Author: wellsmarsha

Over the past few days our truck transmission has been acting up. In first starting out with the engine still cold the transmission has not wanted to shift beyond first gear. Once the truck warmed up all was fine. It’s a small issue, but not wanting it to blossom into a major problem Wells checked the owners manual thinking that adding transmission fluid would solve the problem. In the manual it says there is no dip stick to check transmission levels and if transmission fluid needs to be added then it needs to be done an authorized person. Next Wells called a local Ford dealer on PEI and made an appointment to take it in at 2 pm today. We feel lucky that it can be checked out quickly. As a result, Marsha, David, and Jeanne take off to explore Charlottetown while Wells hangs back and heads to the dealership. Transmission fluid was down three quarts so they added fluid and now it appears to work fine.

Once the four of us reconnect for supper we then head out to explore the nearby Prince Edward Island National Park.

Last night at our campsite overlooking the river a group of teenage girls along with there 3 leaders landed. This was day four of a five day canoe trip one of many adventures the girls undertook at this summer camp. Today’s leg of their trip was 19 miles which is an impressive distance for these young adults. They were staying the night at this campground as we watched lug all their camping gear to their group campsite not on the riverbank. No complaints, just plenty of smiles and laughter.

We met the trip leader, Grace, who for years attended the same camper as she was growing up. She’s now midway though her Masters in Outdoor Education at University of California at Davis. She reminded us of many of the Rogers Environmental Education Center interns with so much energy and enthusiasm

With a clear calm night we woke to a very cool morning. As we enjoyed our coffee in the warmth of our trailer the young campers worked cooperatively together to get their gear to the riverbank and load the canoes. They were a bit more quiet this morning yet the smiles were still there. It was impressive bunch.

As we started prepping for our travel day we discover that our toilet slowly continues to run water. If a toilet at home continues running it wastes water, but usually is not a potential disaster. If an RV toilet continues to run and you are hooked via a hose to a continuous supply the potential is for the water to run and fill up your waste water tank. Once that is full the water will overflow the entire bathroom. Once that happens gallons can spill out over everywhere in the RV trailer. Fortunately, we discovered it before our black water tank was filled and turned of the incoming water. On our way out of the campground we made a stop at the dump station where RV waste water is properly disposed.

We arrived in Houlton, ME at ten in the morning so our first stops included one last gas fill up with gas at the bargain price of just under $5 a gallon. For the next couple of months gas will be in the 2 to $2.40 a liter. Then a stop to pick up some food supplies.

For those yet to travel to Canada since the country opened back up one must submit a notification of travel via the phone app ARRIVE CAN. One first uploads Passport or other documentation into the app along with which Covid shots you’ve had. Finally, your arrival, date, time, and port of entry. Having not done this in the past we were, strike that, Wells was concerned there could be issues. Well, no issues and our border crossing took all of 5 minutes. Welcome to Canada and New Brunswick. About 3 hours later we arrived at our campsite in Bay of Fundy National Park. We are here until Saturday.

As we head north to Prince Edward Island we make a quick stop at a visitor center to help gather ideas on what to see and do on the Island and once we head back to Nova Scotia. After an absolutely outstanding lunch at the Landmark Oyster House in Victoria by the Sea. The seafood chowder was one of the very best chowder Wells has ever had and he enjoys his chowder. Towards the end of our meal we told our server what we thought of the meal and to please tell the chef. Next we asked her what the three cheeses were in Matt’s Three Cheese Parm. Oysters. Obviously, one was parm cheese, but what were two cheeses?  Our server replied that it was a secret. We took a guess, but she would not say.’

In the meantime at the next table was a woman with a 6 month old girl enjoying her lunch. We was helpful with ideas on what to do, go, and eat while on the Island. After a couple more minutes we discover she is married to the chef. We as her was the cheese are, but she doesn’t know. Oh well, it’s not to be. Then her husband, comes out to see his wife and daughter so we ask him. Of course we ask him after we tell him what an amazing meal he had crafted for us. Remember the dish was called Matt’s Three Cheese Parm Oysters. We got the secret from Matt himself.

From there is was a half hour drive to our campsites where we’ll stay for the next several days.

Another great night of sleeping in this quiet national park campground. After filling up another propane tank we head northward with a goal of Amherst, Nova Scotia where we are meeting up wit our friends from Vermont. Once together we’ll travel for a couple of weeks before they head home.

On the way to Nova Scotia we met up with Sybil and Pete, where we enjoyed a fun time catching up. They live overlooking a huge wetland system that experiences the Bay of Fundy tidal changes each day. Tides in the part of the Bay can well exceed 50 feet. They are the highest tides in the world. Sybil is a really skilled wildlife photographer and she shares Wells’ passion for abstract photography. Sybil is my point of contact for seeing the tens of thousands of sandpipers and plovers that feed among the tidal flats each August on their migration path from the Artic to South America. The birds arrive at the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy weighing roughly 30 grams and after a couple of weeks on the mud flats they double their weight to 60 grams. At that point they resume their migration to South America nonstop. After a too brief a visit we head on to Moncton where we turn east towards Nova Scotia. After a quick resupply stop we arrive at the campground shortly after 3 and set up with David and Jeanne arriving shortly after 5. We certainly enjoy traveling with them.

The campground was quiet and fine except for neighboring campsite where there was a chain smoker. It made our site way less enjoyable.

After another restful night we are up and are ready to explore the Fundy Trail Parkway not far from the National Park. In a previous journey to this area we heard about a beautiful drive along the rugged coastline in a park like setting. At that time it was a three hour drive to gain access to this parkway, but Wells had read that just this year a connector road coming from the National Park to the Fundy Parkway was completed. This scenic drive was our destination for today. Asking one seasonal park worker did not yield any useful information. She could not even tell us how to access the connector road. At the Visitor Center they directed us to the correct path and off we went. First there is the 20 km through the National Park then a left onto the brand new connector road, then after another20 km left onto another new road and after a few km we find ourselves along the coastal highway.

The Fundy Trail Parkway it reminds us of the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Now Cape Breton is certainly more mountainous but still this reminds us of there. We’ll post photographs once we have better wifi.

We broke camp and headed towards or next stop over as we head towards New Brunswick where will spend a couple of nights before meeting up with our friends, Dave and Jeanne in Nova Scotia.

Electing not to do any large roads today we meandered the back roads of northern Maine. At one point we trusted our map over our GPS and took a 20 mile trip on a dead end road only to turn around and drive back the full 20 miles. Not a big deal since it was a beautiful drive. We are now camped along a river about one and a half hours drive to Canada.

Plenty of last minute to do items finally completed and we on the road by 8:20 heading to a campground near the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Weather cooperated with a cool day and intermitted showers arriving at the campground around 5 pm. After settling in Marsha heads out for a mile walk while Wells stays around the campsite. His foot is not fully healed so walking is still limited. Moose Brook State Park is a quiet and delightful place to rest our heads for the evening.

We’ve been at home for the past couple of years after out Southwest trip when Covid first hit. Since then Wells has dealt with several health issues. It appears he has a the okay from his surgeon to travel once again. Our next destination is Newfoundland. It’s the third journey to this island since August 2017. If all goes as planned we hope to take off at the beginning of July.

 

We are just east of Hannibal, Missouri and we head south and east with a plan of keeping on two lane roads as much as possible. Interstates are too predictable and a bit like, “Gas, Food, Lodging” – My Home Town while back roads are where you find the small town uniqueness. Each town has its own personality with both strengths and weaknesses or in my working days, strengths and opportunity areas.

We are clueless on where we will end up tonight but expect it to be somewhere in Indiana. We plot our route so that we travel to the south of Springfield, IL through Pawnee, Kincaid, the larger town and county seat, Taylorville. Wells worked in Kincaid back in 1981 collecting detailed meteorological data near a coal fired power plant. The EPA contracted a large study to verify the air pollution models used in site permitting. The project was to have a large data set collected of both meteorological and air pollution data for six year. The first two years at a flat terrain site, Kincaid, the second two years at a hilly site near Oak Ridge, TN, and the final two years at a mountainous site, Durango, CO. Shortly after President Reagan took office in 1981 the project was cancelled. If the project went forward Wells’ life would be different than what it is today. Once the project ended Wells moved to Syracuse, NY.

We push eastward towards Indiana when we start thinking it’s time to find where to stay tonight. With Covid-19 we are finding it difficult to know what the “rules” are for each state. We discover that all Indiana campgrounds are closed. It appears we are going to break down and do something we have never done in the past. Walmart normally allows RV’ers to park in their store parking lots overnight. One must first check with the store manager. Two of our RV phone apps says the two Walmart stores, one in IL and the other in IN, closest to us allow RVs to park overnight, Great! A call to the local Walmart and the answer is that the parking lot is closed and no overnight parking. Walmart stores are not open 24 hours so they shut the lot down. Well, there goes our ace in the hole for staying in Indiana. A search for a campground in Illinois has nothing close by, but 50 miles due north there is one that can take us. We turn left and head north camping in Casey, IL. Some of you may know we live on Casey Cheese Factory Road in Sherburne and our road is pronounced Casey as in Casey at the bat. Casey, IL is pronounced Kay-Zee.

Determining what camping rules are in each state with Covid-19 is difficult, but we stumbled upon an easy fix. KOA – Campgrounds of America are not places we normally enjoy. They are a bit like Interstates, you know what to expect. They are clean and a bit pricey but overall consistent. We now can go to the KOA website for a campground in any state and at the top of the website it says what the current situation is for camping in the state.

A week ago we considered heading north from Kansas to Nebraska and on to Iowa. The rationale for Iowa is that it is the only state west of the Mississippi that has not seen us with our trailer. Of course, this does not include HI so our potential goal is 49 states. Besides Iowa we have yet to take our trailer into Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Since we don’t know when we are heading west again after this trip we would enjoy exploring Iowa now. Last  week in looking at the weather forecast Iowa expected temperatures down into the low 20’s which is risky for our trailer.

After pulling out of Osage Hills State Park Wells hears a scraping or dragging sound from the trailer. We pull over and we both jump out of the truck to see what’s up. We see nothing unusual so back in the truck and we no longer hear anything wrong. It’s not until the next morning that we discover what happened. The cap on the sewage hose holder fell off and the sewage hose was gone. We didn’t’ see it when we jumped out of the truck but now we know it’s gone.

After spending a full week exploring Oklahoma we recheck Iowa’s weather and see it has highs in the 50’s and lows around 30. This is not a problem for our trailer so we head north. There is another issue with heading to Iowa. Iowa does not have a stay at home order but the governor closed all of the campgrounds. The night before we reach Iowa we are looking a RV campground near where Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska meet.

Looking for a place to camp we call a campground and speak with Doug, the owner. He tells us he is full. We thank him and hang up. A minute later he calls back and says he has a place next to the trailer dump site that has potable water and 30 amp power. We accept and make camp there. Wells hooks up power and water and we head into the trailer and start making supper. Soon Doug is outside our trailer so Wells heads out to see what is up. The whole area is flooded with water and Doug is thinking our trailer is leaking. Inspection determines the leak is from the base of the water spigot with water bubbling up from the ground. We shut down the water and use our onboard water.

In the morning we discover the absence of the sewage hose so no dumping for us today. It’s not a huge issue. Later in the day we stop and pick up a new hose.

After the sewage hose purchase we head into Iowa and travel the full length of the state and at the end of the day we head south into Missouri for another campground. We are happy to place the Iowa sticker on our onboard map.