OFF TO SEE THE PRESIDENTS!!!

CHANGE IN PLANS .... MINI VACATION .... BACK TO VERMONT!!!!

Our original plan was to leave Mt Ascutney August 31^st and start our trek home.  Back in February we made a two-month commitment which, at the time, seemed long enough.  Upon arrival we asked if they had any hosts coming in behind us, and alas, they had a couple coming in from Michigan for the Month of September, so we (me) put a trip together leaving August 31^st and heading south.

A couple weeks ago we were asked if we would be willing to stay longer as another state park had a host requirement and the new hosts coming in here could be redirected to the other park.  I had firmed up plans in New Hampshire and Maine heading down through Connecticut.

Mark suggested we go ahead with our plans for New Hampshire and Maine and come back in mid-September to finish out the month which was perfect ..... because we wanted to hang around for the changing of the colors!

So, we kept the plans for the first two weeks in September in tact, cancelling the rest, and will be coming back to Mt Ascutney for the last two weeks in September, in time for the car races up the mountain and depart New England the first week in October.  All in all, it worked out perfectly for us and Mark and Lucy …. A win win.  

 That being said, we’re off to see the Presidents!Leaving Friday, August 31^st, we will be heading over to Dolly Copp Campground in the White Mountain National Park up around Crawford Notch and about 15 miles from Mt Washington.  There we will spend the weekend …. using our “geezer pass” so it will be practically free … and do home hiking in the White Mountains.  Since this is Labor Day weekend, we will probably not attempt Mt Washington as it will be crowded with tourists and that isn’t our gig!

The Presidential Range is the crowning glory of the White Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains themselves.  They begin with the Northern Peaks on a high ridge north of Mount Washington.    The most notable summits are named for American presidents followed by prominent public figures of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.
 The four main summits of the Northern Peaks covering more area and having more above timberline terrain without roads or railway and….. less crowded than Mount Washington…..are….. Mounts Madison, Adams and Jefferson (5^th, 2^nd, 3^rd highest in NE) form an unbroken area above timberline ridges. Mount Clay (southern sub-peak of Mt Washington) is southernmost Northern Peak.

Mt Washington at 6288’ is the central summit of the Presidential Range and highest in the NE US. Rising over 800 miles from the nearest higher land in North Carolina’s  Mt Mitchell which is 6684’ at the highest point.

The range’s most notable summits from southwest to northeast are:

            Mt Webster (Daniel that is)            Mt Jackson (Charles Thomas, a geologist; not Andrew)            Mt Pierce (Franklin Pierce formerly DeWitt Clinton not Bill)            Mt Eisenhower (Dwight of course)            Mt Franklin (Benny)            Mt Monroe (Jimmy)            Mt Washington (Georgie-Boy)            Mt Clay (Henry…stated changed name to Mt Reagan but USG recognizes Clay)            Mt Jefferson (Tommy)            Mt Sam Adams (also the Beer)            Mt Adams (John)            Mt Quincy Adams (John Quincy)            Mt Madison (James)

THE COPPS

We will be staying at Dolly Copp which has its own brand of history dating back to the 1800’s.  

Hayes and Dolly Copp first settled here in 1827 establishing a farm on the last available virgin level site suitable for farm development at 1250 feet.  The home was sometimes used as an Inn for folks traveling through the White Mountains in the summer. 

The Copps left their homestead after 1881 parting company after fifty years of marriage.  

Dolly declared on her fiftieth wedding anniversary (11/2/1881)

 “Hayes is well enough, but fifty years is long enough for a woman to live with any man!” 

A book pushed in 1882 entitled, “The Heart of the White Mountains” is a story about the Copps.  They apparently still saw each other in their declining years, visiting the other’s home.  Apparently all was amicable between them.  Dolly went to live with her daughter Sylvia Potter in Auburn Maine.

THE CAMPGROUND

 Dolly Copp is one of the largest CG’s in the entire National Forest System.  It can accommodate over 1,000 people (and I’m sure they will all be there Labor Day  Weekend).  It is about 16 miles from Mt Washington and some of the nicest hikes start at this campground.   

Dolly Copp started as an “official” campground around 1920.  It was always used by folks just pulling over and setting up a campsite, now called road-side camping.

From the Berlin Reporter article dated 6/23/1921:

On the Glen Road, six miles from Gorham, the Forest Service has opened a public camp ground for the automobile tourist, known as the “Copp Spring Camp Ground.” Here the camper will have plenty of room to pitch his temporary home, and he will find a large stone fireplace upon which to cook his meals. Not sure if we'll have internet/cell service while here so pictures may have to wait until we get to our next stop...............

HEADING DOWN EAST.................

ACADIA NATIONAL FOREST in Bar Harbor ME .... once again using our "geezer pass", we'll be camping practically free for a couple of days before we slink over to a full hookup RV park in Bar Harbor and ..... pay through the nose!   

We'll be in Bar Harbor for a little more than a week then move on down to ..........

BOOTHBAY HARBOR to another "pay through your nose" full hookup RV park.

Can't wait!  Lobsters here we come!!!!! Lighthouses here we come!!!!!!!!!!

 Will update when we can.  

DAY 56, 57, 58 - THE RUMBLE OF THE ENGINES

The roar of engines; the pulse of the beat…..gearing up for the MAX BMW Ascutney Hill Climb event being held this weekend at Mt Ascutney.  MAX BMX has rented the entire mountain so it is closed to all traffic except for the races.  

Saturday are time trials practice runs and Sunday will be THE RACE! 

Campers are streaming in with their toy haulers, or car trailers or motorcycle laden with their camping gear on the back.  

ROOKIES MEETING.  Hope they have driven up Ascutney at least once before!

The MAX BMW team have set up tents at the base for registration and orientation for the rookies who have not participated in this hill climb before.  Should be a noisy, exhilarating weekend!

AN AUSTRIAN BIKE WITH AN UNPRONOUNCEABLE NAME!  THESE RACE AT DAYTONA ON THE FLAT 100.

BUILT ON A SUBARU CHASSIS.  SHOULD SCREAM UP THE MOUNTAIN!

The New England Hill Climb Association, part of the Sports Car Club of Vermont which includes sports car clubs in the surrounding areas, has a series of car hill climb races. 

 That season kicks off at Mt Ascutney in May and journies around the area each month with Okemo in July and August and then back at Mt Ascutney September 14-16.  Some of the cars participating in this race are going to compete in the September race and using this race as a strategic jump on the September race.  

MAX BMW put it together for the motorcycles so we get two for one!

August 25 ….woke up to  the sound of engines as the motorcycles and cars left their campsites and headed down to the base of the mountain.  They are going up the mountain at one minute intervals for their practice trials.

This will be the first time for this home built motorcycle/side car.  The driver lies flat across the top, handlebars are on each side of the front wheel and the passenger leans from side to side to keep the bike fro tipping.  Talked with the "passenger" after their run and he said they didn't know it was so bumpy; the carburetor bounced off!  Little tweaking and they'll be ready to go again!   The woman in the picture races a "rice rocket" up the mountain.  They all look happy!

  If there is a wreck they flag everyone down.  This is a hill climb, 2,172’ up with sharp curves so the drivers have to stay alert to what’s going on ahead of them.  No barriers on the sides of the road, just drop offs on one side and rocky walls on the other.  The engines are revved up and it will be an all day event!

Loud is the word for the day.  The motor cycle and cars were running up the mountain in their practice time trials and visitors were streaming in to watch the race.  We had motorcycles and cars parked across the street in the overflow parking.  Surprisingly little for us folks to do …. Just keep track and try to direct parking out of the park.  The MAX BMW group who had rented the park were doing a fine job with the rest of it.

Came back from lunch to find the ambulance pulling into the park.  Apparently a motorcycle went over on a driver and he was at the top of the hill being brought down by another ambulance stationed up there.  Come to find out it was our CG neighbor.  He went over and the bike on top causing broken shoulder, ribs, collar bone.  He was transported to hospital in Windsor and then transferred to Dartmouth hospital in Hanover.  The rest of his friends are still at the campsite hoping for better days!

Took a picture of his bike the night they came in.  Don't know what it looks like now, though!

ANTICIPATION IS EVERYTHING!!!! 

0826 - DAY TWO AT THE RACES!

Today is race day after a day of time-trial practice runs.  Each class is going up the mountain one-minute apart.  They start out singular but probably at some point on some curve they start to bunch up!

Peace and quiet of our campground is shattered with the rumble of engines and straight pipes off the mufflers!  

START LINE AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN!

LINING UP WAITING TO GO

GREAT EXPECTATIONS!

These guys are out of Providence RI.  The driver is a championship racer in this home-made side-car kinda racer, his rider is from Arizona.  His rider has to flop from one side of the vehicle to the other as the vehicle races up the mountain.  The driver is flat across the front tires!  It's quite a ride!!!

By five o'clock it will be quiet with only the rubber marks on the road as a reminder of the weekend!

LIFE IS GOOD IN VERMONT!

WHAT'S THE SCENTS?

HERE'S MY TWO SCENTS WORTH........

The first scent is the od’de mothballs.  Under new knowledge and the desire to experiment, Dave sprinkled mothballs in the storage areas under the MH to keep bugs out of the compartment and help with a musty smell.  In addition he added a jar of mothballs to the inside of the MH while it was stored in Florida.

“GAG ME WITH A SPOON”  ….   

The scent of mothballs has never been a favorite of mine.  It always reminded me of an old lady’s home where mothballs are sprinkled  around the back of the sofa to keep the cockroaches away.  I remember moving to Florida and hearing that was a good way to make sure bugs didn’t get into your house and also something about mildew….so I guess Dave wasn’t that far off.

The scent of mothballs  also reminds me of the wool sweaters that were stashed away, over the summer, in the chest.  Always the cold came upon us unexpectedly and these sweaters were yanked out of the chest and worn before they had a chance to be dry cleaned and rid of the smell.  At least they weren’t holey!

So, mothballs are not my favorite scent.   Over the summer the strength of the smell has dissipated and I’ve almost forgotten that it exists.  Until…..the mice came to live here.  They don’t mind the scent of mothballs!

I hate sharing my quarters with rodents.  I noticed that my kitchen utensil drawers were filling up with black seeds and that my countertops were looking like someone had dropped a piece of rye bread.   Dave put sticky mouse traps under the cabinets behind the drawers but they don’t seem to be doing the trick. 

One evening while Billy and I were sitting on the couch watching a movie, we heard a commotion eminating from under the cabinets.  Both of us looked up at the same time, then Billy looked at me.  Guess he felt safe since I was only a fraction of an inch away!  When Dave checked the next morning, he said the trap had been moved and it had fur in it so now  we probably have a mouse with a bald spot lurking around under the counters. 

I have cleaned out the drawers several times to the point that I have removed the silverware and have it stowed in a piece of furniture that I brought with me.  The knives are in a box with a cover. 

The other day I read about the camper who died of the Hantavirus caused by field mice in the tents in Yellowstone or some such place.  I am forever disinfecting the countertops.  I am not happy about the rodents living with us.

I read where an RV’er sprinkled dried potato flakes around his RV because he read that the mice eat the dried potatoes and it blew up in their stomachs so they stayed away from the RV.  I went shopping but forgot to buy the dried potato flakes.

I had lunch with my cousin yesterday and we talked about their cabin in Canada.  I asked whether they had problems with mice and she said they did and when they close up the cabin they take fabric softener sheets and place them between the mattress and box springs because the mice don’t like the smell of fabric softener sheets.

I came home with this recommendation and we went out and bought Bounce as Dave heard that Bounce works best.  The Bounce sheets are now in all the cabinets and under the cabinets and behind the cabinets.  The entire motor home smells of Bounce with a hint of moth balls. 

This morning Dave caught a mouse … it was in the spring trap and had back up and got stuck on the sticky trap.  That mouse was having a very bad day! 

All I can smell is Bounce.  I hope the mice have a good sense of smell, because the one Dave disposed of this morning got caught in both traps amongst the Bounce sheets.

I hate mice.  Not crazy about mothballs.  Not sure about Bounce.  May never use a fabric softener sheet in my laundry again!

DAY 50 - ETERNAL HOPE

Once you are dead, will anyone remember you?  

Will your grandchildren or great-grandchildren know who you are?    

Life’s accomplishments can dissipate even before we do …. -- degrees and awards, careers and pursuits. Paper grows brittle, no one writes who we are on the back of the old faded photos. Our blogs are only a hosting payment from oblivion.

For the stone carvers of Barre, Vermont .... the GRANITE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD .. immortality is a work of art.  Barre is adjacent to Montpelier, the state capital, in the center of the state.  It was settled in the 18th century and is surrounded by granite quarries and agriculture. 

Rock of Ages is the world's largest granite quarry and is internationally known for its high quality of stone and artistry.  Gray granite has been used since the late 1700's and Barre is the perfect location for work on monuments due to the coloring and texture of the granite.

Most of the granite for America's headstones comes from this part of Vermont. The master artisans of Barre, many Italians who immigrated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, worked the Barre Gray granite blocks into poignant memorial designs.  Many of these artisans are buried here in Hope Cemetery.

Hope Cemetery established in 1895 originally contained 53 acres and now has 85 acres.  Edward P. Adams, a nationally known landscape architect, created the original plan.  

There are over 10,000 monuments made of Barre Gray granite.   These monuments are a work of art.  This is truly an art gallery, a sculpture garden in a very unusual, functional setting.

  

Granite sentries stand on each side of the gate as you enter.

Upon entering the cemetery, I just started darting from memorial to memorial snapping pictures of the beautiful carvings and artwork.  Dave was driving around and kept coming back saying, "You're missing the good stuff!"   

 A LOVER OF BIRDS, OR PERHAPS A HUNTER?

A tractor trailer truck as a last reminder of a man named Galfetti.

 A bi-plane banks on its way to Cloud Nine.

 A weeping angel keeping watch.

A WELL DRILLER.........

 A lover of cats, perhaps?

Hobbies of the dead are remembered, with a soccer ball, a relief of an older man on a motorcycle, a baseball player.

John died young, before his 20th birthday.  He must have been quite an athlete.

A mountain home, wife in the distance and riding his motorcycle.  What more could you want!

A half-szie replica of race car #61 celebrates local driver Joey Laquerre Jr who died in a 1991 snowmobile accident.

I found this one interesting.  First they must be hikers and golfers.  Second, they  haven't died yet ... they are younger than we are.  Guess they are getting ready for when the time comes and have it all figured out!!!  It is the 18th hole and they are backpacking off into the sunset!

FLY FISHING AT THE BASE OF THE FALLS IN THE OPEN STREAMS WITH THEIR DOG.

A LOVER OF MUSIC

 William and Gwendolyn Halvosa sitting up in pajamas, holding hands, their tombs stretched out before them as beds.  No doubt, preparing for what will be a very long night of sleep.  “Set me as a seal upon thine heart for love is strong as death” .. Song of Solomon 8:6

Brusa’s grave is callee “The Dying Man” slipping away, held by his wife.  Brusa passed away in 1937 to a common stone carver’s ailment, Silicosis, from a lifetime of breathing in airborne stone particles. 

Elia Corti (man carved sitting down) is one of the most fascinating stones of all.  It was cut from a single piece of granite by the brother of the deceased.  The hand carved life size figure sits quietly contemplative of an eternity to come.

The Bored Angel, work of Lois Brusa, rests between columns, legs crossed and head balanced on her chin.  as if she's thinking: "C'mon -- die already!"

 The most “ghostly” of all is Giuseppe Donati’s stone, raised relief depicting a soldier smoking a cigarette while the face of his wife or person close to him gloats in a wisp of smoke.

The Tree of Life tilted cube with inscriptions all around the cube one of which reads “Salesman” and the wedding rings with the date inscribed.

LOVER OF THE SEA, PERHAPS?

AN ETERNALLY GOOD DAY IN VERMONT!