Mount Washington, NH

Good grief. I had no idea it'd been nearly a year since I started planning this adventure. Life gets in the way with lots happening. Anyhow, I did buy the new vehicle for the trip. I decided on an Elantra, one of my original choices. But I didn't get the touring car like I'd hoped. I found the sedan had more storage space in the trunk and folded down backseat than the touring car had in the back. I won't look quite as adventurous and sporty but with good gas mileage, I'll get there and should have enough room for all the junk I plan to take with me....

Next stop is Mount Washington in New Hampshire, about 5 hours from Cape Cod. Mount Washington is one of the White Mountains, which in turn are part of the Appalachian chain that runs through eastern North America. Mount Washington, its tallest peak at 6288 feet, lies roughly at the center of the range. According to "The Book" which is 35 years old, there are three ways of getting to the top (if you don't choose to hike it). You can go by toll road in your own car, on the toll road riding in a chauffeured station wagon hired at the base or on the colorful, Toonerville Trolley-cog railway. Of course, I'll have to check online to see if these things are still available after all these years. I think I'd like to go by cog railway. Sounds fun.

(Descriptions from "The Book")...Driving up Mount Washington is like leaving New England for Labrador or leaving summer for winter. For anyone who goes up the mountain, no matter how, the trip is above all an adventure. In the sense of desolation and chaotic natural forces at the summit the meaning of the word "wilderness" sinks in. The constant threat of bad weather which tests the limits of survival for all forms of life are real and meaningful. The bad weather is a deadly mixture of high winds, low temperatures and frequent fog. Even the less hardy visitor, who breathes a sigh of relief when he returns to the familiar world of green-leaved trees and sun-warmed air at the base of the mountain, (yep, that would be me) may later find himself strangely eager to go up again...

Ohhhh... sounds like an interesting adventure to me!

Some interesting sights nearby are Franconia Notch, Polar Caves, Glen Ellis Falls, Crawford Notch and Kancamagus Highway...

Next Stop

Well, I've finally decided, our next stop will be in Cape Cod, Massachusetts... the Cape Cod National Seashore. According to "The Book" (see previous post), in September and October the tourist rush is over and it's a perfect time to truly enjoy the feeling of "being at one with the sea and wide sky, which is its most enduring gifts to visitors". Of course, this book is over thirty years old now and I wonder if this is still the slow time of the year to visit. I suspect it is but I'll have to check it out on the internet to be certain.

We'd like to take this trip in the Fall so we can enjoy some of the most beautiful areas of our country at a time when the trees are magnificently in color. So we would probably be hitting Cape Cod in early October. Mapquest has the drive from Bear Mountain to Cape Cod as being a 5 1/2 hour drive which should be a beauty, I'm guessing...

Some of the Massachusetts' sights nearby that would be interesting to visit are Giant Sycamore Tree, Gay Head Cliffs and French King Bridge. I had wanted our next stop after Cape Cod to be Acadia National Park in Maine. But it's looking like the drive may be a little long... better check it all out and get back to you on that...

The First Three Scenic Wonders

Mt. Rogers Recreation Area Shenandoah Nat'l Park Hudson Valley-Bear Mountain State Park

First Stop... Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area

Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area is located just over the Tennessee border in southwest Virginia and offers some of the prettiest and most unique landscapes in the Eastern US.

Our first stop on this Adventure #1 to Mt. Rogers will only be 3 hours and 44 minutes away according to MapQuest. That should give us plenty of time on our first night to figure out how to put our tents up, get our beds comfy and cook our dinner. With any luck, we may also have time to do a little sightseeing...

Mount Rogers, elevation 5,729 feet, is the highest point in Virginia. The byway that provides access through the scenic forests and countryside surrounding Mount Rogers is divided into two parts. From Troutdale go southwest on Virginia Route 603 through the center of Mount Rogers National Recreation Area to the intersection with U. S. Highway 58. The other section of the byway is located on U. S. Highway 58. Attractions in the area include the Appalachian Trail, Little Wilson Creek Wilderness, Lewis Fork Wilderness, the Beartree Recreation Area, Grayson Highlands State Park and Whitetop Mountain.

Since the Appalachian Trail runs through here and I had wanted to hike the trail when I was young and athletic, this will give me the opportunity, at least, to hike a small portion of it.

Next Stop... Shenandoah National Park

The next stop on our adventure will be in the beautiful Shenandoah National Park located in Luray, Virginia. The travel time from Mt. Rogers to Shenandoah is only 4 hours and 24 minutes according to MapQuest. We may want to stay a couple of days here since there is so much to see, so much history. I had no idea.

George Washington took his family to Berkeley Springs to enjoy the waters. Thomas Jefferson pronounced the sight viewed from Jefferson Rock in Harpers Ferry as being "worth the voyage across the Atlantic".

My book, "Scenic Wonders Of America" describes the park: "The overwhelming view the visitor takes away with him from Shenandoah National Park is of the vast blue distances - the folds of the Appalachians succeeding each other to the far horizon beyond the pastoral patchwork of fields, farms and woods in the peaceful Shenandoah Valley."

Next Stop... Bear Mountain State Park, NY

It'll take us 6 hours and 22 minutes to make our way to Bear Mountain State Park overlooking the Hudson Valley (according to MapQuest, in case you didn't know).

Paraphrasing from my book... Three miles above Troy, the Mohawk River cuts into a trout stream and the stream becomes the mighty Hudson River - a river often compared to Germany's Rhine, a river whose surroundings sweep from ruggedly picturesque to depressingly industrial, a river once of strategic importance in war and in commerce. In the 19th century came the great transportation boom along the river. There were fishing boats and pleasure boats and industries sprang up along the banks. In 1825 the Erie Canal extended the Hudson's highway all the way to the Middle West by way of the Great Lakes.

But the era of the canals and steamboats is over now. The last steamboat, taking tourists on river excursions, sailed in 1971. But the river lives on. Much of the scenery remains magnificent and surprisingly unspoiled. No longer necessary as a highway of commerce, the Hudson has become a perhaps even more vital public resource as a place of recreation and beauty.

I'm so anxious to visit these magnificent places of recreation and beauty! I'm not sure if I want the next stop to be in Cape Cod or Mount Washington.... I'll have to be thinking about that... and get back to you...

More Than One Adventure

By the time I reached page 8 and 9 in my book, I had already realized there was way more than one adventure in there! My adventure would have to be split into 5, 6 or 7 adventures. There are 50 Scenic Wonders discussed in the book. And then there are interesting sights to see near each of the Scenic Wonders. Needless to say, I'm not going to be able to see them all in one adventure unless I win the lottery and then spend a year touring the country. I wish!!

So I'm going to have to decide which Scenic Wonders to include in each adventure, the length of time needed for each of the trips and which route to start with. I discussed the idea with friends and it seems several would like to go along with me on an adventure to the New England area. So I guess my first route planning will be to New England... I'll call it Adventure #1 but I'm not positively sure it will be the first...

I'm still obsessing about the vehicle. I think I've narrowed my choices down to a Toyota RAV4 and a Honda CR-V...

The Book

The book that sparked my interest to travel throughout the country, visiting some of the unbelievably magnificent sights was "Scenic Wonders Of America". It was around 1973 when I received the book as a gift from my sister. The desire to travel to some of these locations was immediate and I started planning our route. I don't remember what that route was anymore, of course. And remembering it wouldn't do me much good with the planning of my new route anyhow since we would have been starting in Nevada and ending in Florida in 1973. And I'll be starting in Tennessee and ending in Tennessee in 2010.

This isn't the first time I've thought about this adventure and had the urge to take off to see the beautiful sights. But after a divorce and over the years I lost track of the book. And for some reason, I felt I needed this particular book to make my plans. From time to time I had looked for another copy when I'd see a book sale or new used book store opening. But a few weeks ago, I thought to look for it on ebay. And there it was. There were quite a few, as a matter of fact. I bid. I won! And I received it in the mail yesterday. So I'm excited to now begin the route planning part of my adventure.

I'm still obsessing about the car part of the adventure too though... Those crossovers are looking really good... hmmmm....

Choosing The Vehicle

I guess it's old age creeping up on me that's created this longing. Now that I've just hit the big SIX O, I realize there isn't a lot of time left to catch up on the adventures I had hoped to enjoy when I was still young, had my life ahead of me and thought I had all the time in the world.

As my first adventure, I've chosen a trip I'd planned when I was about 24 years old, married and stationed in Las Vegas. My husband was in the Air Force and stationed at Nellis Air Force Base. When he was discharged, I had hoped to take a couple of weeks to drive across the country (back to our home in Florida) camping at some of the most beautiful state and national parks. But we were never able to make the trip.

I've decided the first step of planning this adventure is to choose the vehicle. My little '95 truck gets me around town but I've started worrying when I have to drive any distance. So it's probably time to think about a new vehicle. I thought I should purchase a vehicle that looked the part of an adventurer carrier and was looking into SUVs first. I loved them but their poor gas mileage quickly scared me off. After all, all that driving I'll be doing and I'll be doing it on a budget. So I decided to look for something smaller and less thirsty. After eyeing every cute little car on the road that I could get my eyes on, I realized there were sports wagons, hatchbacks and station wagons that would have lots of room for my tent and camping equipment.

At this time, my first choice is a Pontiac Vibe, second choice is a Honda Fit and my third choice is a Hyundia Elantra Touring car. The Pontiac would be a good choice because I could have it serviced locally. The Honda and Hyundia would be a 30 minute drive out of town. But as I've been checking dealers in my area I've learned, none of them have a lot full of Vibes for me to look over. They don't even have one. I didn't realize the little car would be so difficult to locate. I have heard from a couple of dealers that say they've found one. But since I'm still several months from purchasing, I don't think it would be a good idea to start running around to test drive and such. I suspect it will be a good idea to wait until I have the money in hand...