The Last Stops Before Canada

7/05/2018 I bid adieu to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore then began the drive to Charlottesville, Virginia down a path that maneuvered me through some interesting areas of the East Coast. An hour into my travel I was on the Chesapeake Bay where I could see two aircraft carriers plus several other Navy and commercial ships. Onto the Hampton Roads Bridge and Tunnel over and under the Chesapeake Bay then among towns that I had heard about such as Hampton Roads and Newport News. I decided to camp at the Loft Mountain Campground in the Shenandoah National Park the drive of which took me onto Skyline Drive into Blue Ridge Mountains. Skyline Drive connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway which connects the Shenandoah National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The picturesque drive along Skyline Drive at times made me homesick mainly with stops at the overlooks where I could see for miles, something of which I had not been able to do for a while. The Loft Mountain Campground was a large, hilly and very wooded campground with several loops which required me to drive four times around before finding and settling into the night’s stay there. The campground was quiet and cool which made for a pleasant evening and retirement.      

7/06/2018 Loft Mountain campground was only an hour drive down into Earlysville that is in the outskirts of Charlottesville to my Nephew's house.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by Mrs. Emeley Belander, which was the first time ever meeting. The rest of the Belanders soon fell about; Robert, the oldest, Hanna, the one who stole my heart, and the baby, Louisa. Rocky arrived home from work shortly after my arrival and we went to lunch together to do some Uncle – Nephew catching up which we continued through the evening.     

7/07/2018 Gathering Rocky, Emeley, Robert, Hanna and Louisa, which I will refer to as the Team, together into two cars we preceded to Monticello but it was so busy we decided not to enter. Instead Ralph, his son Robert and I drove over to Michie Tavern for lunch while Emeley and the girls played at a Monticello playground. Michie Tavern originally began business in 1784 not far from Rocky’s house in Earlysville but was moved in 1927 to its present location ½ mile below Jefferson’s Monticello. Michie Tavern presents a good lunch in an atmosphere reminiscent of the local tavern of over 200 years ago.    

7/08/2018 The Team gathered up with a drive to the Civil War battlefield outside of the town of Culpepper, Virginia as our original destination. Known as the Battle of Cedar Mountain it took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson near Cedar Mountain which resulted in a Confederate victory. After lunch we toured the Museum of Culpeper History in the Town of Culpepper. The museum has a Triassic Gallery with footprints unearthed at the Culpeper Stone Company a quarry near the town of Culpeper, First Nations exhibits regarding their area history, Civil War information with Culpepper’s involvement, and Culpeper’s 20^th Century transformation after the Civil War. Later we visited the hill where the Battle of Brandy Station took place. This battle was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863 by the Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton against Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry. We then toured the area where the Battle of the Wilderness was fought May 5–7, 1864 which was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army. I do not know how this battle was fought as it is in a very dense forest. The weather accommodated our adventure and the touring of these significant Civil War battlefields.

7/09/2018 I left the Belander’s residence to visit a friend and colleague from my IBM days. Or was it IBM daze?  Mike and Berrie Riese live in Shenandoah Junction, West (by God) Virginia about a two hour drive north of Charlottesville. Instead of going directly to the Reise’s I camped at the Watermelon Park & Campground near Berryville, Virginia in Clarke County where I did my much needed laundry. 

7/10/2018 Late morning, I began the 1 hour drive to the Reise’s house where I parked the travel trailer across the street from their house. After Mike’s arrival from work we reminisced on old times, caught up on former colleagues and updated each other regarding today’s business. We were well fed with Barrie’s cooking skills and Mike’s Bratwurst grill skills. We continued to reminisce until late when I relieved Mike of his Host duties as he had to work the next day. 



7/11/2018 I left the Reise’s this morning to head to the Gettysburg National Military Park. I camped about 25 miles south of Gettysburg at the Cunningham Falls State Park, Manor Area campground near Thurmont, Maryland.  Cunningham Falls State Park is located in the picturesque Catoctin Mountains. This campground is near the historic Catoctin Iron Furnace, which I visited, was constructed in 1774 to produce pig iron used to provide cannonballs for the American Revolutionary War. Tomorrow I will head to Gettysburg which I have been looking forward to.

7/12/2018 Today I visited the iconic Gettysburg  National Military Park administered by the US National Parks Service. The Gettysburg National Military Park presents the history and engagements of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. I first redeployed from my F-150 in the parking lot to the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center. The Center displays 43,000 Civil War artifacts, presents the Film, A New Birth of Freedom, narrated by award winning actor Morgan Freeman and has a Cyclorama painting depicting Pickett's Charge. The museum was impressive but the Cyclorama was outstanding. The Cyclorama oil painting was produced in the late 1880s by French artist Paul Philippoteaux who spent months on the battlefield researching the battle with veterans, a battlefield guide and a photographer.  Philippoteaux recreated the landscape and the ferocity of Pickett’s Charge during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg in this breathtaking canvas that measures 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet high. The US Parks Service adds light and sound effects during this presentation of the Cyclorama generating a sensation of being there during the engagements that occurred on that day. I completed the day with the tour of the battlefield which is well presented by the US National Parks Service with stops explained with an accompanying map. I now have the feeling of knowing the extent of what happened here on this battlefield during this dreadful war. 

7/13/2018 I broke camp early from the Cunningham Falls State Park, Manor Area campground near Thurmont, Maryland heading somewhere north. I knew I needed to go north but I had not made any plans or any reservations at private or public campgrounds. After driving for several hours I stopped for lunch and at that time I located the Hills Creek State Park campground in northern Pennsylvania. The four plus hour drive took over six hours to complete and took me along the Susquehanna River, past the Howard J. Lamade Stadium which hosts the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania then through the capital of Harrisburg. I arrived early evening to find the reservations made earlier in the now closed campground office after which I drove to site 12 then set up camp. The Hills Creek State Park is on Hills Creek Lake a rather small lake but seems to be relatively popular as it has a nice beach with rental kayaks. After dark there was a lengthy, respectable fireworks display performed by a NGO* because fireworks are legal for all citizens in Pennsylvania. I watched the private fireworks display to its late end with my campground neighbors then returned to the camper for the night.

*Non-governmental organization 

7/14/2018 I knew it was going to be a long drive before leaving last night’s campsite at Hills Creek State Park. This day’s desire was to get to a campsite in Vermont which I did not achieve because I just kept driving. I finally settled at a Rest Stop in Kittery, Maine. Boy, was that a long, winding 10 hour drive. Only 50% of the drive was on roads that I would consider highway; the rest were narrow backroads through small towns and neighborhoods. Notwithstanding, I went through some very picturesque country through New York and Vermont. Some notable elements of this portion of my trip were driving through Endicott, New York which is considered the birthplace of IBM then crossing the Hudson River in the New York capital of Albany. It was well after dark when I located and settled in the Kittery Rest Stop but I rested well. 

7/15/2018 It was apparent that I would be going through Bangor, Maine going into and coming out of Canada as I plan to go to Niagara Falls after leaving our northern neighbor. For that reason, and before leaving the Rest Stop, I made reservations at the Bangor / Holden KOA campground outside of Bangor in Holden, Maine. It was 190 mile drive which I completed in 4 hours that included one stop for fuel and a lunch from my own trailer kitchen. Upon my arrival at the KOA, I found the registration desk staff along with the owner Chris to be very friendly and informative people. There is a snack bar in the front building with a small menu that includes lobster rolls and their own handmade pizza, all of which they will deliver to the campsite. My site was easy to maneuver in to, was a fairly flat site and included power, water, and cable. A cool night in Maine gave this main character a good night’s rest.

7/16/2018 As a 4 day resident of beautiful Bangor, Maine I decided to investigate my current locale. I drove around the downtown area which I found to be an older, well-kept city that gave me the impression of a larger town measured to its actual population.

I developed this impression by the size and amount of its tall downtown buildings and the metropolitan feel it presented. Bangor has a lumber producing history which everyone is reminded of when driving by the 31 foot high statue of Paul Bunyan located on the outskirts of downtown proper. I found the following quote at www.roadsideamerica.com:

 Bangor claims to be both the birthplace of the lumber industry and the Birthplace of Paul Bunyan. A titan of a statue in the city reminds Bangorians of their connection to this legendary character.

Afterwards, I returned to where I am staying at the Bangor / Holden KOA campground and reserved another day for additional exploration of the Bangor area.

7/17/2018 After performing some housekeeping duties, I proceeded to Bar Harbor, Maine and the Acadia National Park. I first stopped at Southwest Bar Harbor where I explored the fisherman’s pier and specifically the lobster boats and seafood processing area of the waterfront.  After attempting to drive into downtown Bar Harbor I found it too busy with bumper-to-bumper traffic and masses of people packed upon the downtown area sidewalks. With that impression, I had seen enough at the first corner in downtown so I turned right and away from the town and went instead to the Acadia Park. The Acadia Park signs request you first proceed to the Visitors Centre, oops, not in Canada yet, Visitors Center to purchase a park pass. Since I have the America the Beautiful - National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Lifetime Senior Pass, the official name for the Senior Pass, there was no fee incurred for the Acadia Park Pass. While in the Visitors Center I was referred to two locations in the Park one being the Cadillac Mountain, the other was the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. I drove first to Cadillac Mountain which at 1530 feet (466 meters) is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and is the first place in the United States to view the morning sunrise. Unfortunately I wouldn’t know about the sunrise for two reasons: 1. I arrived in the afternoon and 2. it was extremely foggy with a wind driven rain and thunder so I couldn’t see a thing. With the rain and the hunger stating to rouse in the abdomen I skipped the lighthouse because, as a campsite neighbor once stated, “they all start looking the same”. I then headed for the highly touted Union River Lobster Pot Restaurant which was so busy that I skipped for a lesser meal later. It is very apparent that the Bar Harbour, oops that Canada thing again, Bar Harbor area is a very popular spot for these East Coasters. Tomorrow I will finally enter Canada for the terminus of this adventure.