03

Woke up at 7:00 AM with the early morning sun shining through the front window of the pop-up tent/roof. Just didn't feel like getting up, so rolled over and slept for another couple of hours. Enjoyed a great shower (25 cents for 5 minutes, I used up 50 cents worth), fixed breakfast, and was under way by 10:45 AM. During the night the temperature had dropped to 70F, but it was 75F at departure time, and it would climb into the high nineties during the day.

My first stop was Burlington, a very attractive university town (University of Vermont) with a well-kept downtown area and a pedestrian-only mall with sidewalk cafes and unusual shops.

Headed south on US 7 for Shelburne and the Shelburne Museum. This place is definitely worth a visit.

Then headed for the Green Mountains. Traveling on SR 15 and SR 108, usually with fairly good views of Mount Mansfield (Vermont's highest mountain, 4,393') ahead or to my right, made my way to Smugglers Notch, a very narrow pass through the mountains with 1,000' cliffs on either side. Definitely not recommended for any vehicle longer than 22'.

The name "Smugglers Notch" goes back at least to 1807, when President Jefferson passed an embargo act forbidding trade with Britain and Canada. Obviously, northern Vermonters didn't like that at all, since Montreal was a lot closer than major US markets. So, they smuggled cattle and other goods north. During prohibition the flow reversed and Canadian booze travelled south over the improved road that the government, in its infinite wisdom, had built at great expense in 1922.

The Smugglers Notch State Park offers attractive camp sites and I pulled in for the night. This is one of nine State Parks staffed by the Vermont Youth Convservation Corps, in an educational partnership with the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. Vermont youth, aged 17 to 24, are hired and live and work in the parks, learning about and participating in all aspects of park operations and maintenance. The young man and woman who came by to collect the $12 camping fee were extraordinarily polite and friendly, and the campsites are superclean.

Spent the late afternoon watching the US Open on TV -- excellent reception of the local CBS channel. Then grilled a cheeseburger, planned my travels for the next few days, and worked on the travel journal.

Was on the road for all of 85 miles. Bought gas near Burlington for $1.379/gal. Averaged 17.5 mpg on the last tank.

Was awakened around 3:00 AM by a presistent chirping sound, too regular and steady to be made by an animal. Got out of the sleeping bag to investigate -- the sound definitely came from the back of the van. Figured it had to be some sort of an alarm that I hadn't heard before. Got outside to check in back under the deck, and sure enough -- the inverter was giving me a "battery low" alert, soon to be joined by the characteristic ticking sound that the fridge makes when it has shut down for lack of sufficient electric power.

Haven't had an electric hook-up since starting the trip and have been using the battery power quite a bit. Didn't do much driving the last couple of days. I guess there hadn't been enough charging time to keep the coach batteries at peak performance. Started up the van engine and alternator for a couple of minutes and the alarms went away. Shut off the inverter and refrigerator and went back to sleep.

Slept until 7:30 AM and awoke to a partly cloudy sky. Turned on the fridge and was pleased to note that the ice cubes hadn't melted. Good insultion and no spoilt food. Got under way by 9:00 AM after an enjoyable hot shower.

Headed back into the Notch -- the view is definitely more scenic going north. Took SR 100 to Hyde Park and Stowe, and I-89 to Montpelier.

Montpelier, the state capital, is a well-kept little town with innumerable stop signs and pedestrian crossings. The State House, a granite Greek Revival building, is topped by a statue of a goddess symbolizing agriculture.

Continued on to Barre and picked up the very pleasant and often scenic SR 14 to Hardwick. Detoured to Craftsbury to take a look at the Craftsbury Inn, which has been in operation for over 200 years. Enjoyed the view of the attractive Craftsbury Common and then reconnected with SR 14 for the quick drive to Irasburg, another handsome little town. Picked up I-91 (quite scenic) to get to St. Johnsbury.

It's an old railroad town, but also the place where in 1830 Thaddeus Fairbanks invented the platform scale and launched a global industial enterprise. His nephew, Franklin Fairbanks, became president of the company in the 1880s. He was an ambitious collector of rocks, shells , fossils, stuffed birds and animals, and artifacts from around the world. He founded the Fairbanks Museum in 1889 to display his collections, and it's definitely worth a visit.

After touring the museum, headed for another pleasure, the Maple Grove Maple Museum. The brief tour is worthwhile, and the free samples of maple candy are very tempting. But I resisted the urge to buy, since I had weighed myself on the Fairbanks scales at the Fairbanks Museum . . .

Wound up the day with a quick drive on I-93 to Littleton, NH. Had orginally planned to go a bit further and stay at a state park or NF site, but changed my mind this morning -- want to spend a night with an electric hook-up to boost the batteries before heading into the wilderness of Northern Maine. Found a good and secluded site ($23.00 with water and electricity) at the Crazy Horse Campground near Littleton, hooked-up, and spent the late afternoon and evening doing some housekeeping, working on the journal, and watching TV.

The weather wasn't great today. Hot and humid with temps in the low nineties. Occasional showers. Turned on the air conditioner for enjoyable cabin comfort.

This horrible day started out ordinarily enough. Slept well until 7 AM and decided there was no need to get an early start because it was quite foggy after a rainy night during which the temperature had dropped to 50F. Turned on the furnace and caught another forty winks before doing my morning routine. Watched the "Good Morning America" show on TV while having breakfast and was just about to pack the TV away when the news came that there had been an explosion at the World Trade Towers. Watched in horror as the second plane struck -- on live TV. My daughter, Stefanie, lives on West Street, a couple of blocks south of the Center, and works at the Financial Center, across the street from the Twin Towers.

Tried to call home but couldn't get through. No answer at Stefanie's apartment, office, or cell phone. Left the campground and drove to the New Hampshire Welcome Center at the Vermont state line. Was able to get through to my home, and Antje was frantic since she, too, was unable to reach Stefanie.

Headed south on US 302 towards Bretton Woods and then detoured to the Mount Washington Cog Railway. Mount Washington was shrouded in clouds. Decided against taking the train, in part because of the clouds, but mainly because I didn't want to be away from the radio.

Drove through the lovely Crawford Notch State Park while the sun broke through the clouds. Switched to SR 16 at Glen and headed north to Conway. Passed by the junction of the auto route to the top of Mt. Washington, but since the top was still clouded in, decided against driving up. Instead went on to Gorham and took US 2 east for a few miles to the Timberland Camping Area, a pleasant campground. $21 got me a site with water and electricity.

Was able to get through to my home and was relieved to hear from Antje that Stefanie had reached her via e-mail. Stef had watched the second plane crash into the Tower, had watched people jump off the Towers, had seen body parts and blood fly through the air and stick to her window. She made her way to a nearby friend's apartment, and then fled to midtown to the apartment of another friend.

Set up camp and watched TV. Called home again and learned that Stefanie had phoned Antje and was staying with a friend on 23rd street. All but one of her friends are accounted for. The missing one worked for Kantor Fitzgerald. We learned later that she was murdered by the terrorists.

Woke up at 6:30 AM to absolutely glorious sunshine -- not a cloud in the sky. After a great shower, breakfast, watching TV and calling home, was on the road by 9:30 AM. The morning news on TV were awful. I think we all were overwhelmed yesterday and in shock, and now the magnitude of the tragedy is beginning to come into focus. Our national character has been changed forever, and time will not heal the wounds.

Headed back south to Pinkham Notch and the auto road to the top of Mt. Washington. Wasn't allowed to drive up -- the gatekeeper feared that the extra weight of the van conversion would put too much strain on the brakes. But got a good view -- it doesn't happen very often that Mt. Washington isn't socked in.

Headed back north on SR 16 and made my way via the pretty towns of Berlin and Errol and the Dixville Notch to the Maine border.