water in the evening.  Derrille tried several things but nothing worked. A YouTube video said the system sometimes fails after a heavy rain.  Oh great!   We had a few of those.  The video showed how to remove the tubing below the pressure switch and check it for debris.  Derrille did, and found mud and debris. He cleaned it but still no hot water. We are getting ready to go into Canada and the prospect of two months with no hot water is concerning.   We got a 12:30 appointment on Monday with Houlton Power Sports.  The repairman, Mike repeated a lot of what Derrille had done.  The pressure switch which Derrille replaced last year seemed good. They were stymied. Then he said let’s try it once again and the pressure switch didn’t connect.  To he removed the switch, and cleaned more debris from the tubing.  He then tapped it on the ladder and tiny white worms fell out!!!!!    After connecting the switch again, we had hot water.    Now that we know this, we will be cleaning out those tubes regularly, especially after a hard rain.   By the way: total time 1 hour, cost $72.

Lynn and Jay headed off to Nova Scotia in the morning. We came after our repair.

Second day....same sign!  We drove right through New Brunswick only stopping to eat late in the afternoon.

We were following this typical Airstream trailer.  Then Derrille noticed what was pulling it. We did find this interesting sight on the road. We figure this not typical pink Cadillac convertible may be from the 50s.

This huge sign greeted us. Another one said 400 moose/car accidents happen each year.  Moose gate appear every kilometer hoping to help the situation.

Check out these shots when we crossed the St. John’s River this day. 

A couple of signs that caught my eyes!    Notice the wild flowers around the sign. They line the highways.

Welcome to Nova Scotia!  The last photo is from the Linwood Harbor RV park. Beyond the island you see, the Linwood Harbor is part of the Northumberland Strait that feeds directly into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  The St. Lawrence river empties into the gulf which becomes part of the North Sea.

Next stop Sydney, Nova Scotia and wait for the ferry to Newfoundland.