Planning of the Trip

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12:02pm Ladbor Day 2009,
Good Morning,
I hope everyone is enjoying there holiday for what it's meant. Did a little research on it since it's been a while since school books and desk were a part of my daily schedual. IT was created for the union labor of carpenters and jointers... the rest of the world in the more lefts parts it's called "May Day".. kind gets you all warm and fuzzy of the thought of USSR with that phrase.."MAY DAY" becarefull comrade. To bad the commiest took that phrase. I always liked it, the my brother stuff always made me feel a little to cozy to some one I did not know..but comrade. It feels more like a buddy or partner.."Old Cow Boy movies" not what it means today.."Partner"
I miss the use of words the way they were really meant to be. I miss the rainbow being a part of kids coloring books and not a book on why sally has two mommies or daddies. sigh... the world has spun off it's axis more than a few times these last few decades I fear. Well I saw that I had a few readers read my thoughts earlier this morning. Welcome !I hope you will come back. The only down side to this site in I can see really is the spell check,other than that its a very well thought out and well run web site. I am glad I picked it with the research I did on where to do my story.
Well what do we do today..well I think I will make a list of what we need to pack. Am I going to just drive up or pull a trailer. I found a really nice one in orlando that I should call on and see if it's still for sale. It's 36 with a big slide for $7,300 but I think if I offer $6,000 I can get it pretty easy. I want a 5th wheel for the ease of towing and turning and backing up but sometimes you got to take the second best and be happy. I think I could be happy with this trailer. just do I want to spend that much right now or wait till I come back from my trip. I figure my cost will be $220.00 in diesel going up and about $250.00 coming back. that's based on driving around 65mph on cruise control. I have a 2004 F 250 black truck. "The Beast" as she's called. she's been a good truck. I got her as my last "new purchase" of a vehicle. Never buy new! unless you are going this way.. the lost of value will make sit down and weep. LOL.
But with the modifications, basic, nothing fancy..just air intake, and exahust...oh and new tires from my heavy duty off roads.. I am now getting 19 to 22 miles a gallon "highway". If it was 55mph I think I would average solid 23. Which is very good for a heavy duty truck. One of the reason I went diesel when I bought it. Course back then I was growling about the cost of Diesel being $1.50 a gallon! LOL..oh to have those days again! I think this past year before the prices went back up again I was able to buy diesel for $2.10. Last year this time I was paying $5.20 a gallon!..it was costing me for one fill up one third of my pay for that week. $160.00 a tank! Thats when I told FORD..they can come and get the truck I don't care what it does to my credit. It took to the end of last year that they saw a lot of people telling them the same thing, then Ford was much more excepted to the idea of restructing the loan..and now with my payments I have 98% GOING TOWARDS PRINCIPLE and not 60% it's nice to see $500 a month being knocked off the truck, I've been able to do one or two extra payments so that I might be able to pay it off in a year! And then never never never again will I buy new anything or no more than 36months of a note. If you can't pay it off in 36 months or less don't buy it!... at least with the diesel I can make my own fuel. Bio Diesel. I have put aside a fund to buying a portable biodiesel processor. It runs about $2,200 and to make it should cost about 1.00 a gallon..now of course you have to get the grease for free..but if you go this route and stick to it you could cut your fuel down by 50%.

Well enough of that! I know you aren't reading this for diesel fuel prices or such wink wink. So what are my travel plans when I get to New Hampshire, Well the first place I always go to after I find a place to stay is the "White Mountains" which you can drive up to the top of, and goes higher than 4,000 feet above sea level. It is one of the most fun things to do if you have the heart for it. It does have you sometimes backing up and letting the car on the outer ridge go by if it gets too tight for both vehicles to make a turn. the road was built right after the civil war and was private own by one family for quiet awhile. But the drive is half the fun. The last time i went it was 85 degrees at the base and when I got to the top 45 minutes later I needed two pairs of sweat pants and sweat shirt and a jacket! LOL... and the wind...if you don't like to feel your truck rock and roll to the 45 plus mph wind gust..the highest wind recorded was 230mph! the old buildings were held down by Navy Size Chain Links! it's amazing to see..and when the clouds "which are below you" move out of the way you get a beautiful view for a good 100 miles or more. And it does snow all year around. then to top it off if you want to have some real fun, though it is a little steep on price, but hey it's a rare treat so I suggest you try it..you can take the Conway train up the mountain..it's a blast and a lot of fun for kids and adults for sure. It's about a 90 min trip and it's done with coal burning engines. And sadly that also sets the amount of time you can stay up at the top. I think it's 15 to 20 minutes then the train needs to get back down the mountain because there is no water tower to fill the train to it's top. At least that's what the web site said. But I think you can stay if you like and wait for the next train to reach the top which is about every 30 minutes as they run two trains in the summer months.

The other part of my trip is deciding do I stay in a lob cabin at a local KOA.which they have some very nice cabins I have to say. There not the little house on the prairy sod house..but to the 1,800 sqft home most folks live in...it's cozy lol. But there very clean and well cared for. It's not picking the site..there are three KOA's in New Hampshire and the one near the white mountains which is were I stay most of the time is a little pricy but hey you only live once.

The main reason for my trip is the fall colors. The last time I was up there I stayed at a little motel that was between north Conway and the white mountains. I had this great view of the mountains to the back of my room. I love the well run little motel establishments. There is something cozy and historical to them. And I like helping the local man or woman business out than give to the corporate hotels, nothing against them..well until Hilton Sr takes away his grand daughters allowance and make's her do what she promised when she got out of jail for her DUI's I wont be giving my hard earn money. And Hilton has some fine places to stay..but it's principle you have to stick with, and live with. Anyway this little motel was down in the valley which is perfect for a photographer like me...cause you get the evening fog and morning fog laying on the valley floor, as the frame of my picture to the gold and orange and fiery red colors of the fall leaves.

I have been to a lot of places in my younger life, and God knows I love my Va country side. But I have never been some where, that when I drive, I speak out to myself and say...Holy Cow..as I round a turn of a valley road in New Hampshire and see in front of me and mountain a washed with colors that would make Moet weep with pain to the knowledge that he could never match the color spectrum.

One of the things I hope to catch this time, meaning take a picture of, is a moose in the water grazing on the fresh water tender vittles, sorry couldn't help it..I love that word. "Vittles " wink wink. Now I will say my second to last trip I did meet a local cow so to speak but almost ran over it. I was cruising down this mountain side road all by myself no one behind or in front and I make this sharp angle turn and in the middle of the road is this HORSE trottling down the middle of the road!. So having been raised with horses as a kid, I'm thinking there is some idot that has let there horse get out and is going to get killed or kill someone before the get it off the road. So just as I finish my thought...the horse turns around and I see this huge schnauzer on this now Im thinking deformed horse!...now this all took place in a matter of 5 ticks of the clock...then it hit me..this wasn't a homely looking horse but a Cow...a female moose!...so I follow the Cow for a few more seconds and she trots off the side of the road and walks at a hiker pace up the side of the mountain. Now me of course I am trying to find a place to park and not fall into the stream that the road if following and at the same time get a pic with the other hand!...Well I found a place around the bend and parked and then got the camera and slowly stalked the Cow...she was very good at blending in the tree line of the damn mountain side. I finally landed a few shots of her on film, but when developed the cow was well hidden her huge legs and body was slightly high lighted in the shadow of the early morning sun. Funny thing the day that I left I was driving down this beautiful valley with lots of grass and lake side...I see 10 cars and trucks pulled over, I thought there must be a accident..and as I slow down I see from the corner of my eye, a family ...a cow and three calves eating by the road side..and of course I had to catch a plane so I couldn't stop and unpack the camera and run across the road and get the shot...oh the torment it has caused me since that last visit to New Hampshire...and that is one of the "wrongs" I hope to correct lol.
Now bears I have had my full of... my family and bears have a long running story of meetings and though cute, they were dangerous too. But I will tell you that in the next entree.
It's 1:57pm I need to get moving and make some these plans become literal.
I hope you are enjoying your journey with me into this ...new trail I am walking, cuts and bruises and all.

This is Midnight Rider signing off. Be good, be strong America... you are the world's beaken, don't let her light grow dim, in the darkest part of our night.

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