The Hagarstream is on the road

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by DIR1

Great stuff Dan/Irene... Like Lili, I have to go back and look several times..so much detail in the photo's...OPPS!!! PICCY'S...
ok, keep having fun, hugs from here, gail

Thanks Gail, Irene gets the credit for the piccy's, all I do is drive. If we ever get back to the left coast we will have to get together, we are nearly neighbors you know.

When we left Caraquet we drove out to the Acadian Islands. This is the northeast most point of New Brunswick with Point Miscou at the tip. This of coarse is Miscou Point Lighthouse.

Notice the cables to hold it up, I guess the wind blows a little out here. The area has peat moss everywhere and we are told in the fall the colors are beautiful but we are a few weeks too early.

The winters are harsh and one guy we talked to is betting the Confederation Bridge will be destroyed by ice before long. Anyway they take all the fishing boats out of the water for the winter.

It is amazing to see that many boats lined up in the boat yards.
We also saw several of these along the road.

They build a platform on top of a pole and the osprey will build their nest. Saw several nests but never saw an osprey.

This is a very French area. We were always greeted in French and sometimes a "Hello" was added but many times we had to ask English? Many of the buildings and signs were in French with no English. We had no idea what they were. A few like this co-op

had an English title and that's all. Sears and Ace Hardware were like this. At Ace the "Hardware" was in French. The Acadians are also very patriotic. Flags are flown everywhere and it is not unusual to see 20' to 30' flag poles in front of homes. Some had 2 or 3 flag poles. Everything you could think of was also painted the colors of the flag.


This included telephone poles and tree trunks. Some of the decorations were very clever.
We left the coast and took a very desolate road across 100 miles of wooded area in hopes of spotting a moose. Irene has been on a mission to see a moose and after many hundreds of miles of moose country she has been unsuccessful. We did however find this very large maple leaf in Saint Quentin.

[Smartstream]

We traveled to Edmunston where we found another of my ancestors homes.

This is now a museum but it was closed like most other tourist things in this part of Canada. Everything shuts down after Labor Day including most of the campgrounds. This by the way is where my family first settled when they came to this Continent.

This handsome fellow is one of several topiaries around Edmunston.


Fort Ptit Sault Blockhouse stands on a small hill looking across the river to the U.S.A.

If you look closely the top floor of the structure is rotated 45 degrees.

This is looking across the border to the U.S.A.

The border crossing was very uneventful. This is not a tourist area anyway and this late in the season we drove across the bridge and right up to the customs shack.

We chatted for a few minutes and drove away and never saw another vehicle.

We came across this small herd of bison near Smyrna.

It is an Amish area and we did see one Amish wagon but were unable to get a decent picture.

We stayed in a campground called Birch Point and yes we are that close to the water.

This is looking toward the campground from across the lake.


And this was our view at sunset.

We met this lovely couple in an Airstream. This is Jack and Gloria and of coarse Hagar.

They were so nice and the park was beautiful we stayed an extra day.

Cheers, Dan

[TinCrumpet]

Cheers, Dan[/QUOTE]

Hi Dan & Irene
Do you know..After looking at the snaps and imagining it all
I spend most of my time at work dreaming away
taking myself to another place

1.
I Simply Love this
2.
I want to be here .. on your side

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by TinCrumpet

Cheers, Dan

Hi Dan & Irene
Do you know..After looking at the snaps and imagining it all
I spend most of my time at work dreaming away
taking myself to another place

1.
I Simply Love this
2.

I want to be here .. on your side

I'm glad you are enjoying the piccys Lili however that particular coast is about 4 time zones from the coast we live on. You have to go west another 3500 miles or so.

But to keep you interested here are a few snaps of the area we have been traveling through. There is water everywhere.


This is Moosehead Lake.


More water


This is Jellystone Campground with our old friend Yogi.

It is a very nice campground and off season very quiet except for the thunder and lightning storm in the morning. One lightning strike was pretty close but I didn't see where it hit.

On the road more water.



We then took a little side trip through the White Mountains. Our first stop was at the toll road to Mt. Washington. Trucks and campers are not allowed, only auto sized vehicles. It is about 8 miles of 12% average grade. Some spots are 17%. It is the first man made tourist attraction in the country. For those who doubt the capability of smart cars I present this.


This Locomobile was the first car up the road in 1899.

It is steam powered and claims to be able to climb a 36% grade. Think about that in your new car. They did have to stop at the 6 mile point to add water for the boiler.

Cheers, Dan

[Smartstream]

We stayed in a quiet little campground called the Country Bumpkin. Actually we were serenaded by running water all night as we were backed up to a stream fed by a creek that ran along side the coach. It was very relaxing.

The White Mountains have some beautiful sheer granite cliffs.




It really is a beautiful area to drive through.

We came to a little town called Littleton. There is an original grist mill the a guy bought and rebuilt. He some how got the government to allow him to operate the water wheel and currently grinds organic grains.


This is the wall construction downstairs in the building.

A very unusual use of materials.

The gear train was reconstructed by the guys son using the original steel parts.


This is the hopper and grind stone.


And the water wheel.

Unfortunately the wheel was damaged by Hurricane Irene and was not operating while waiting for repairs. They did have a good stock of oatmeal and pancake mix and and various flours that we were able to buy. I can't wait to sample some baked goods.

[Eagle & Bear]

We spent 9 days touring Nova Scotia. The first day we realized that it is a very big island so we focused our travel on south west NS. Nice place but the fog interfered with our photography. Taking the ferry from NS to NB saved us at least a days travel and lots of gas. Thanks for the tip on staying at the Acadia NP camp ground. We rolled in at 9pm and found one of the few vacant sites on a Friday evening. The AS was reshawed while we were gone so we are again ready to roll. Will be leaving Bangor on Tues and headed to the White Mountains. Hoping the fall colors will begin to emerge soon. Thanks for all your entries and photos. Michael

[Smartstream]

Littleton also has a candy store listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest candy counter.

The name of the store is Chutters and yes they have a lot of candy.

We continued on through more great scenery.




There were a few trees that looked like they were just about ready to change colors by not quite yet.

The state is trying its best to repair the damage to the roads from Hurricane Irene.


The area relies on the tourists during the "leaf peeping" season. We saw National Guard and other help in several areas. One guy we talked to said they were having a lot of funerals for people the had been swept away by raging water running through the town.

We toured a granite mine near Barre. After a film they took us by bus to the top of the pit.




This is the deepest granite pit in the world and they said they had enough granite here to mine for about 4000 years at the rate they are mining today. I guess that is called job security. This granite is used mostly for grave-site monuments and statues because of the fine grain.


Here is Hagar keeping an eye on things. He does his best to keep us out of trouble.



This is the Capital building in Montpelier



For anybody who knows the area can you guess where we are going next?

Cheers, Dan

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

There is an original grist mill the a guy bought and rebuilt.

I Would absolutely LOVE to come to that Mill..
I adore Windmills and the sea side but I don't like going Up On either..

In England 'Grist' has almost lost its meaning of grain taken to a mill to be ground, "All Gris or Grist to the Mill"..all helps toward..that sort of thingy..
we say that..

Lots of sayings from the Windmills..
to have a millstone around one’s neck ..
keeping your nose to the grindstone..

1583
"There is no lykelihoode that those thinges will bring gryst to the mill."
Love this part of the trip

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

For anybody who knows the area can you guess where we are going next?

Cheers, Dan

I like guessing games but I have no clue whatsoever ..
Hey I'm doing well here..I'm normally a thread killer..sometimes..
if I post on another thread it stops dead..Vinnie used to have the edge on me
but he's on his best behaviour now he's a moderator

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by TinCrumpet

I like guessing games but I have no clue whatsoever ..
Hey I'm doing well here..I'm normally a thread killer..sometimes..
if I post on another thread it stops dead..Vinnie used to have the edge on me
but he's on his best behaviour now he's a moderator

Thats me.. always on my best behaviour..

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, we wish we were still on the road, like you, so we will travel with you on my computer. I like water and wind mills. It is interesting on how they got things done, way back when. [cog wheels etc.] The candy store would be interesting even though we are not much into candy. Would love to see how they mine granite and cut it into pieces or slabs. Still paying for our last trip, [$$$$$$$$] so my heart will be healed soon; Just in time for Jackson Rancheria.

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by Airslide

Thats me.. always on my best behaviour..

Oh Noooo... Suppose I asked for that..
Important announcement : That nowt so queer as folk face is not all mine ..
It is part mine and Part Hans Juniors iphoned into one...
Hey I just remembered..it was cobbled up in the back of Bobs car
on the motorway coming back from Hollywood...

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Eagle & Bear

We spent 9 days touring Nova Scotia. The first day we realized that it is a very big island so we focused our travel on south west NS. Nice place but the fog interfered with our photography. Taking the ferry from NS to NB saved us at least a days travel and lots of gas. Thanks for the tip on staying at the Acadia NP camp ground. We rolled in at 9pm and found one of the few vacant sites on a Friday evening. The AS was reshawed while we were gone so we are again ready to roll. Will be leaving Bangor on Tues and headed to the White Mountains. Hoping the fall colors will begin to emerge soon. Thanks for all your entries and photos. Michael

Glad you got into Acadia NP. It's easy to spend several days there. We had pretty good weather at Nova Soctia and PEI, a little rain and wind but it was no problem. I guess now you have a reason to go back to see the rest of the Provence. We are in Sandy Hook, Ct at my cousins place for a little catch up on maintenance on the coach and the local family gossip. We will be here for a few days so we may have a chance to meet up yet.

Cheers, Dan

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, we wish we were still on the road, like you, so we will travel with you on my computer. I like water and wind mills. It is interesting on how they got things done, way back when. [cog wheels etc.] The candy store would be interesting even though we are not much into candy. Would love to see how they mine granite and cut it into pieces or slabs. Still paying for our last trip, [$$$$$$$$] so my heart will be healed soon; Just in time for Jackson Rancheria.

Bob you are more than welcome to join along with us, after all the ride is free.
It always amazes me how ingenious our forefathers were and how much they were able to accomplish with the tools and materials they had to work with. We too passed on the candy but we did find a small flamingo to add to our flock.

Back on the road our next stop wasn't candy but even better...ice cream. The Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream factory is about 12 miles from Montpelier. It is an amazing success story about two guys making home made ice cream and turning it into a multi-million dollar business. And they did it in a socially responsible manner. At one point in time they took off across country in a coach like this

giving away free samples of their ice cream. The original coach burned to the ground and this is a copy. It's fiberglass but it does share a similar round silhouette with the Airstream.
Here is Irene with a happy ice cream smile and her pass for the factory tour which includes free samples.


With full tummies we headed to Burlington to our campsite. This is how the highway looked on the way.




Cheers, Dan

[TinCrumpet]

Cheers, Dan[/QUOTE]

I have some Ben & Jerrys in the Freezer..love it..
I would have really enjoyed that visit
Hx1 is searching for ideas as to why the Black Smart is kangarooing
He's half way through the Hymer replacement of the gearbox
so he's not enjoying himself ..more snaps please I like looking at them
Are there Bears there ?

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by TinCrumpet

Cheers, Dan

I have some Ben & Jerrys in the Freezer..love it..
I would have really enjoyed that visit
Hx1 is searching for ideas as to why the Black Smart is kangarooing
He's half way through the Hymer replacement of the gearbox
so he's not enjoying himself ..more snaps please I like looking at them
Are there Bears there ?

[/QUOTE]

When you have time..Can you do me a simple drawing of where you have been
and email it to me with approx miles from your cottage
I got lost at some point ..love me

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by TinCrumpet

I have some Ben & Jerrys in the Freezer..love it..

I would have really enjoyed that visit
Hx1 is searching for ideas as to why the Black Smart is kangarooing
He's half way through the Hymer replacement of the gearbox
so he's not enjoying himself ..more snaps please I like looking at them
Are there Bears there ?

When you have time..Can you do me a simple drawing of where you have been
and email it to me with approx miles from your cottage
I got lost at some point ..love me

[/QUOTE]

Lili..Lili..Lili how can can you get lost? I mean you are sitting right there in front your computer. However as per your request here is a map.


I'm not sure how far you can increase it's size but the yellow high lighted line is our route. The maritime provinces are a little hard to see but we drove all around them. Right now we are in Sandy Hook, Conn. at my cousin's place to do a little routine maintenance on the coach and our bodies. My cousin is a great cook and really spoils us. Anyway we are about 3500 miles from home but we have traveled 9886 miles so far according to the GPS. We really don't drive very straight.

Also be careful what you ask for. So far Irene has taken over 5000 pictures, piccys or snaps to you, on this trip. By the way she said she emailed you 39 piccys last night.

Tell Hans to be nice to the smart. You may be making it nervous selling all the other vehicles.

Cheers, Dan

[Smartstream]

Sorry Lili there are bears around but we haven't seen any and there are also supposed to be lots of moose but we haven't seen any of them either and Irene is not happy about that.

Also Bob you mentioned how they mine and cut the granite slabs. They drill holes about 1" dia. and about 4" apart in a line across the top and across the front of the block they want to remove. They then insert a piece of "det cord" in each hole in the bottom front and set it off and it breaks the block loose along the line of drilled holes. The slabs are then cut with a band saw using a diamond coated wire blade. I think he said they have a saw running six blades to cut six slabs at a time. They also have a circular saw with a diamond tipped blade. Det cord is a fuse cord used in blasting that explodes rather than burns. It's like putting a small charge in each hole.

Cheers, Dan

[Smartstream]

Back to our regular program I think I left off in Burlington. When we headed out I wanted to take in some views of Lake Champlain, the largest freshwater lake in the country. It can be difficult because much of the shoreline in this area is occupied by private homes and public access is limited. We did get a few pics.



Our next stop was the Shelbourne Museum. This is a collection of 39 exhibition buildings 25 of which are historic and have been moved to the site which is 48 acres. The museum was founded by Electra Havemeyer Webb to house her collection of early American artifacts. She also purchased the steamship Ticonderoga when it was retired in 1953. She moved the 220', 892 ton ship nearly two miles from Lake Champlain to the museum.


The Ticonderoga was built of riveted iron in 1906 and carried passengers until 1953. It is the only walking beam, side wheel passenger steamer in existence today.
This is me standing by the crankshaft that drives the side wheels.


We also found Lili's next bike at the museum.


I don't think she can fall off of this one.

Our next stop was the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.


Here is Irene with our newly adopted teddy bear "Betsy"


She has a Betsy Ross dress and is holding her freshly baked apple pie.
We also visited the teddy bear hospital where you can send your injured teddy bear for medical care.


Leaving the Teddy Bear Factory driving south we sadly saw evidence of the recent flooding from Hurricane Irene.

[Mike Leary]

We gonna see you in Flagstaff on your way back?