FOSJ: How the H#%* Do We Get Up There?

Monday, August 28, 2017

How the H#%* Do We Get Up There?

Lincoln, NH

L-R Joan, Don, Steve, Ginny, Deb B, Jim, Deb D and Dale

Things are really starting to pick up in this area as the pleasant summer months are winding down. Lots of folks from all over New England are visiting to hike, camp and enjoy the spectacular scenery offered in and around Lincoln. To the left is a pic of our volunteer team of Roving Caretakers. Only 6 more weeks and we'll complete the season here in White Mountain National Forest.

The daughters Daniel & Jessica

You just never know who you're going to meet in this lifestyle. A few weeks ago we received a call from fellow RVer's Pat & Diana Brown. We met them in South Dakota 3 years ago. They called to share a little 'small world' story. The were traveling through California and stopped at a scenic overlook near the campground where they were staying. While enjoying the vista, they struck up a conversation with another couple nearby. They discovered they were staying in the same campground and made a plan to stop by their site later on to discuss their RV experiences. Later that evening while sharing stories the other couple told them about their daughters who were spending the summer living in a small RV while working for a company that was mapping and inventorying BLM roads. When they described their daughter's job of driving their 4x4 jeep throughout the back country roads of Idaho and Utah while GPSing the roads, Diana commented that it sounded a lot like the job their friends Steve & Joan (yes, that's us) had the year before. As soon as they mentioned our names the other couple knew exactly who we were as their daughters had worked with us in 2015. Yup, it's a small world!

Diana also mentioned that her nephew Michael was hiking the Appalachian Trail and would be in our area in a few days. Joan got all the pertinent information and we made a plan to meet him. Sure enough, a few days later we got a call from Michael telling us he would be camping overnight just a few miles from where we're camped. At the appointed date & time we drove to the trail crossing on Hwy 302 near Crawford Notch and met up with him. We drove to a nearby diner and spent a couple of hours listening to some of Michael's stories about his trek. He's been hiking for a little over 4 months so far and has about 3 1/2 weeks left to complete the entire 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail in mid September. Quite an accomplishment as only a little over 12,000 hikers (only 10-15% who make the attempt) have completed the entire trail since it was built in 1937.

Lake Champlain Ferry

Fort Ticonderoga Ferry

Over the last few weeks we've also spent some time being tourists. We drove west through NH andVermont into New York to see the Adirondack Mountains. That trip included 2 ferry crossings of Lake Champlain; 1 of those on the oldest cable ferry in operation in the US, the Fort Ticonderoga Ferry established in 1759.

L-R Johnny, Denise, Jim, Deb, Joan & I

We drove over to Portland, ME with Jim & Deb to visit with long time friend Johnny North and his bride Denise.

We made a trip into the Boston area to see Joan's oldest friend, Florence, who turned 95 in July. She's still living on her own and drinks 1 beer a day, which she claims is the secret to her longevity.

Last week Joan & I hosted the First Ever Russell Pond Volunteer Putt Putt Challenge. Almost every Tuesday evening since June, our volunteer group has gotten together to go out and eat. We changed that up a little and set up a putt putt outing.

Awards were handed out for 1st Place.......

1st Hole in One.........

and Highest SPD (strokes per dollar....or in other words, Last Place). Everyone had a blast and we're thinking we might do it again before our season ends.

The abandoned radar tower

The other day Joan & I took a ride about 40 miles north towards Concord, Vermont. We were exploring some of the forest roads through Victory National Forest when we pulled over to check out a structure set back into the treeline. About that time a truck pulled up beside us to make sure we weren't broken down. Once they knew we were OK, they asked if we were "going up". Not knowing what "going up" meant, they went on to explain they were headed up on top of East Mountain to an abandoned military radar installation. They stated that the sunset views from that vantage point were 'Wicked'. So we followed them up Radar Rd until we saw this........and how the heck do we get up there?