Global Nomads; On the road again Hudson, MA to Alto, MI 22Sep - 27Sep2021

We are starting our preparation to head west to California.  We packed the RV with items going from Hudson to Alto, MI. Some items we could not resist to keep in memory of Annette and her family.  We spent many hours and days in her condo searching for family (she is the only child of parents that were also only children). 

I set up and Ancestry.com Tree for her family and was lucky to find some active members there to help.  The time we spent there was grueling and exhausting but so worth getting it prepared so Gram could just take it from where we left off.

Antique Fox stole from the early 20th century in a vintage trunk

Inside of the RV as we make our way to MI

First destination is CampHill in Copake NY to see Ashley and Alissa.  We stayed busy visiting them, working at Plant Medicine Barn cleaning leaves off sticks, using a pitchfork to harvest chicory root for tea, cutting up milk thistle for removal of the seeds for a liver tea.

We enjoyed seeing smiling faces that remembered us, embraces and laughs.  It is an amazing place with so much joy to offer.

Macro photo of nasturtium 

Bees are so active cultivating pollen in the gardens

We left CampHill after 2 and a half days to arrive in Conneaut, OH a 7 hour drive to see Tom and Gary.  

451 miles across NY State into OH

Gary took us on a tour of some of the Covered Bridges in Ashtabula County, it was a gorgeous day for a ride and gave Tom a chance to chill while we were out and about.We did about 22 miles of driving, getting out of the car, walking around enjoy the day.

Part of the Covered Bridge Tour in Ashtabula County

State Road Covered Bridge 1983

Gary, Keith and Wayne below on the Conneaut Creek

Smolen-Gulf Bridge is 613 ft. long and stands 93 ft. above the Ashtabula River. With clear width of 30 ft. and height of 14 ft 6 in. 

After a great lunch we drove around to the back 50 acres to check out the beaver dams and condition of Ashtabula Creek.  Fun walking around in this wooded area, tranquil and peaceful. 

Time just flew by visiting Gary and Tom, we would enjoy spending a summer on their property hanging out and working the land.  Another fun visit but the road calls and off we go to Alto, MI

We drove the interstate from Conneaut to Route 2 riding along the Coastal Circle Tour and Lake Erie Tour

We'v done Route 2 before, more casual drive along Lake Erie toward Toledo, same mileage but less stress. The tour took us along Route 2 to 579W then we were back on the interstate and 361 miles later we are at Gram's.  We were traveling a short 6 days.

Global Nomads: 46 Days Destination NY and New England 5Aug - 19 Sept2021

After we left Skyline Drive we decided to head to Copake, NY to see Ashley and Alissa.  We drove through West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. We arrived at Camphill at 18:26.  

411 Miles via 81M to 78E

We spent 6 days in Camphill doing some volunteer work in the Ita Wegman sharing intimate moments, meals and time with the residents, great experience being with the Villagers,  We did spend some time in the healing plant garden collecting flowers for essentials oils and teas, helping in the vegetable garden harvesting tomatoes and weeding, working on the farm bringing the cows from the fields for milking, milking the cows and bringing them back to the field, we spent several hours with Bea (who gave birth to a large bull) and her calf.  Both mother and calf were struggling with a very hard birth and finally got them both up before the dy was over.

We even had the opportunity to get one of the villagers in Great Barrington and took him to Tanglewood for the Boston Symphony afternoon lawn concert with Yo-Yo Ma.  it was nice to spend time with Ashley and Alissa, get to know Muka and Wanchia (two other home caretakers) and get to know the residence of the home.

Part of the Flower Garden, some medicinal plants are harvested here

Bee Marco in the garden

Zinnia

Barn for healing plant drying and extraction

Pigs up near the woods

Bea and her newborn calf

Found these cool mushrooms on a hike

After our visit we set off for Williamsville, VT and Rock River to swim and hike.  We spent 2 nights there before heading off to Henniker, NH.

We made it to Vermont, The Green Mountain State

Arrived in Newfane around 14:00, parked and walked to  the river to swim and hike

Stream crossing to get back on the trail

The water was warmer than expected and we stayed until sundown

Rock River is a tributary of the West River and runs its entire course within Windham County, Vermont. Originating in the Green Mountain National Forest in Dover, it joins the West River in Newfane. Rock River is rich in natural and human history. Like many other river environments, it faces environmental challenges that deserve our attention and best efforts at preserving its natural beauty and protecting its varied uses for future generations. The area we hiked towards is about 1.5 miles inland from the road.  It is peaceful and beautiful here.

Hiking along the river

Rock River Marina in Brattleboro

Totally secluded off the road and by the river

Rock River waterfall above the swimming hole

Looking up from the beach

Hiking area 

We decided to take a jaunt over to my alma mater New England College in Henniker, NH.  While taking Route 12 through Keene, NH we were chatting with Gary Inkel, he passed us going west while we headed east.  So we turned around and chatted for a while, nice surprise to see him.

It was fun to walk around campus while reminiscing and showing Keith campus and town.  We had lunch in the old Post Office, where we had post boxes, now a Cafe.  It was a gorgeous day on campus with students arriving to and fro.

The Only Henniker On Earth. That’s what they claim about this little New Hampshire town along the Contoocook River. According to town historians, no other community in the world bears its name.

Henniker was permanently settled in 1761, preserving its quaint town vibes to this day. Earlier settlements were attempted but abandoned to escape some harassment by the Penacook Indians.

Here’s an interesting tidbit: In the 19th century, Henniker had a high rate of congenital deafness so they developed their own sign language. This early dialect had a significant influence in shaping the standardized American Sign Language still in use today. (taken from http://www.michaelblanchette.com/blog/?p=4549)

Administration Building

Old student PO Boxes moved to Simmons Building

Colby Dorm

New England College covered bridge over the Contoocook River

    

The Henniker Covered Bridge spans the Contoocook River. Also known as the New England College Covered Bridge, it serves as a footbridge across the campus that is maintained by the college.

It may look old but it was only built in 1972. The idea was to replicate an old-style covered bridge using traditional methods. And the builders took the old traditions seriously, even employing a team of oxen to pull the framed trusses across the river.  The folklore of the bridge is a big part of New England College as it has been told the College students replicated an old bridge, built it and move the bridge to its location.

Main Street Bridge

We stopped in Nashua to see our friend, Jack before heading to Hudson, MA to assist Gram with the estate for Annette Flohr.  Gram and Annette have been friends since Hopkinton school days.  Keith and I arrived  in Hudson on 13Aug and spent the night boondocking at Cabela's then moved to behind the Condo the following day and started clearing boxes and debris to the dumpster.

We worked on cleaning the condo for days prior to taking a break to visit Karen in Warwick Neck, RI (long time friend I grew up with, she is my sister from another mother) then we headed over to Hyannis to visit our friends Tim and Steve for a long weekend.  Before we leave we have already 35 trash cans dumped 60 boxes, 3 suitcases, assorted totes, bags, bedroom and guest bedroom drawers and closets emptied.  70 hours spent in cleaning, dumping, sorting through everything in 5 days.

Rocky Point new dock for fishing

Playing cards with Karen on her back deck

Rocky Point State Park

Leaving Karen's on Warwick Neck

Boardwalk in Hyannis

We had a great extended weekend with Karen then Tim & Steve.  We needed a break from the clean up and time with good friends.  We went to back on Monday following the weekend to start over with the clean-up. sifting and posting on Craigslist, Facebook Market Place and eBay.

We had plans to see our friend, Jack Talty from Nashua, NH.  We had him book an extra day before Labor Day Weekend so we could spend time with him.  We parked the RV the second night at the RV parking lot for Friday and Saturday while we spent time on s/v Glaedr with J and Barry.

Keith and I went over to the Provincetown Inn to spend some time at the pool with Jack but we did not see him. We walked down to Commercial Street, did some shopping and had to stop at the Portuguese Bakery for malassada (friend dough), an old favorite growing up.

We had a great time hanging out in Provincetown Harbor, took a sail on Saturday to see the whales and then head over to the nude beach.  We sailed out a little but with 20kts winds we decided it was uncomfortable and sailed through the harbor. We did end up at the beach later.

Commercial Street before the numbers increased for the Labor Day Weekend

Provincetown Monument from the harbor

Long Point Light from Provincetown Harbor

Anchored off Cape Cod National Seashore

Make America Gay Again (MAGA)

View from Herring Cove to Long Point

We had a really nice time with our friends while visiting Provincetown. We headed back to Hudson to meet Gram and help her for the next few weeks clearing out more of the house and selling as much as we could before we leave.  We played a ton of cards with her, as well as with Karen, Tim and Steve.  Matter of fact, Karen stopped by one day during her vacation to join us.

Our destinations from Copake, NY through New England