New Hampshire - Day 1 - Getting there

Riverbend Campground, South Tamworth
Sunday, 1 July 2018

Last night we had an incredible storm - rain, lightning, thunder - that lasted the entire night.  Gracie was very unhappy.  I got up during the night to use the bathroom and discovered that both dogs were stuck in there: Gracie went in because she often gets in the shower when it thunders (along with the litter box) and Dexter went in after her and apparently knocked the door stop out of the way so it swung to and they hadn't figured out how to get out.  I was glad I got up and they were glad to see me.

another month, another state

As a postscript to Vermont, I was parked near the campground office dumping my trash when an elderly man, who had apparently noticed my license plate, came up to me and asked whether the Vermont hospitality was okay.  As I said, these Vermonters really love their state and want other people to, too.

today's route

I decided to take the interstates today because I knew I had some distance to cover and I wasn't sure about New Hampshire's state roads, which I'd have to take through the mountains.  (Undeterred by my experience in PA) I figured the interstate builders must have come up with a route I could manage in the RV and I'd better be safe than sorry with such a long drive.

Crossing the Connecticut River I saw a sign that said "Welcome Bienvenue/New Hampshire/Live Free or Die."

New Hampshire highway mileage signs are in kilometers as well as miles.

I stopped at the Welcome Center to get tourist info and unfortunately didn't have my camera inside - the photo I took of the view from outside doesn't do the view justice.

the Moore Reservoir

In the parking lot I saw 2 women, probably in their 50s, who were both riding those new 3-wheeled motorcycles.  One of them wasn't wearing a helmet.  You know those Baby Boomers.

I don't know if I was right to worry about the state highways but I was right to worry about going through the mountains.  The interstate is single lane with a 45 mph speed limit.  It goes right down the middle of the White Mountain National Forest which, not surprisingly, is centered around the White Mountain range.  The road goes through Franconia Notch, elevation 1,896', and the surrounding mountains are 4-5,000+' tall.  Pretty stunning scenery.  I'll come back when I have more time.

And when it's not a beautiful sunny Sunday in July.  It looked like half the state was visiting the Franconia Notch State Park - presumably there was an off-the-highway parking lot for the park, but what I saw was half a mile of cars parked on both sides of the highway near the entrance and a highway sign saying Park In Designated Lots Only.  They weren't.

The main river in the area is the Pemigewasset River.  It starts in the White Mountains and eventually becomes the Merrimack River before it hits Massachusetts, running alongside the highway for much of the way.  I saw it so many times I got sort of comfortable with its un

Speaking of Massachusetts, I saw almost as many Mass. license plates as I did New Hampshire.  I get that the interstate was headed straight for the state border but where were they all coming from?

Off the highway, I passed through Meredith and am almost tempted to go back for the Fourth of July.  At 2 PM they're opening a time capsule from 1968, and at 4 PM they're having a rubber duck race.  Hard to pass those up.

The trouble is that it's crazy humid and extremely warm.  A sign in Moultonborough, the town between Meredith and here, said it was 94° at 2:30.  With the heat index, I'm guessing it was close to 100° and that's a little tough when you're living in a metal box.

By the time we got to our campsite, Jasper was panting, which made me really worried.  I tried a small plug-in fan for a while and wiped Jasper with a damp paper towel to try to cool him off, but even after lying right in front of the fan for a long time he was still panting.  I finally turned on the ceiling fan which didn't seem to make much difference - and then it started pouring rain.  I had to close the skylights and all the windows because the rain was just pouring in, and then I figured if everything had to be closed I might as well turn on the air conditioner.  That finally cooled all the critters (and me) down enough to make me stop worrying.  I decided to keep it on all night because it was still super humid after the rain.