As I write this post we are soaking up Maine and all of its beauty. I honestly cannot wait to share our Maine travels. But before I get ahead of myself let’s take a step back to our travels through Vermont & New Hampshire. We did not spend a lot of time here, about a week and half in total between the two.

Right away I will say we absolutely loved Vermont! But our short stay in New Hampshire was not a favorite (more on that in a minute). But before arriving in Vermont I thought I would start with the tale of a travel day gone wrong.

After leaving Saranac Lake in upstate New York we stopped at a small campground to dump our tanks and fill our water. It was rather small and a bit tight for our size rig. We pulled off to the side near the bathrooms to decide if we could fill our water from one of the spigots. Important to note not all spigots are the same. Some are threaded to attach a hose, others are not. These were not. But it looked like there was another one further that was. Well during that distraction of spigot decision, Shane went to drive away and bam. We hit something up top. In our distraction we did not realize how close we were to the hangover of the roof from the bathroom.

It was a moment of truth to survey the damage. It was not good. We were both sick with this mistake. The driver’s side of the upper cab area was smashed in.

Major bummer – as this would need to be addressed as soon as possible or risk water intrusion up top.

We managed to get our water filled and waste tanks dumped without further issue. And within a few minutes of our smash we let it go. Because honestly, you cannot dwell on what has already happened. Shit happens, that’s the way of things. We would assess and address the damage once parked at our next spot. Lucky, no rain in the forecast for this travel day.

However, it turned out this travel day had more in store for us. As we were driving along in the mountains, Shane noticed the rig had a vibration he hadn’t felt before. He pulled over, checked the tires, all looked well, and we continued.

Not far down the road a loud noise came from the rear passenger tires. Flat tire while driving uphill in the mountains of upstate New York! Shane limped the rig along for a short distance before finding a flat large pull off to deal with this situation. Yep shredded the tread and it was gone. Time to change a tire on the side of the road. Two mishaps in one day. What the hell!

We have a full size spare but of course the old tire proved to be difficult to remove. Finally got it off and the spare installed (pictured above #3 – what a tire should look like). This ate up a solid extra hour of our travel day making it too late to pick up our package at the Middlebury post office in Vermont. Starlink would have to wait for the next day.

After arriving on the eastern side of the Green Mountains near a small village of Granville, we scouted out some spots. Found a beautiful spot halfway up the mountain with gorgeous views all around. I must say I absolutely loved this spot. Mountain views and the sounds of a river just below made for a peaceful spot under the stars.

Even with fog the view was still beautiful.

The spot we chose had a nice gravel section right off the small forest road. Beyond our spot 4-wheel drive and high clearance was a must. We had a few people turn around when they discovered the road was more rugged past us. But otherwise this spot was quiet and we loved it. The stars here were amazing, the Milky Way shining in all her brilliance. And solar was not a problem here as we were out in the open (except when it rained).

Josie “solar paneling” one day in the road (time to strap solar panels to her :-)). She loves to lay in the sun. We could hear anyone coming up the road from far away so I can attest she was perfectly safe from any cars venturing up this way. It’s hard to see in the second photo but this is where the road is rougher.

Our drive into Middlebury was beautiful. Streams and rivers running alongside the road, and mountains on either side. The road to Middlebury was re-opened but the remnants of flood damage were still apparent. In some places the road had been completely washed out. They were fast to repair it. Picked up our Starlink package at the post office and now it was time to test it out.

The spot we chose was perfect for Starlink testing, as you need a clear path to the sky. With 30 days to try it out, we didn’t waste any time. If it didn’t work like we wanted we could get a full refund on the price of the equipment. It’s not cheap (in case you are wondering). Shane set it up and watched as it moved to find the nearest satellite. And like that we were hooked up with blazing fast, unlimited internet. We had AT&T coverage at this spot as well, just in case we had any trouble with Starlink. But it worked flawlessly. It does consume some power but overall not bad. There is even a stow function when you are not using it. Pretty cool.

It’s an investment up front and monthly it’s bit pricey but I love we can pause the service when we don’t need it. This is truly a gamechanger for those of us that love our remote spots but still need to accomplish some work. No data cap or throttled speeds – a big plus!

During our week long stay there was rain, some hazy days from the Canadian wildfires but also sunny days with star filled night skies. We truly loved this spot!

Some time was spent exploring the rivers, streams, and waterfalls nearby.

Self Care Sunday is something we do each week. Sometimes it’s all day of self care activities and others part of the day. I truly believe everyone could benefit from incorporating some self care practices into their lives. We chose to spend a self care Sunday down at the White River within walking distance of our campsite. Foot spa (soaking your feet in the cold moving water) and sipping on a couple of local brews made for a great way to stay cool on a warmer day.

The Green Mountains treated us well. Such a beautiful and peaceful place to be fully immersed in nature. I’m excited we get to stop there again on our way back to Indiana.

That was our experience in Vermont, many thumbs up! Plus my succulents loved their spot in the window.

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Our New Hampshire experience was….interesting, best way I can describe it.
We arrived at our first landing spot, a campground called Gale River Campground in the White Mountains National Forest. This one was full on a Monday! Except for two spots that would not work for Ralphie. We found a narrow pull off spot nearby to park Ralphie. It wasn’t ideal but would work if the next spot was full as well.

Down the road a few miles is another set of 11 campsites off Haystack road. All are free, and come with a fire pit. Here we found several open. Grabbed Ralphie and were happy to be parked in a proper spot. The narrow pull off was on a somewhat heavily traveled road and would have worked in a pinch but not what we wanted for a few days.

We went with site #11. Downside to all of the spots here, lots of tree cover. Starlink would be of no use to us here. Lucky for us AT&T and Verizon worked just fine.

I wish I could say we explored and hiked a lot. But it rained a fair amount here. We did some daily walks down the road and up to the Little River near the trailhead. I did not get photos as I left my phone behind that day.

Then the next afternoon after arriving, a New Hampshire state police officer stopped by. I thought he was a ranger at first. He said “Something is going on but I can’t tell you what. There is no threat to the public and you can stay here.” He asked when we arrived and let us know we would be seeing several state police the rest of the day. They were just letting campers know. A few minutes later another state police officer stopped, a woman this time. We told her we talked to her partner. She asked when we arrived and for contact info just in case.

We went about our business. The following day, we saw several unmarked state police driving up and down the road. Also noticed some men in the woods, obviously looking for something (all in civilian clothes). Early that same evening another state police officer informed us they needed to keep a line of integrity and would be walking through the woods nearby and our campsite. He asked that we keep our dog in as they had some dogs with them. He also apologized he couldn’t tell us more. They did their walk through and then were gone.

The next day while I was at the grocery store, Shane texted to tell me a box truck drove by with “Major Crimes Unit” plastered across it. At this point not filling me with confidence that we should stay much longer. However we both had things to work on before we traveled to Maine.

Our final evening, we hopped in the Jeep to take Josie up to the bridge to play in the water. However, a mile or so up the road several unmarked cars were parked along with several officers in the roadway. At a glance I noticed one was wearing a clean suit, much like you would see in a lab, as not to contaminate a scene. We obviously turned around, parked the Jeep and took Josie for a walk the other way.

During our walk I said “they just found what they were looking for”. Only one thing came to mind, a body.

After returning to our site after our walk, we started a fire and were hanging outside. Shortly after, a hearse drove by, confirming our theory. I will admit to feeling this sense of heaviness. Someone’s body was found and somewhere a family was going to get the news that evening. I felt for whoever the person was and their family.

Our spot was the last one and then a section of woods that ended in a parking lot for a trail head. My assumption is someone most likely dumped a body between us and the trailhead. Possibly they were in custody and it was a matter of the police finding said body. My best guess. Who knows but I can tell you based on that experience, New Hampshire is not at the top of my list of places I want to return. Although we will be going back through there so fingers crossed it’s less CSI: New Hampshire and more hiking.

And photos, I seriously only took 1 photo during our 4 day stay. The river photo remained uncaptured due to….well a crime scene blocking the route.

Here’s to a better impression of New Hampshire on the return trip.

Up Next: Finally made it to Maine + love at first sight!

P.S. The Ralphie smash was assessed and Shane sealed up any spots for potential water intrusion. Thus far all is well and we have had plenty of rain to test that out. Dry as a bone! (Shane, my hero!)