FALL FOLIAGE, NEW ENGLAND
October 1997
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 After more than a year of researching RV makes and models available in our area, we found a new 1996 Class A just as the dealers were starting to take orders for 1998 units. The RV was a 29-foot Hurricane by Thor, a wide body coach on a Ford chassis, with the color scheme and layout we liked, and priced less than most of the used RV's we had looked at. |
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Most of day one was spent on I-90, a route very familiar to us. This allowed us to get accustomed to the RV. Sitting above the front axle definitely provides a new driving perspective, especially when other vehicles pass and merge back into the lane, they seem unnervingly close. |
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Old Forge Camping ResortOld Forge, New York. The office and clubhouse had just been rebuilt, most sites were tree lined and seemed narrow.
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| Day two, traveled thru the Adirondack Park to Tupper Lake and then to Watertown, New York and the Thousand Islands and the St. Lawrence River. Most of the foliage was already past peak. |
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Thousand Islands KOAOgdensburg, New York. Sites were large and level, an average KOA. Campground is no longer a KOA affiliate.
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Today we followed the St. Lawrence eastward, as we crossed Lake Champlain into Vermont; the views became increasingly more scenic and beautiful with each mile traveled. The route then followed I-89 south to Burlington and Montpelier, Vermont and then east on 302 to the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. New Hampshire and the Kancamagus Highway are exceptionally beautiful in the fall and we highly recommend this area. |
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Lost River Valley CampgroundNorth Woodstock, New Hampshire. A beautiful campground for either an overnight stay or as a base camp to explore the area.
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| The first problem with the motor home appears.The electric step begins to cycle up and down by itself when the RV is parked. Eventually I was able to trace the problem to an inline fuse whose contacts had corroded and deteriorated, creating an intermittent current supply, because the weatherproof enclosure had not been closed. |
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| Day four, continued east on the Kancamagus Highway to North Conway, New Hampshire. North Conway is a quintessential New England town and we arrived during the Fall Crafters Festival, walking thru the town and shopping at the booths was a welcomed travel respite. The train ride to view the foliage looked promising but was already sold out. We continued north and then east thru moose country, although we never saw one. |
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Canaan KOACanaan, Maine. Large, level sites with numerous walking trails.
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| On this day we re-entered the interstate, I-95, and continued north thru pines and scrub brush, not particularly scenic until we began to follow the St. John River in New Brunswick. |
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Lone Pine Park CampgroundPenobsquis, New Brunswick. Most of the sites had been winterized; the remaining sites were located near the office. We did meet a couple from Nova Scotia who recommended several places to visit.
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| Our destination today is the scenic overlook at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The interior of Nova Scotia is quite barren and the route was nondescript. The overlook does provide an impressive view of the Bay of Fundy. |
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Dunromin CampsitesAnnapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. A rather primitive campground, sites are grass.
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Today we visited Ovens Natural Park Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia. An interesting walking tour of the sea caves created by the wave action with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Camping facilities are available. |
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Harbour Light CampgroundPictou, Nova Scotia. Advertised as beside the ocean, we were not impressed with the view or the facilities.
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Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Kozy AcresWoodstock, New Brunswick. Well maintained park, friendly staff and campers.
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| Today we started to explore new territory again as we headed south on US 1 towards Maine’s coastline and Bar Harbor. There were several scenic pull offs with ocean views, however they were on the opposite side of the highway and reentering across traffic was not very easy. |
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Mt. Desert Narrows Camping ResortBar Harbor, Maine. A pleasant bay shore campground. A shuttle to Bar Harbor was available and provided an interesting evening’s diversion.
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Plymouth KOAPlymouth, Massachusetts. A typical KOA, our visit was highlighted by our neighbor’s urge to work on his RV. Does the odor of bondo and paint really belong in a campground?
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 Today we took the short drive along Cape Cod to Provincetown, Massachusetts. We spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting the downtown storefronts, taking a horse drawn carriage tour and an evening sailboat cruise of the harbor. |
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Dunes’ Edge Campground Provincetown, Massachusetts. Located within walking distance of downtown, sites are narrow with 15 amps service and RV lengths are limited.
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Bay View Campground Bourne, Massachusetts. Beautiful, well maintained campground, however we never did find the view of the bay.
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| Day fourteen, begin to travel west on the interstate toward home. |
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Howe CavernsHowes Cave, New York. Our guide was very personable and answered everyone’s questions. We were not rushed thru the tour; in fact we stayed at each location until everyone was ready to proceed. One of the most enjoyable cavern tours we have taken. |
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Unadilla KOAUnadilla, New York.
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| The RV ran and handled great over a variety of conditions; from interstates to hilly and winding roads in the National Forests. However there are several improvements needed to the original design: |
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| 1. The storage space under the bed has difficult access; the mattress has to be lifted to gain access. An opening cut in the plywood veneer of the supporting base with a fabricated door and a pull out tray on heavy duty full extension slides now provides easy access to storage for two laundry baskets. |
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| 2. The storage compartment for the sewer hose is too short. The pvc tube has been replaced with a six foot length of pipe. |
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| 3. The RV needs to be wired for satellite television. |
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