Moab

Although we were here for a whole week, we only had 2 days without rain.  One day, we took the motorcycles up Highway 128, which snakes along the Colorado River; the other day, we hiked into Grandstaff Canyon.  The rest of the time, we sat inside the RV and stayed dry (hence the flurry of catch-up blog posts!)

The story of Moab is best told through pictures.  This first set is from our motorcycle ride.

Note all the mature male deer - all in the same herd.

These pictures are from our hikes into Grandstaff Canyon.

Moab is really known for its mountain bike and ATV trails, and of course, watersports along the Colorado River.  We spent a week here in 2008 mountain biking, but didn't even get the bikes out of the garage this time.  Moab is not the place to test one's lapsed mountain bike skills, and the non-stop rain gave us another good excuse.  Maybe next time.

We did celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary (12 years together) yesterday with dinner at the Atomic Lounge, which was conveniently located right next door to the campground.  When you live in an RV together, "date night" simply means leaving all of the animals at home.  😄💕

This concludes our time in Moab, and in Utah.  Tomorrow:  Grand Junction, Colorado!

Jen's East Coast Adventures, Part II

While I was doing all the things I was doing in New Hampshire, Doug was breaking in his new motorcycle in Oregon and Nevada.  Someday, he might even put up a blog entry detailing all his great rides.  😏  He also spent a few days getting the RV slide fixed, so we can actually walk all the way from the bedroom to the garage again without going outside! 

On Sunday, 23 September, while Doug was settling in to Salt Lake City, Sunday and I headed south to New Jersey in the rental car.  I forgot how annoying the Sunday afternoon slog-back-to-the-city was.  Bumper-to-bumper traffic, texting drivers, accidents, construction, and reverse yield signs (you know, the ones where drivers entering the highway think they have the right of way).  But we survived, and many hours later, made it to New Jersey just in time for my mother's homemade baked ziti! 

I didn't take many pictures on this part of the trip, because it rained the entire week.  I spent most of the time visiting with my mother, while Sunday spent most of the time eating the liverwurst my mother bought especially for her.  We did catch a little window of no rain to go for a quick swim, though.

Sunset Beach, Toms River

And, of course, I made a visit to my favorite (woman-veteran owned!) brewery, Backward Flag in Forked River.   

"Really mom? I can have a sip??"

That was about all the excitement there was to be had in NJ.  On the way to the airport in Philadelphia, we made a stop to visit Nino at Lehigh University.  We had planned to spend a few hours and have lunch together, but traffic traffic and more traffic meant we only had 10 minutes. 

Sunday LOVES Nino!!

Then we hit even more traffic trying to get to PHL and had to literally run through the airport to catch our flight.  Poor Sunday even had to use the "Pet Relief Area" in the terminal because I didn't have time to walk her before going through TSA.  Normally she wont even let her precious little paws touch that gross astroturf. 

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

But we were lucky to have a direct flight from PHL - SLC, so once we got settled in on the plane, we were able to relax.  Sunday has gotten so good at flying, she actually sleeps through take-off now.

Sunday's area on the plane.

The excitement didn't end when we landed in Salt Lake, however.  Right before Doug left the RV to pick us up at the airport, Mookie figured out how to open the screen door and ran out into the night.  We spent a little while walking around the dark campground yelling "Mooooooooooooooookie" and shining flashlights under each RV, to no avail.  Of course, she decided to go on a little adventure in the biggest RV park we've ever stayed in - over 700 sites!!!  On Saturday, we walked the entire RV park several times, shared the shit out of her photo on social media, and plastered the RV park with "lost kitty" signs.  We were scheduled to leave on Sunday, and sadly, we had to have a serious conversation about how long it made sense to wait there, just in case.  And then my phone rang.  And it was a RVer I had spoken with the day before - she had Mookie!!  In two days, the damn cat went less than a hundred yards, but she was dirty, thirsty and very happy to see her food bowl. 

She was less than pleased with my effort to give her a bath after her little adventure.

With the whole Nomadic Norvell pack back together, we headed out toward Moab that afternoon.  And on our "to do" list is to find an escape-proof screen door for the RV!

Middle and Peaked Mountains, North Conway NH

One of my favorite regular hikes when I lived in North Conway because it was right in town and from the top you can see the whole Valley.  It was a little steeper and more strenuous than I remember, but then again, I am 10 years older now.  😏



There were thousands of chipmunks for Sunday to chase, so she probably ran another 10 miles in addition to my track.  The weather was misty and humid, with low clouds that killed the view.  But it was all good, because I was hiking in the Whites! 

View at the top of Middle Mountain (click to open, then click on the arrow icon in the center to look around)

I think they left out a zero in that elevation marker.  Or at least this old body felt like it.

Looking at Middle Mountain from the top of Peaked Mountain.  Sunday was looking for blueberries. 

Coming down off Peaked Mountain.

 

Sunday enjoying Maggie's favorite swimming hole at the trailhead.

Jen's East Coast Adventures - New Hampshire

The Norvell Pack went in different directions for the last half of September.  Doug, Finn, and Mookie stayed with the RV out West, while Sunday and I flew out to the East Coast.

Sunday and I flew from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine on 11 September and, after a few hours of sleep at an airport hotel, we headed west in a rental car to New Hampshire. The first stop was the Saco River for some swimming.  This was Sunday's first time here, but Maggie's spirit told her all about it.

Sunday meets the Saco River!

Then I checked on my house in East Conway, which is now a rental.  It's still standing, and that's all I needed to know.  My neighbor and friend, Lisa, was out doing yard work around her home, so we stood in her driveway and chatted for a few hours (yes, hours). 

NH friends are the best friends!

I was so lucky to be able to use my friend Stephanie's house for the whole time I was in NH.  We got lost a few times in all the rooms of a big 4-BR house, and I kept trying to flush the toilet with my foot, but it was great to have a familiar place to stay right in town! 

My main project on this leg of the trip was to get our cabin squared away.  It's been vacant since we moved out in 2008, and its high time to get serious about selling it.  It is heartbreaking to let it go, though, because it is absolutely perfect in every way.  Situated on 40 acres of undeveloped land in a small mountain town, it is everything we'd want to retire to ..... if we weren't hopeless nomads. 

View of the White Mountains from the road to the cabin.

The cabin.

I spent several days running back and forth from one side of the mountains to the other, gathering stuff from the cabin that I could donate to non-profits; going through boxes and boxes of books and photos; and meeting with the neighbor who is going to become our live-in caretaker until he can get financing to hopefully buy the cabin. 

There are 3 Dunkins between North Conway and Whitefield and I became a regular at all of them!

Sunday was rewarded with a swim every time we drove through Crawford Notch State Park.

The cabin is technically in the town of Whitefield, but the closest real town is Lancaster.  When we left in 2008, there was a little tiny market, a sporting goods store, a bank, and not much else.  Now, that tiny market is a large grocery store (with a big Organics section and a beer cave); the once-vacant restaurant is now an Irish Pub; and there is a brewery.  Yes, a brewery.  With a dog-friendly deck overlooking the river.  We could almost live here now.  😏

Beer for me and water for Sunday.

When we weren't tending to the cabin, or driving back and forth through the notch, I showed Sunday all of Maggie's favorite trails in the North Conway area.  Literally nothing has changed there in the past 10 years, which made me very happy!

Chasing squirrels in Whitaker Woods.

Cooling off in the stream at the end of the "Sticks & Stones" trail.

Hot and tired on top of Peaked Mountain.

View of Middle Mountain from Peaked Mountain summit.

I also got to re-connect with several friends whom I haven't seen in years.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember to take pictures with all of them, because I was just having too much fun catching up!  This also meant I got to visit all my old haunts, from the Moat, to May Kellys, to Flatbreads. 

Dinner at Flatbreads with Patti and Lisa.

Dinner at the Moat with Pam-a-lam.

All the hiking, swimming, and socializing tired her right out!

   

All in all, we spent 9 days in the place that will always feel like "home" to me - North Conway - and 2 more days visiting my best friend over on the other side of the state.  There were so many other trails I wanted to hike, friends I wanted to see, and memories I wanted to revisit, but it was time to move on. 

Fall in NH is beautiful, but it also brings all the "leaf peeper" tourists - this leaf told me it was time to move on!

Considering that the Valley (short for "Mount Washington Valley") hasn't changed at all in the past ten years, it's a pretty good bet that it will be mostly the same when I go back to visit again.  Until then, I'll leave you with a picture of one of my favorite views in the Valley.

View of Mt. Washington from my favorite spot in Whitaker Woods.