July 17, 2023 Bob got up before the alarm and woke me up at 7:00. We got ready and were on the road by 9:00. We have 250 miles to go today on some designated scenic roads with a few interstate miles. Today was a much improved weather day–mostly sunny with a temp of 75. After rain all day yesterday, it was good to see the sun. Mary and John left early for 4 days in Mystic CT. I was again sitting in the front seat for this trip. It felt a little weird and Auggie wondered where I was after he was used to seeing me in the back seat by him. We hopped on I-95 toward Portsmouth, NH after crossing the Piscataqua River into New Hampshire at 9:15. The Piscataqua River’s swift currents make it the fastest flowing commercial port waterway in the Northeast.
From the Memorial Bridge we could see the Sarah Mildred Long Lift Bridge built to accommodate ship traffic.
Just north of the Massachusetts border, we took Highway 101 west toward Manchester. Highway 101 was a boulevard highway and traffic was light. We took I-93 north toward Concord and then I-89 north toward Lebanon. We stopped at a New Hampshire Welcome Center to check our map. We got warnings on our GPS of flooded areas from yesterday’s rain and wanted to see if it would affect our route today. The Welcome Center was a huge complex and the diesel price there was $4.59/gal.
We averted a traffic slowdown/stoppage from an accident by going north on I-89 which was our designated route anyhow. Woo-hoo!
Rivers, streams, ponds, and low lying areas were full with water. The news this morning said that we should be experiencing smoky conditions from the Canadian wildfires due to the direction of the wind flow today. The hills in the distance seemed to be in a smokey haze.
The terrain became hilly with rock outcroppings as we seemed to climb up into the hills.
As you know, what goes up must come down, so we started our descent in Lebanon as we headed for the Connecticut River that divides New Hampshire from Vermont.
We crossed into Vermont about 11:30.
Just outside of Lebanon we picked up Highway 4 which was a scenic highway to New York. Highway 4 was a 2-lane scenic road through some small towns that followed the Ottauquechee River, a 41 mile long tributary of the Connecticut River.
The river was really ripping with rapids throughout most of the way.
There were multiple areas along the river that had flood damage–downed trees, sides of the road washed away, lots of debris piled along the river banks, and sand from the river bottom deposited everywhere.
Repairs were being done in the damaged areas.
We saw a semi-trailer and a porto-potty wedged in the trees.
We passed through the town of Quechee where we had visited before. In town, we spotted the covered bridge there.
Farther up the road in Woodstock, we discovered more road damage.
There was also buildings and home damage.
In Woodstock, we found another covered bridge.
Killington was the next town up the road. The road was washed out and a temporary bridge was being installed.
The Killington Ski Area was very close to the road, but it didn’t seem affected.
The ski area was right in town on the highway.
Outside of town, we noticed the skies were filled with smoke and the hillside was obscured by haze.
The highway moved away from the river and any damage it caused. Outside of Killington, we began a climb up and over the mountains.
There were 2 ski areas around Killington Mt. (4,235 ft.). This 41-mile stretch of highway was very scenic along the river passing through some quaint little towns. In the last few miles before the city of Rutland, the river switched to the other side of the road. We hopped on I-94 out of Rutland and noticed the smoky conditions right away.
We stayed on I-4 where the wind picked up as we neared Fair Haven and the New York border. We stopped for fuel in Fair Haven at $3.89/gal. Bob had done his homework and found cheap fuel here, so we made the stop. We crossed the Poultney River and drove into New York.
Just outside of Whitehall, NY we crossed the Champlain Canal, a waterway which connects the St. Lawrence Seaway with the Hudson River.
These signs reminded us that we were in Amish Country for a few miles anyway.
We entered the town of Lake George and things began to look familiar.
We arrived at our destination, King Phillips Campground and Resort, at 2:30. It sits at the southern end of Lake George.
We set up camp in site #C-24 for 3 nights and discovered that it only had 30 amp power. We tried to switch sites for one with 50 amp power, but they only had one left and it was not in a desirable location. We decided to stay where we were and deal with it. We will only be able to use certain things at once. Bob’s got it all figured out.
Auggie was anxious to get out and survey the area. We relaxed with a cocktail before dinner inside the motorhome and out of the unhealthy, smoky air. We couldn’t smell it, but we could see it and almost the entire state of New York was under an unhealthy air warning. By now, the temp had risen to 88 and it was hot in the sun. We had brats on the grill for dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Auggie and I took our walk when things started to cool off. Tomorrow, we’ll do some sightseeing in the area.