This is a long TR: for those of you who like short and concise- Move along, nothing to see here.
For about 6 weeks my wife and I have been planning a 3 day motorcycle trip through northern NH and VT for this past weekend. B&Bs, nice restaurants, the whole shebang. We had to schedule it for good foliage viewing but between 1 of her knees being scoped last month and a total knee replacement next month. So, the week arrives and she begins to hint that she was โOh, maybe just a little nervous about being cold on the bikeโ. Now this is with a Kawasaki Nomad with a full windshield, a bra over the engine guards, 1600cc of V-twin for heat, and heated gear. In years past I would have just said weโll be fine. You know, men communicate a bit differently. This year I said โWeโll be fine but is there something else you would rather do?โ Only 25 years of marriage to learn that. Who says men canโt change? She wants to go to Gettysburg. Iโm fine with that.
Now on short notice I start to look at motels and campgrounds. No problem I figured. Itโs the middle of October. Well, Gettysburg was booked. There were plenty of $200+ per night motel rooms. The campgrounds all had openings for the weeknights but full for the weekend. It turns out the campgrounds all do a variation of Halloween every weekend in October and consider them Holiday Weekends and charge more besides being full. Gettysburg has a lot of neat looking campgrounds that all charge basically the same 50-56/night for E/W or E/W/S.
How to decide. Hmm. I looked at all the web sites and then Google Maps Satellite view. I liked the look of Round Top Campground a lot but the back edge is backed up to I-15. We have a Northstar 850 which is a pop up so noise is a concern. Keep looking. I found Artillery Ridge which is very close to the National Visitorโs Center and in the basic location as the Union Artillery reserve. Thatโs cool. The big concern for me is they have a lot of horse stuff there for campers with horses as well as horse back tours. I am deathly allergic to horses. No problem. Big enough to be away from the stables. Next plus was they have a deal with 2 nights you get free passes to 3 places: Gettysburg Diorama, Lincoln Train Museum (based around trains but a history of America) and The Spirits of Gettysburg which is not a ghost tour but a history of the battle told by apparitions of Lincoln, Lee, etc. which would save us $42-. Next plus is they are the only one in town to honor Passport America. I joined Passport America for $44- and saved $52- at the park and now I can use the PA for the next year. All good. Now for the down side. They had lots of open sites for Wednesday and Thursday but full for the weekend. We took it. I found one open site at the KOA for Friday but nothing anyplace for Saturday. We decided to stay Saturday if someone had a cancellation or start towards home if not.
So now I needed to address a truck issue. The old girl is a 1996 F-250 crew cab diesel with 365,000 miles on her and runs like a charm. None of the typical Ford rust either. Except she has a very common, rear tank, fuel leak. I bought a 38 gallon replacement tank last week and decide that Tuesday would be a good day to change it out so Iโm not stopping every 175 miles to fill the front one. 700 miles between stops is perfect in my mind. That didnโt go as planned. The bolts had to be cut off and then I couldnโt get the tank out. Discretion being the better part of valor I hooked every thing back up and will pull the bed next weekend to get to the tank easier and do new shocks while Iโm there. I guess it was OK as the 14mpg with the camper with just the front tank coincides with my wifeโs bladder. It is what it is.
We were supposed to be all packed Tuesday night for an early take off Weds. You know how this went. After we packed up Wednesday morning we had to stop for breakfast, I needed to refill my propane, then had to buy a new tank instead because of that pesky tank test date. Then on the road. I entrusted the pics to be taken with my wife. I guess living where we do we are spoiled by the foliage as she didnโt take any pics on the ride down. โI didnโt see anything spectacularโ. Again my communicatory fault for what I was looking for. We took the long route over Rt 9 through NH and Southern VT to Albany. All beautiful scenery with mountain views. Nice 2 lane main road but with a back road feel. The beginnings of fuel and food stop fubars begin in western NH. We stop for fuel, bathrooms, and a sub at a large store. Fuel (after having to go in to leave card as no pay at the pump) check. ( This was the last of the $2.35/gal diesel until we got back to NH-.40-.50/gal more in NY and PA.) Bathroom (1 not pleural) OOS. Sandwiches, subs, hot dogs, anything? Zero. Next door is an even larger and newer place. Stop in. Bathroom; check. Food? Nope. 2500 sf of beer, wine, and tobacco products. We are with in site of the VT border.
Into VT I know where there is a wonderful little, locally owned, deli. No space, lotโs full. 45 minutes later, after seeing signs for 2 miles about a similar place in a gift shop we stop. Nope, deli closed. So after all that we end up eating Burger King. Swell.
From Albany we take 87 south to 84 west to 81 south in Scranton. My wife has this awful habit of sleeping for almost an entire trip when we drive. Not this time though which was nice. The plan was for her to read to us. The thump thump thump thump of the roads though tossed that out the window as she got a little car sick reading. Man. On 81 there is a town called Frackville. Nice big sign that says Diesel 24 hours. Great. I hate this town. We pull off the exit. Nice big Safeway. No diesel. Small station we can see off to the right with a small lot, no diesel pumps, On through town. Several stations and no diesel. Suddenly the 2 lane road is a 4 lane, divided road. 3 miles later we get to an exit and turn around back into town. Itโs getting late, we should have been in Gettysburg by now. I want to kill something. We pull into the last one before the highway and low and behold they have a diesel pump around to the side hidden by the ice machine. No diesel price on the sign. Pay inside. And no diet Dr. Pepper for my wife either. Filled up and away. Now the goal is to get to Gettysburg, check in to the campground and go have a nice sit down meal at Perkins.
We got to Artillery Ridge Campground at 9:00 and found a map and site # with our name on the door. Nice campground over all. A lot of seasonals all decorated for Halloween. As we were there for 2 nights I took the camper off and to Perkins we went. We love their food and the closest one to us is Plattsburg, NY. After dinner we sat out at the picnic table for a little bit reading and letting the food settle. This would be a good time to admit I forgot our camp chairs and had to settle for the picnic table. DโOh! Too much food too late and we slept like ****. Helen had a little trouble in and out of the bed due to her knee.
Thursday at Gettysburg: Iโm very excited at this point. I have always connected to Gettysburg (our 3rd time here together, the last time as a family was 10 years ago, my 4th trip overall). Over a late breakfast at Perkins (We had to spend an hour or so at the Verizon store as her phone died- day to day chores even on vacation, this is ****) we decided on a plan. We took our free passes to Gettysburg Diorama, Lincoln Train Museum, and The Spirits of Gettysburg for Thursday. While I understand and can picture the topography and battle better I wanted her to have a better overall sense of the battle first so the battlefield stops would mean more to her. These 3 places were very nicely done and informative. I recommend them. Especially when they are free. $7.00 each per place isnโt bad either. I already owned the auto-tour program from my trip last March so we started in on those stops after the museums. We got through 2 or 3 and decided on General Pickettโs Buffet for an early dinner. As we finished 90 kids and adults from an Ohio school showed up. Good timing. We did another 2 or 3 stops on the auto-tour until dusk. With all the stories about hauntings and sightings Helen wanted to be out around the battlefield at dark-until dark arrived.
This is why they draft 18 year olds. 50 year olds wouldn't charge into these, we're smarter than that.
Then she decided the campsite and showers would be better.
Gettysburg Diorama of the Seminary
Friday: We had reservations at Gettysburg KOA for Friday night as Artillery Ridge was full so we packed up and moved out. Breakfast at Friendlies and then on to the National Visitorโs Center. This new center (2008) is very nice. The 360 degree Cyclorama is an extremely impressive painting and presentation. We finished up the auto-tour with the TC loaded which reaffirms why TCโs are so nice. No worries about parking or where we stopped. To stop, stand, and feel the spot where these momentous events occurred are mind blowing to me. You can almost feel the event if you try. I grew up in NH and ME but my grandmother was born in KY in 1906 and was brought up a Southern Belle. Her sympathies were certainly southern and she passed on to me some Confederate heritage as well as some really nice, old, paintings of RE Lee, George Pickett, and Stonewall Jackson which hang in our house. I still sympathize with the whole states rights thing as well as preserving the Union as developed and designed by our Founding Fathers then and today. I see and feel both sides of these battles. Once we finished these stops it was on to Gettysburg KOA. Typical KOA, met us at the entrance with a golf cart and led us to our site which was a tad smaller but nicer than Artillery Ridge as it was on a corner with trees and large rocks setting us apart. It was also a level, gravel driveway which made leveling on the truck easier. We had stopped at a store for dinner and breakfast stuff to learn the KOA will cook and deliver to your site pizzas, subs, frys, etc as well as have an all you can eat pancake buffet on the weekends. Oh well. Friday nightโs dinner for us was cheeseburgers and chips at the picnic table. Once it got dark and we were reading at the picnic table the wildlife in the crunchy leaves kept us entertained for a while. Never did see anything other than eyes. The facilities were a bit of a hike as they only have one bathhouse but very clean and nice.
Saturday: We had our own pancake breakfast at the picnic table and then packed up to leave. Our plan was the Lutheran Seminary Museum on Seminary Ridge which opened in 2013. $9.00 each for the 4 floors of museum and another $20.00 each for a half hour guided trip up into the cupola. Oh ya. This is the coolest $20.00 I have ever spent on myself. The original cupola burned down after a lightening strike in 1913 but was rebuilt exactly. The views and tour guide describing the events leading up to the battle and then the battle itself were phenomenal. To stand in the same spot as General Buford when he sized up the area..... of course to my wife it was to stand in the same spot as Sam Elliott but.... The entire museum and cupola tour took about 2 1/2 hours and is to me second only to the National Visitorโs Center.
TC and truck from the cupola
The Seminary
This is the view Buford had to the Confederate approach from the west.
We decided to head home after this. Roast beef and sub rolls for the ride and off we went. Fairly uneventful ride home except for the 7 mile stretch of road in NY under construction running a gauntlet of jersey barriers on each side. It was less intimidating in the dark on the way down. We did run into a brief snowstorm in PA at the height of 81. The foliage was funny. There was great foliage spaced out along the entire trip. Higher elevations were mixed between peak and past and a lot of it was better than at home in NH.
For about 6 weeks my wife and I have been planning a 3 day motorcycle trip through northern NH and VT for this past weekend. B&Bs, nice restaurants, the whole shebang. We had to schedule it for good foliage viewing but between 1 of her knees being scoped last month and a total knee replacement next month. So, the week arrives and she begins to hint that she was โOh, maybe just a little nervous about being cold on the bikeโ. Now this is with a Kawasaki Nomad with a full windshield, a bra over the engine guards, 1600cc of V-twin for heat, and heated gear. In years past I would have just said weโll be fine. You know, men communicate a bit differently. This year I said โWeโll be fine but is there something else you would rather do?โ Only 25 years of marriage to learn that. Who says men canโt change? She wants to go to Gettysburg. Iโm fine with that.
Now on short notice I start to look at motels and campgrounds. No problem I figured. Itโs the middle of October. Well, Gettysburg was booked. There were plenty of $200+ per night motel rooms. The campgrounds all had openings for the weeknights but full for the weekend. It turns out the campgrounds all do a variation of Halloween every weekend in October and consider them Holiday Weekends and charge more besides being full. Gettysburg has a lot of neat looking campgrounds that all charge basically the same 50-56/night for E/W or E/W/S.
How to decide. Hmm. I looked at all the web sites and then Google Maps Satellite view. I liked the look of Round Top Campground a lot but the back edge is backed up to I-15. We have a Northstar 850 which is a pop up so noise is a concern. Keep looking. I found Artillery Ridge which is very close to the National Visitorโs Center and in the basic location as the Union Artillery reserve. Thatโs cool. The big concern for me is they have a lot of horse stuff there for campers with horses as well as horse back tours. I am deathly allergic to horses. No problem. Big enough to be away from the stables. Next plus was they have a deal with 2 nights you get free passes to 3 places: Gettysburg Diorama, Lincoln Train Museum (based around trains but a history of America) and The Spirits of Gettysburg which is not a ghost tour but a history of the battle told by apparitions of Lincoln, Lee, etc. which would save us $42-. Next plus is they are the only one in town to honor Passport America. I joined Passport America for $44- and saved $52- at the park and now I can use the PA for the next year. All good. Now for the down side. They had lots of open sites for Wednesday and Thursday but full for the weekend. We took it. I found one open site at the KOA for Friday but nothing anyplace for Saturday. We decided to stay Saturday if someone had a cancellation or start towards home if not.
So now I needed to address a truck issue. The old girl is a 1996 F-250 crew cab diesel with 365,000 miles on her and runs like a charm. None of the typical Ford rust either. Except she has a very common, rear tank, fuel leak. I bought a 38 gallon replacement tank last week and decide that Tuesday would be a good day to change it out so Iโm not stopping every 175 miles to fill the front one. 700 miles between stops is perfect in my mind. That didnโt go as planned. The bolts had to be cut off and then I couldnโt get the tank out. Discretion being the better part of valor I hooked every thing back up and will pull the bed next weekend to get to the tank easier and do new shocks while Iโm there. I guess it was OK as the 14mpg with the camper with just the front tank coincides with my wifeโs bladder. It is what it is.
We were supposed to be all packed Tuesday night for an early take off Weds. You know how this went. After we packed up Wednesday morning we had to stop for breakfast, I needed to refill my propane, then had to buy a new tank instead because of that pesky tank test date. Then on the road. I entrusted the pics to be taken with my wife. I guess living where we do we are spoiled by the foliage as she didnโt take any pics on the ride down. โI didnโt see anything spectacularโ. Again my communicatory fault for what I was looking for. We took the long route over Rt 9 through NH and Southern VT to Albany. All beautiful scenery with mountain views. Nice 2 lane main road but with a back road feel. The beginnings of fuel and food stop fubars begin in western NH. We stop for fuel, bathrooms, and a sub at a large store. Fuel (after having to go in to leave card as no pay at the pump) check. ( This was the last of the $2.35/gal diesel until we got back to NH-.40-.50/gal more in NY and PA.) Bathroom (1 not pleural) OOS. Sandwiches, subs, hot dogs, anything? Zero. Next door is an even larger and newer place. Stop in. Bathroom; check. Food? Nope. 2500 sf of beer, wine, and tobacco products. We are with in site of the VT border.
Into VT I know where there is a wonderful little, locally owned, deli. No space, lotโs full. 45 minutes later, after seeing signs for 2 miles about a similar place in a gift shop we stop. Nope, deli closed. So after all that we end up eating Burger King. Swell.
From Albany we take 87 south to 84 west to 81 south in Scranton. My wife has this awful habit of sleeping for almost an entire trip when we drive. Not this time though which was nice. The plan was for her to read to us. The thump thump thump thump of the roads though tossed that out the window as she got a little car sick reading. Man. On 81 there is a town called Frackville. Nice big sign that says Diesel 24 hours. Great. I hate this town. We pull off the exit. Nice big Safeway. No diesel. Small station we can see off to the right with a small lot, no diesel pumps, On through town. Several stations and no diesel. Suddenly the 2 lane road is a 4 lane, divided road. 3 miles later we get to an exit and turn around back into town. Itโs getting late, we should have been in Gettysburg by now. I want to kill something. We pull into the last one before the highway and low and behold they have a diesel pump around to the side hidden by the ice machine. No diesel price on the sign. Pay inside. And no diet Dr. Pepper for my wife either. Filled up and away. Now the goal is to get to Gettysburg, check in to the campground and go have a nice sit down meal at Perkins.
We got to Artillery Ridge Campground at 9:00 and found a map and site # with our name on the door. Nice campground over all. A lot of seasonals all decorated for Halloween. As we were there for 2 nights I took the camper off and to Perkins we went. We love their food and the closest one to us is Plattsburg, NY. After dinner we sat out at the picnic table for a little bit reading and letting the food settle. This would be a good time to admit I forgot our camp chairs and had to settle for the picnic table. DโOh! Too much food too late and we slept like ****. Helen had a little trouble in and out of the bed due to her knee.
Thursday at Gettysburg: Iโm very excited at this point. I have always connected to Gettysburg (our 3rd time here together, the last time as a family was 10 years ago, my 4th trip overall). Over a late breakfast at Perkins (We had to spend an hour or so at the Verizon store as her phone died- day to day chores even on vacation, this is ****) we decided on a plan. We took our free passes to Gettysburg Diorama, Lincoln Train Museum, and The Spirits of Gettysburg for Thursday. While I understand and can picture the topography and battle better I wanted her to have a better overall sense of the battle first so the battlefield stops would mean more to her. These 3 places were very nicely done and informative. I recommend them. Especially when they are free. $7.00 each per place isnโt bad either. I already owned the auto-tour program from my trip last March so we started in on those stops after the museums. We got through 2 or 3 and decided on General Pickettโs Buffet for an early dinner. As we finished 90 kids and adults from an Ohio school showed up. Good timing. We did another 2 or 3 stops on the auto-tour until dusk. With all the stories about hauntings and sightings Helen wanted to be out around the battlefield at dark-until dark arrived.
This is why they draft 18 year olds. 50 year olds wouldn't charge into these, we're smarter than that.
Then she decided the campsite and showers would be better.
Gettysburg Diorama of the Seminary
Friday: We had reservations at Gettysburg KOA for Friday night as Artillery Ridge was full so we packed up and moved out. Breakfast at Friendlies and then on to the National Visitorโs Center. This new center (2008) is very nice. The 360 degree Cyclorama is an extremely impressive painting and presentation. We finished up the auto-tour with the TC loaded which reaffirms why TCโs are so nice. No worries about parking or where we stopped. To stop, stand, and feel the spot where these momentous events occurred are mind blowing to me. You can almost feel the event if you try. I grew up in NH and ME but my grandmother was born in KY in 1906 and was brought up a Southern Belle. Her sympathies were certainly southern and she passed on to me some Confederate heritage as well as some really nice, old, paintings of RE Lee, George Pickett, and Stonewall Jackson which hang in our house. I still sympathize with the whole states rights thing as well as preserving the Union as developed and designed by our Founding Fathers then and today. I see and feel both sides of these battles. Once we finished these stops it was on to Gettysburg KOA. Typical KOA, met us at the entrance with a golf cart and led us to our site which was a tad smaller but nicer than Artillery Ridge as it was on a corner with trees and large rocks setting us apart. It was also a level, gravel driveway which made leveling on the truck easier. We had stopped at a store for dinner and breakfast stuff to learn the KOA will cook and deliver to your site pizzas, subs, frys, etc as well as have an all you can eat pancake buffet on the weekends. Oh well. Friday nightโs dinner for us was cheeseburgers and chips at the picnic table. Once it got dark and we were reading at the picnic table the wildlife in the crunchy leaves kept us entertained for a while. Never did see anything other than eyes. The facilities were a bit of a hike as they only have one bathhouse but very clean and nice.
Saturday: We had our own pancake breakfast at the picnic table and then packed up to leave. Our plan was the Lutheran Seminary Museum on Seminary Ridge which opened in 2013. $9.00 each for the 4 floors of museum and another $20.00 each for a half hour guided trip up into the cupola. Oh ya. This is the coolest $20.00 I have ever spent on myself. The original cupola burned down after a lightening strike in 1913 but was rebuilt exactly. The views and tour guide describing the events leading up to the battle and then the battle itself were phenomenal. To stand in the same spot as General Buford when he sized up the area..... of course to my wife it was to stand in the same spot as Sam Elliott but.... The entire museum and cupola tour took about 2 1/2 hours and is to me second only to the National Visitorโs Center.
TC and truck from the cupola
The Seminary
This is the view Buford had to the Confederate approach from the west.
We decided to head home after this. Roast beef and sub rolls for the ride and off we went. Fairly uneventful ride home except for the 7 mile stretch of road in NY under construction running a gauntlet of jersey barriers on each side. It was less intimidating in the dark on the way down. We did run into a brief snowstorm in PA at the height of 81. The foliage was funny. There was great foliage spaced out along the entire trip. Higher elevations were mixed between peak and past and a lot of it was better than at home in NH.
