Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => Adventure Anywhere => Topic started by: Ron Dittmer on September 20, 2016, 10:12:16 am
-
Hi All,
We are leaving soon on our first visit ever to New England. We will surely visit Acadia NP, maybe Nova Scotia if time permits. I wonder if we will arrive too soon for the fall colors of Vermont & New Hampshire given our time there will be 9/26-10/12.
I've read through member posts on the subject. Thank you all for that. Since we own a tow vehicle, it seems better to bring it along rather than to leave it home. We assume the weather can get cold so we'll bring our warm hooded jackets with removable thermal liners, gloves etc. We'll also carry a couple of large umbrellas.
As far as camping accommodations is concerned, as usual we will "wing" it without reservations for we never know where & when we will be in any one place. Given the time of year, will this be an issue? Will Acadia NP, state parks, and other primitive public land camp grounds be filled? If so, can we rely on private RV parks? Or is the color tour season inundated with people just like us? I expect Columbus Day weekend 10/8-10/10 will surely be a crowded time.
I looked on-line for a color tour route and found THIS (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Boston+Logan+International+Airport,+Boston,+MA/Providence,+Rhode+Island/Historic+Deerfield+Museum+Store,+Old+Main+Street,+Deerfield,+MA/St.+Johnsbury,+Vermont/Franconia+Notch+State+Park,+Franconia+Notch+Parkway,+Franconia,+NH/North+Conway,+NH/Songo+River+Queen+II,+Roosevelt+Trail,+Naples,+ME/Old+Port,+Portland,+ME/Portland+Head+Light,+Cape+Elizabeth,+ME/Boston,+MA/@43.1209268,-72.5478649,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m62!4m61!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e37014d5da4937:0xc9394c31f2d5144!2m2!1d-71.0095602!2d42.3656132!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e444e0437e735d:0x69df7c4d48b3b627!2m2!1d-71.4128343!2d41.8239891!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e12eb7ede1ed79:0x8e47fadbf98541f9!2m2!1d-72.6049!2d42.5468!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cb447e6ba459161:0xa3cd25da03335a5b!2m2!1d-72.0151026!2d44.4192264!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cb47dc5ed247c67:0xb79349700cb68cc3!2m2!1d-71.6861271!2d44.1482539!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cb3a0e620006dcd:0x9bd571527f4af487!2m2!1d-71.1284041!2d44.0536805!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cb259d602fabb53:0xcda6877acd275d35!2m2!1d-70.6021251!2d43.9697336!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cb29c6ab4eb3f8d:0xa073be26e028bb0b!2m2!1d-70.2550261!2d43.6580535!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cb29e051438bee7:0x2732456be21bee0b!2m2!1d-70.208183!2d43.623038!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e3652d0d3d311b:0x787cbf240162e8a0!2m2!1d-71.0588801!2d42.3600825!3e0?hl=en) loop route. If we follow it, will we get the best of fall colors in New England?
As far as shores go, other than Acadia National Park, I'd love some input on that too.
I do wonder if Nova Scotia is worth the trip. Maybe it's best to focus on New England.
All input is welcomed.
-
Ron: I'm originally from Connecticut and envy your tip (maybe we'll try it next year). I can't help you with all the questions you asked, but here is some info...
The link to the loop map you posted just shows a route from Logan Airport to downtown Boston, which is not something I'd advise in an RV.
Here are two links to fall foliage sites in New England: http://www.discovernewengland.org/fall-foliage-maps https://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/
The foliage depends on quite a few weather factors, as you can imagine but the time frame of your trip pretty much falls in the zone.
Private RV parks are a lot less prevalent in New England than many other parts of the country (take a look at the Allstays map) There are quite a few state parks and campgrounds with primitive accommodations (especially in the Adirondacks, which you might want to look into in addition to New England)
I'd advise being very cognizant of the roads you choose to drive on in the RV.....many have low clearance underpasses, covered bridges, tunnels, etc. There are also quite a few toll roads. If your route takes you onto a 'Parkway' I would investigate the restrictions there. A good general starting site for traffic/road related stuff is http://newengland511.org/
- Mike
-
Ron,
Have a great time. Glad you and Irene are going to be able to test out all the newer improvements/mods you've made.
Give us a report when you return.
Safe travels.
Gail
-
Hi Ron,
My wife and I are heading to Acadia Sept 30 arriving October 1 late in the evening, I'll be looking for your rig. Nova Scotia is well worth the trip but you'll want to spend no less than a week there, so given you're only out for two weeks I'd stick with New England. Possibly New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy National Park but no more as you'll no doubt feel rushed. In New Hampshire my favorite place is the White Mountains, there you'll find Franconia Notch State Park, the Kankamangus Highway along with several very nice National Forest campgrounds. Availability shouldn't be an issue if you get to the campgrounds early. Blackwoods campground is the only one open in Acadia's Mount Desert Island, I checked about a week ago and they still had over 100 sites still available so I didn't make a reservation. We should be on the beginning of the color season at least that's why I planned the two weeks I did. We can look at the color in the Mid-West and consider it beautiful but it doesn't compare to Vermont and New Hampshire!
Hope we cross paths but I'll wish you a terrific trip now just in case we don't!
Gary
-
Hi Irene and Ron,
I hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip. I look forward to seeing a post of pictures and maybe a comment or two on places you visited and overnight stays.
Not sure if you would be interested as you pass through/nearby, but my 2016-2351 may be completed with my scheduled pick-up on 10/5 at Elkhart.
Maybe too early but I hope to see some Fall colors as I meander back to Texas through KY, TN, AL, and AR.
Be safe, John
-
Pax/Mike, I had been on those two websites before to get educated. Good to know I am researching in the right places. Good to know there is an adequate amount of primitive camping which is our camping style anyway. I will check out Allstays. As far as low clearance bridges and such is concerned, I was under the impression they get as low as 10"-4". Our PC has a 9'-10" height when empty, even less when loaded up on a trip. I will review that website you gave me on vehicle height clearances. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Gail Staton, Thank you for your well wishes. We'll be taking pics and vids as always. I'll make it a point to share some when we get back.
Tall Guy Gary, We have three weeks to work with, not two. If we find we have a week extra to utilize, I will consider your input on Nova Scotia. When searching the web, the White Mountains area keeps coming up. We'll be sure to spend some time in that area. In Acadia, one way or the other, we will be spending time there. If not camped inside the park, then nearby. I assume that plan will work as long as we avoid the three day holiday weekend 10/8-10/10. Thank You for your input.
JOHN, It has been on my mind to stop by the PC factory. The last time we were there was in June 2007. It would be real nice to meet Kermit, Earl, Kyle and the gang there in-person. The fellow John who showed us around over nine years ago had left during the big recession. We'll be passing through in both directions on week days during this trip, days when they are open, so it looks very promising. Yes, please watch for us. We'll have our eyes open for other PC family on this trip....as always as in past trips.
Please keep the input coming!
-
Hi Ron, we visited Acadia NP driving from SC, crossed into Canada for 3 days touring Hopewell Rock, Bay of Fundy and St. Andrews, NB, Ca. And back down to Acadia. We were in NB starting 10/8/2014 and Acadia by 10/11/14, back to SC by 10/24/2014. Some places were past their peak, but mostly just beautiful. Visit Hopewell Rock if you get a chance. We found a nice campground not far away. I posted a pic of our PC at that place as well as one in Bar Harbour made on 10/11. Gives you a hint of how the fall color might be. Enjoy and be safe.
Rose
-
Thankyou Buffalo Rose for that.
A question to all from my wife lrene asking about whale watching. Any chance for that at a particular coastal area during that time period?
-
I wonder if everyone I want to meet at the factory are at the Hershey RV show.
-
Hershey is over. They should all be home.
There is a whale watching company in Bar Harbor that is worth a look. http://www.barharborwhales.com/ They have a store right on the waterfront so there is probably someone there most days that could answer questions if you call them. We went out with them and had a great time. One item we noted is that they tell you pretty early on the tour that a certain type of dolphin is actually a whale (thus getting you the guaranteed whale sighting). We did see several other types of whales but that was in the summer. I see from their site that they are getting sightings now. We did the puffin and whale tour so it included a "visit" to sit offshore of an island with lots of puffins on it and we watched them for a bit. Take binoculars if you have them. I don't know the season for the puffin either but the cruise company can answer all those questions.
I also recommend Diver Ed tours http://divered.com/ - for another time. I checked their website and they only run Memorial Day through Labor Day. Store this away for future reference though. The tour we went on was more kid oriented (though we, as adults, had a blast and saw lots of critters). Acadia teamed with them and offered a Ranger Led tour that went more down the coast and was more likely to see whales and covered the park from the ocean but also included the usual diving stuff with Ed and Captain Evil (his wife). I don't know if this runs off season or not (Ed is a scallop fisherman in the winter and dives for those). Once in place on the water, Diver Ed goes down in the full dive suit with helmet and video camera. You sit topside and watch the video feed as he finds and brings up sea creatures. You can hear Ed and Captain Evil narrates and talks with the passengers. Ed brings up sea stars, lobsters, urchins, etc. and puts them in a touch tank where the passengers and check them out... and kiss them if desired.
Take water shoes that grip rocks. Acadia has so many areas you can rock scramble and check tide pools and the BAR in bar harbor is walkable at low tide (driveable even for some people). You can cross over to Bar Island and do a hike there. Just make sure you are back before the tide rolls back in. Check at the Acadia visitor center for the best times to hit the different locations around the island. Thunder Hole is unimpressive until the tide is blasting in THEN you get the water booming into the crevice and shooting into the air. The carriage roads are great for hiking and biking and all those gorgeous stone bridges are different and named. Again, the map is at the visitor center. They have so many different brochures that you kind of have to know what to ask for - or keep going back like we did.
So much to see and do in the White Mountains AND at Acadia. If you like food and your route takes you nearby, stop at the King Arthur Flour factory. They have a nice store, dining area and you can watch them bake through large glass windows. We went two or three times when we were in the area. I was wishing there was room in one of their classes for Chloe and me, but no such luck. If you want to get into a class, check the schedule now. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/visit/ We stayed at the Queechee KOA and visited Queechee Gorge, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park and Billings Farm, VT, as well as Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, NH. We then stayed at Crawford Notch State Park and went up Mount Washington.
If you are into baseball, we stayed at Glimmerglass State Park which is near Cooperstown and the baseball museum (which we didn't hit).
Lots of wondrous things to see and do. Enjoy the trip!
-
We just bought a home in Maine and are in the process of moving all our possession's form NY to Maine. Right now there is very little color and according to the experts. Due to the drought conditions in the north east. They claim the colors will be muted this year. As we headed over the mountains in Vermont the swamp maples where a purple instead of red.
-
As an accountant, if I can't input numbers in my calculator I'll probably get them wrong. Three weeks is a lot nicer than two (LOL) but I'd still stick with New England and possibly a little of New Brunswick. The campgrounds on "The Kank" are all very nice I don't believe any have electric but a couple do have paved parking and I believe those also have coin showers in case you're after a nice long shower. This website will give you a ton of information about The White Mountains. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whitemountain/about-forest/offices/?cid=stelprdb5273992
Enjoy!
-
Ron - I know you sometimes leave the toad at home and do a lot of backwoods traveling in the PC. Some of the lower underpasses I'm aware of in New England are:
Storrow Drive in Boston (10')
Memorial Drive in Cambridge, MA (9')
East Street Railroad Bridge in Westwood, MA (10' 6")
Washington Ave in West Haven, CT (10')
Route 135 in Fairfield, CT (10')
Saugatuck Ave in Westport, CT (10')
The Merritt Parkway in CT (many 9' and 10')
Covered Bridge on Blair Rd in Campton, NH (9' 2")
Covered Bridge on Bumps Intervale Rd in Campton, NH (9' 3")
Covered Bridge on Durgin Bridge Rd in North Sandwich, NH (9' 3")
Covered Bridge on East Side Road in Conway, NH (10' 3")
Broadway in Dover, NH (9' 6")
Covered Bridge on Covered Bridge Rd in Corinth, ME (8' 10")
Patterson Rd Bridge in Dresden, ME (10' 11")
Vermont has dozens of covered bridges in the 8' to 10' clearance range.
Many of these are just off the interstate or major state routes, which may be a cause for concern if you need to pull off for gas, etc. There are obviously many more than are on this list.
None I know of in New England beats the 7' 3" clearance on the Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx, NY however.
But then again, it is a NYC law that the "legal" clearance be one foot shorter than the "measured" clearance. The real heights are sometimes 2 feet or more than the posted heights. However in CT the posted clearance is the actual measurement from ground to the bottom of the overpass (unless, of course, the city or state added pavement and failed to change the sign) Not sure of the other state laws/methods.
- Mike
-
Ron
Lots of good advice here.
The White Mountains as mentioned are a great place to visit in the fall. National forest camp grounds are nice and put you in areas with great hiking in addition to leaf peeping. Mount Washington is a great hike and on a clear day you can see all the way to the Maine coast. With the shorter days in the fall, however hiking to the summit could be problematic, can also drive the auto road or take the old Cog railway up which is a great adventure. The Appalachian mountains club (AMC) has a great visitor center at Pinkham Notch which can provide lots of info, as well as equipment rentals, on the hiking the area.
Arcadia is great, we have spent a number of nights there over the past couple of months including a great week with Judi and George (Gradygal), Bar Harbor is a tourist town which can be very congested, especially when a cruse ship is in, which this time of year there are many. As you probably have read the Inter-island bus is free and will take you around much of the island, park at the main visitor center. Don't miss the other villages on the island like South West Harbor, Bass Harbor and North East Harbor, which has a couple of great gardens, they were in full bloom when there last week but will probably have less color when your here
Whale watching this time of year can be hit or miss. Sit on the shore and watch for dolphins and seals which should be plintiful.
The New Brunswick crossing in Lubec is about 100 miles up Route 1. If time permits and you like history visit Campobello International park, summer home of FDR (Pass Ports required).
If moving around, Cobscook state park is near there and a good base for exploring that part of Down East Maine.
Lots to see, unfortunately were in a severe drought and the fall colors may not have there usual brilliance.
Safe travels and if we can provide any other info, just ask.
Bob
-
We took the auto road to the top of Mt. Washington last month (in the Fit). It's a 45 minute ascent--8 miles with many turns and No guard rails! Once at the summit, the views are incredible.
The road is privately owned. The fee is $29 for car and driver and $9 for each additional person. At the summit is the Mt. Washington State Park and the Mt. Washington Weather Observatory. When we were there in August the temp. was 43 at the summit with snow in the forecast for the next day.
The only warning is that if you or Irene are afraid of heights, don't go up! I hate heights and I was scared ****less!
Judi
-
Ron,
Don't know if you have the BLUE IPASS or not but you will need it out of Illinois. You will end up with the WHIRE and BLUE for towing with an RV. just through I would say something
Jim
-
Hi Jim,
We do have an Illinois IPASS for our PC and Jeep Liberty and plane to utilize them in other states that accept IPASS. According to the Illinois IPASS website, Indiana and 15 other states with E-ZPASS accepts IPASS. I searched E-ZPASS and found it is used in the following 16 states, and also in Ontario Canada. At a glance, most states we will travel through accepts our IPASS.
Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia Canada: Ontario
-
Just back from Eastern Vermont and home in NE Pennsylvania via I-84 (yep, I-84 is still under construction for 3rd year) Vermont starting to change with brighter colors than PA. Here in PA color is muted due to very dry conditions. Vermont looked better but still dry. :'(
-
Hi All,
We are enjoying the landscape here in the White Mountains. I describe it as a bowl of Skittles.
-
Hi All,
We just got back tonight. Trying to keep this as short as possible, here was our trip.
- 3 weeks long
- Started from home near Chicago, drove through Detroit into Canada, entered back into the US through Montreal
- Spent some time around Lake Champlain
- A stop at the Ben & Jerry factory and stops at 3 maple sugar making farms & maybe 9 different covered bridges throughout the trip
- Went to the White mountains to learn we were too early for the fall colors
- Drove to Acadia and spent many nights at Haley's Point camp ground cheap $35/night electric & water, no waste (highly recommend A+ both for accomodations and location)
- Loved Bar Harbor, Cadillac Mountain, biked carriage roads, sightseeing, etc, then went back to White Mountains
- BAMB/POP! we hit the color change just right, and boy they were perfect, the locals said they were surprised to see it at it's best given the conditions this past year
- Stayed many nights in Twin Mountain, Ammonoosuc campground, $35/night full hook-ups (highly recommend with an A+, both accommodations and location)
- Drove to the fellow who sold us our PC in 2007, Don Keller of East Acres in Mendon MA, now retired...finally met the man who helped us into a PC. This was before the recession when Phoenix sold through independent dealerships.
- Drove down to Newport Rhode Island to visit our niece
- Drove to Boston for a day to walk the Freedom Trail
- Drove to Phoenix USA in Elkhart to meet Earl Robbins for the first time, our last visit to Phoenix was 9.5 years ago.
- Straight to home thereafter
That pretty much covers the trip.
Earl gave us a very nice tour. My wife and I really like the latest 2017 2351 features. A 2351 with an extended galley for extra counter space & drawer storage, and that new stainless sink is oh so nice, but we would opt to keep the old stove design to accommodate larger pots and pans. The new stove with glass top limits you to using very tiny pots & pans. We still appreciate a no-slide dinette over a couch with table in a slide out. We also got a real good look at the many features you all have since ours was built in 2007. Those MCD shades, frame-less top hinged awning windows, Purgo flooring, on and on and on, very very nice enhancements were made over the years. New for 2017 are those awesome durable, slam-shut outdoor storage compartment latches. I wish there was an easy way to incorporate them into our PC, but it just isn't practical. If you wonder.......No, we are not buying a new PC. A 2351 will fit in our garage but we just ain't doing it. We were not blessed with that kind of money, especially since I was forced into early retirement last November. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. My wife Irene was surprised how much she enjoyed getting another tour after so many years ago. She loved to see the changes PC made over the years, as did I.
Interesting facts Earl Robbins & Don Keller shared with us about Phoenix
- 20th Anniversary at hand.....Happy Anniversary Phoenix!
- 1997 model years started rolling out in late 1996
- They were all class B's, switching to making B+'s around 2002 was it?
- Today the factory has 25 full time and occasionally a couple of part time employees.
- Max output is two PC's per week of which they have been doing all this year. It has been a very good year.
- A placed order is taking roughly 3 months to complete depending on deviations and other influencial factors
- When they can, they squeeze in a few units on the line that are not pre-ordered, but they get sold while on the line
- I gather it has basically turned into a made-to-order situation given demand is so high lately.
- A full body paint job adds roughly 3 additional weeks into the time line
- They seem to squeeze in repairs for current owners. For example, someone was there getting his 2015 2910 repaired from a rear inner tire blowout that damaged the surrounding area
- As I heard from other visitors, the people there are all very kind. You feel very welcomed there.
- I found it very educational. Even my wife Irene was intrigued.
This was the first trip since we bought our PC back in 2007, where for the majority of our trip we had full (or near full) hook-ups, and we were in relatively flat terrain near populated areas where we could use air wave TV. It took away nearly all the thought given to RV operations. I was surprised how easy it was to find a signal to watch TV, primarily tuning in to watch the two presidential debates. The only matter to think about was to Sanicon-dump the gray water tank frequently due to so much water usage. This trip did not test dry camping capabilities at all.
Some years ago, I had bought a waste storage tube (never mounted) to store a Rhino gravity waste system I bought (still new in the box). Though the Sanicon-dump was needed once in a while, I did not find it terribly inconvenient. The benefit of doing so was flushing out the black tank with gray water. The gravity method seems ideal for extended stays, like for weeks or a season at a time.
I had made some recent changes to our PC which finally got put to the test. We loved our new bathroom shelf, common entry door keys, upgraded van door speakers, new dish racks & tray, multi-position, reversible sink-inset cutting board & work surface, and the new additional 12V and USB outlets in the Ford center console was great. The volt meter I added in the monitor panel was nice to have, though with hook-ups so often I rarely needed to monitor the batteries. It was our first easy trip with regards to operations. One thing I want to buy is a nice compact ceramic floor heater. We brought an old cheap electric one which was very nice to have, but I would like to have something better.
Interesting about having a volt meter now for the chassis battery and also the rear house batteries. When the V10 engine was running, both voltages read the same and really never changed much at all. This meant that the alternator consistently supplied all batteries a little less than 14V, regardless of circumstance.
Ron
-
Great report and sounds like you had a nice time!