Finally...

We got back from our trip to Pittsburg a week ago Friday,and it seems like each day since there has been something that has hindered me from posting. So here it is,finally!

For some reason,the first photos I posted are the last,so I apologise for the mix up in pics.

We left at 9:00 AM on Monday,and our first stop was at the Miss Wakefield Diner for breakfast. After we filled up on their good food,we hit the road.The ride up was uneventful and relaxing. Instead of taking our usual route (Rt 2 through Jefferson to Littleton,get on Rt 3 through Colebrook to Pittsburg) we decided to take the "road less travelled" and followed Rt 16 through Berlin,Milan,Success,and Errol,then hooked up with Rt 126 through  Dixville Notch to Colebrook.Beautiful scenery,lovely rivers.

We got to Pittsburg at 2:00 PM. We stayed at Ramblewood Campground. They have sites for tents,campers,and down the hill on Rt 3 they have cabins,across from First CT Lake and one right on First CT.The first thing I noticed at the site was the smell. What was it...? It was balsam.There are so many balsam pine trees that it's all you could smell.It was like being in a balsam pillow!It was in the 90's while we set up camp,but the sun was just below the trees in our camp,so we had quite a bit of shade. It was still pretty hot,though,so we put on our bathing suits and drove down to the lake for a swim to cool down.It was cooler by the water,because there was a breeze.After our swim,we did what one does up in Pittsburg-drive the dirt roads and check things out. Rick wanted to get a look at the spots he wanted to fish:

Scott's Bog

Among the places was Scott's Bog and East Inlet (photo of East Inlet is at the end). While he didn't wind up fishing East Inlet,he did fly fish Scott's Bog,and wound up catching 3 three fish (limit is 5 fish or 5 pounds,whichever comes first). He was catching them right and left. We also saw some nice wildlife:

Deer by the road

That night we had a good rain storm,and we woke to more humidity and heat. We wanted to try out the canoe,so we went to Second CT Lake.No one lives on that lake. It's all very pristine.

North view into Canada



The three of us attempted the canoe. Rick had been in it fishing before,but it has been about 13 years since I was in a canoe,and it seemed quite tippy to me. Rick assured me that it because I had to get used to it.We paddled close to shore,to get the feel of it. Zach was getting hot and grumpy and wanted to go swimming,so we packed up and went back to camp. I didn't blame him. It was uncomfortable. Just standing would make sweat roll down your back.  Back at camp, we got into our swim suits and headed back down the hill to the lake.The owner was going to come down to show Rick how to work the motorboat that we rented (Rick knows how to work one,they just have to demonstrate it before they let anyone take it out). While we were in the water,Rick came up to me and asked me what I thought about renting a cabin instead."It's so hot up there compared to down here,"he said,"plus,Zach could just swim whenever he wanted.It's not much fun doing things in the heat to just go back to the camp site where it's even hotter." I admitted I would prefer a cabin. I guess I'm getting old!! Rick decided to drive up and talk to the owner,to surprise Zach. He came back about 15 minutes later,and pulled up to our new digs:



Our nice,cool cabin on the water!

Zach was so excited! The owner was so nice that he took $80 off a day for the cabin (plus,he is making more money having us rent it out at $110 a day compared to $25 a day at the campsite).The cabin had a nice,big general area with a TV area with lots of windows,so we had a lovely cross breeze,and a dining table.The kitchen had a big table with windows overlooking the lake. There was a 3/4 bathroom,a bedroom downstairs with a queen bed,and upstairs had three bedrooms. We had our own private dock,outdoor seating,charcoal grill,and picnic table. All for $110  a night. We decided to stay an extra day.

The boat we rented and dock

Our first morning in the cabin,I awoke to the sound of a crow. The window was right behind me,so I rolled over and just looked at the water.How nice to have that be the first view of the day! Rick and I decided to have our coffee outside,so we plopped in the Adirondack chairs and enjoyed this view:

Our first morning on First CT Lake

We had some friends visit us each morning: loon and duck families

Our loon friends and their two babies

It had rained overnight,so the boat  had water in it.Zach was in charge of scooping it out before we went out in it.

Zach bailing out the boat

The boys trolled for a while,but the fish did not seem to be biting. While they were fishing,I read "Eat,Pray,Love." We then decided to go around the lake. First CT Lake encompasses over 2,000 acres.There are only camps/homes on one side of the lake,with the exception of one lonely cabin with no water or bathroom on the opposite side. We only a saw two other boats on the 1ake at the same time the whole time we were there.That's one of the beautiful things about Pittsburg. There aren't alot of people,and the area is mostly undeveloped. After a while,Zach wanted to drive the boat,so Rick let him,though he gave him a hand.

Driving the boat

First CT Lake is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

It was a very relaxing time. I read at the cabin while the boys went fishing later,and I wound up falling asleep!

That night,we did what I call the "Moose Crawl." Pittsburg is famous for moose. In fact,there is a section of RT 3 dubbed "Moose Alley." There are signs warning folks that it's an active moose crossing. We saw two moose while we were there. The "Moose Crawl"occurs at dusk. Folks get in their cars,and drive the 12 mile stretch to see if they can see moose. In most places,the trees are so close together that no one could get through them,but after a bit your eyes get trained to notice animal trails in the openings. No one does the 50 MPH speed limit. Everyone is doing 35 MPH. We drove up to 3rd CT Lake,but never went further since we didn't have passports!

Third CT Lake,the last turn around before Canada

Moose Crawl sunset

Our last full day we went towards Lake Francis and found this old bridge which is open to fly fishing:

Zach looks like he has alien eyes,he's wearing sunglasses!

Water is so clear!

That night,we took the boat out one last time and had a lovely cruise of the lake. The sun set was glorious!

First CT at sunset

One of our duck friends came to say goodbye

Another pretty sky on our last Moose Crawl

The sky was so pretty our last night,that I had to take a picture of the moon over the  lake.I kept my fingers crossed that the photo would come out,and it did!

Moonlight on First CT

We completely enjoyed ourselves,but I do admit I was ready to get back home. Now those first photos that came out last:

Our campsite on Tuesday morning

East Inlet

East Inlet on the dam

After breakfast on Monday at Miss Wakefield Diner

The only moose I could get a photo of-in Pinkham Notch,near Mt Washington (about two hours from Pittsburg)

Tonight Rick and I are going to his class reunion.He has never been to one. This is a combined class of 79,80,and 81.It's suppose to be his 30th,but it's really his 31st,since he graduated in 1980. Should be a fun time!!!!!

Pittsburg Bound

Tomorrow we are off on a camping trip to the northern most part of NH-Pittsburg,in the Great North Woods,right on the Canadian Border.It's been a couple of years since we went.Last year,Rick was healing up from his surgery,so we didn't go. We went to Malone,NY to visit the Almanzo Wilder Farm (which is in Burke). Hotel staying was much easier on Rick.

However, it's a year later,and Rick is physically better and he's ready to go. We are staying at Ramblewood Campground again,which is a nice camping area. It's family owned,and they have about 20 sites,some for RV and some for tenting (we tent). They have port-o-potties,fresh water,showers,and laundry. They also have an area in the main building with a pool table and board games. We are staying at Site 11 again, which has a marvelous view of First CT Lake,and is away from everyone:

View of First Connecticut Lake and the Main Building

They have paddle boats,small motor boats,and a larger one for rent. This year,we have a canoe,so that will be fun as well. Rick and Zach want to do a lot of fishing,and Pittsburg has many dirt roads with ponds on them,let alone the lakes.I enjoy driving down the dirt roads and checking things out.I will bring some books that I haven't read yet and catch up on that while the boys are fishing.

Boating on First Connecticut Lake

Part of the fun of going up to Pittsburg is trying see wildlife. It's not called "Moose Alley" for nothing. We always see at least three or four moose,but they tend to be camera shy.Maybe this year we will be lucky and get a photo.

Today we are grocery shopping for the trip. I am making gluten free chocolate chip cookies and brownies,as well as a potato salad.We try to keep camping food as simple as possible-eggs,bacon,and toast (gluten free) for breakfast,sandwiches and chips for lunch,and hot dogs or hamburgers with potato salad for dinner. We usually go out to a restaurant our last night and stop for breakfast on the way home. I also need to do laundry and we are packing up the truck today (food being the exception-that will wait til tomorrow). That way,we don't have to rush around getting ready in the morning. It takes anywhere from 4 to 4 1/2 hours to get to Pittsburg from here,depending on the route one takes and what the traffic is like. Traffic should not be bad,since we are leaving on a Monday. We will be coming back on Thursday.

We anxious to visit our favorite place on earth. We still hope to live up there someday,but for now we enjoy our brief camping visits!

See you later on in the week!

Heaven on Earth Part II

I'm back and feeling much better. I am going to see if lavender can help these migraines that I get. I would love to use something more natural as opposed to popping Excedrin Migraine. I will certainly let you all know how it works out.

Let's see....back to our camping trip. I know I said this already,but it was wonderful.We saw rabbits,baby foxes,adult foxes,and three moose! Of course, by the time we grabbed our camera,the moose had disappeared into the woods. We saw a moose cow on our second night,then on our last night we came across a moose cow and baby crossing Route 3. It's amazing how big and gangly there are.

Setting up camp went smoothly.Normally,Rick would whip through getting things set up,but due to his PTSD/TBI his self confidence level is not what it used to be,and he defers to me for almost every decision. Should we put the tent here? What about the picnic table? What about the canopy? Sometimes I get quite frustrated at having to make all the decisions,though not as much as I used to. He also sometimes forgets how to put up the tent,which doesn't jar me as much as when it first happened. The first time we set up a tent after he came home,he had no clue how to do it. He had set it up many times with no help,so I never really paid attention. Let me tell you, I learned fast! I lead the way with tent set up,and Rick only forgot how to put on the rain fly. I know it bothered Rick greatly that he couldn't remember,as he used to be able to do it with his eyes closed ( so to speak).Thursday,our last full day,we rented a motor boat and went out on First Connecticut Lake for a few hours. The boys fished and I ( yet again) continued rereading my Outlander book. Though they didn't have much luck catching anything,they did manage to nab this Chub. Rick's lip looks swollen,but it's only a big old snuff dip. It's a horrible habit that he has been trying to break.

The day was beautiful,but hot. We were threatened with thunderstorms.

At first,the clouds weren't bad,nice and white,but you could tell they were thunderheads. After a while, they started getting darker,and I got nervous. The lake was a good size,and we had a 5 horse boat. All I could envision was having a great day then being stuck in the middle of the lake during a thunderstorm. Not a good thing. So even though we had a couple more hours left in our rental time,we headed back to shore.

We didn't get any rain until almost bedtime,and I felt bad that I insisted we head to shore,but Rick agreed with me. We didn't want to take any chances. After spying the moose cow and calf on Rt 3 (they tend to come out at dusk) we trucked back to the camp site and hit some rain. It stopped not long after we got back to camp. I was in the tent,getting ready for bed,when Zach called for me come out and "see this rain cloud!!"

As you can see from the photo,there was quite the downpour happening over First Connecticut Lake.That night after we went to bed,we got our thunderstorms. The sound of the thunder rolling down in between the mountains was amazing.

Breaking up camp on Friday went smoothly. We were sorry to leave, but I was glad that I was going to sleep in my bed again. It was so beautiful and peaceful up there,we didn't even run the radio during the day while we were there. It seemed sacreligious.

Heaven on Earth Part I

We got back from our camping trip on Friday. Saturday was a catch up day,and Sunday I was down for the count all day with a migraine,so this is the first chance I have had to post.

Monday at Rick's eye appt they did determine that his lenses have some irregularities to them,meaning that they are slightly misshapen. During testing they checked his lenses with his eyes dilated and his eyes normal. The irregularities were more prominent while dilated, so they gave him some drops to keep his pupils more restricted,the theory being that it may help minimize his double vision. So far there has been no change. If these drops don't work,they will go to a stronger drop,and if that doesn't work,then surgery may be an option.

Tuesday was Zach's last day of school,and they had their honors assembly. Zach received a health award and honors for the third trimester,as well as honors all year. He was nominated for the 5th grade writing award,but he did not get it. It was great that he was nominated,as he writes really well for his age,and has many stories that he works on.

After he got home from school,we left for our camping trip.

Pittsburg,for those of you who don't know, is the last town before you reach the Canadian border in NH. It's a large area,but does not have a lot of residents. There are mountains,lakes,ponds, heavy forests,and alot of wildlife. In fact,a section of Route 3 is called "Moose Alley" because there are always moose either crossing or on the side of it.

This was the view of First Connecticut Lake from out campsite at Ramblewood Campground. As you can see from the left side of the photo,they have areas for campers as well as tents,and they have cabins across the street and right on the lake as well. This was our first morning there. We were so happy to see the sun! We hadn't seen it very often the last couple of weeks. We went fishing at Second Connecticut Lake ( well, the males fished and I reread my Outlander book by Diana Gabaldon). We also went exploring on some roads to see more of what the area looked like. We have been camping up that way before,and are seriously considering moving up there once Zach graduates high school.

You can't really see it in this picture, but Zach has a small Brook trout on his line. He caught this at Second Connecticut Lake.

I will have to continue this tomorrow. I am getting my migraine back and am not feeling well all of a sudden.