Maiden TM Camping Trip A Success

[Steppy]

Originally Posted by Bigbit

Sounds great! What time should we be there?

Kidding aside, I have a long history with Wakefield. When I was a kid, we had a camp on Great East Lake off Witchtrot Rd., about a mile west of the Maine state line. We stayed there during the summer until my mom had health issues in the late 60's. We used to go to Sarah's Spa, the local soda jerk and general store in Sanbornville. Great place.

My dad's cousin, at about the same time, bought a huge parcel of land in E. Wakefield, dammed up a river where there had once been a pond, and formed what is today known as Belleau Lake, and built many of the cabins around it.

In 1989, I returned with my family and camped as a seasonal at Lake Ivanhoe campground for 10 years before moving to the west coast. We used to frequent places like Poor People's Pub, the Cuckoo's Nest, and the Pine River Steakhouse, as well as the Yankee Smokehouse and a few other places. I was an avid bass fisherman and used to fish Great East, Lovell, Balch, Belleau, Wentworth, and Winnepesaukee.

We do miss that area, except the black flies and mosquitoes!

Very interesting! My sister told us about how the lake came to be. They live near it. Was your Dad's cousin's first name Ernest?

Alas, the Cuckoos Nest is no more. My niece and nephew used to work there. The PPP is still there and the Pine River Steak House is under new management and is called the 7 Lakes Roadhouse.

Originally Posted by Steppy

Very interesting! My sister told us about how the lake came to be. They live near it. Was your Dad's cousin's first name Ernest?

Alas, the Cuckoos Nest is no more. My niece and nephew used to work there. The PPP is still there and the Pine River Steak House is under new management and is called the 7 Lakes Roadhouse.

Yep, that's the guy. A "love him or hate him" sort of character, but as my dad's cousin, he always treated us great. It was he who had a beautiful lodge right on the shoreline on Great East Lake, and he allowed my dad to plunk an old camping trailer about 200 yards behind his place, off to the side of the access road between the lake and the main road. I spent many summers there with my brother, 3 sisters, and my folks, along with many visiting relatives, and have great memories of the place. Once Ernie created Belleau lake, he sold the lodge on Great East Lake and moved over to "his" lake in an even bigger lodge. He died a few years ago at the ripe old age of 92.

I'm sorry to hear about the Cuckoo's nest. It used to be a great "comfort food" restaurant and we went there often. There was always a line on weekends. I heard later that the restaurant was passed on to the original owners' daughters and wasn't quite the same anymore.

Enjoy your time there - it's a wonderful place!

[Steppy]

Originally Posted by Bill

That's going to be a long day. We've done it, but now that I'm getting old and creaky, I would probably break it into two days. Let us know how that works out.

Bill

Bill,
We left Lexington Park, MD at 5:45 AM and rolled into the Beaver Hollow Campground, Ossipee, NH around 7:00 PM, so 13 hours. We took Rte 95, Jersey Pike, Garden State Parkway, Tappanzee Bridge, then back on to 95. We didn't hurry and stopped 3-4 times for gas, food & nature calls. The TM handled great, however if I were to do any roads in the mountains, I'd probably want a TV with 8 cylinders.

Originally Posted by Steppy

Bill,
We left Lexington Park, MD at 5:45 AM and rolled into the Beaver Hollow Campground, Ossipee, NH around 7:00 PM, so 13 hours. We took Rte 95, Jersey Pike, Garden State Parkway, Tappanzee Bridge, then back on to 95. We didn't hurry and stopped 3-4 times for gas, food & nature calls. The TM handled great, however if I were to do any roads in the mountains, I'd probably want a TV with 8 cylinders.

Have a great time, Steppy! I'm a bit jealous...

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Steppy

Bill,
We left Lexington Park, MD at 5:45 AM and rolled into the Beaver Hollow Campground, Ossipee, NH around 7:00 PM, so 13 hours. We took Rte 95, Jersey Pike, Garden State Parkway, Tappanzee Bridge, then back on to 95. We didn't hurry and stopped 3-4 times for gas, food & nature calls. The TM handled great, however if I were to do any roads in the mountains, I'd probably want a TV with 8 cylinders.

Steppy -

Good for you - that is a long day. We used to travel like that on our twice-a-year migrations between AZ and Maine, and we found that doing four of those days, back-to-back, was a killer. No more. Since we have more time, we try to limit each day to seven hours or so, and usually they are shorter than that, the exact length being dictated by the location of "acceptable" campgrounds.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

Steppy -

Good for you - that is a long day. We used to travel like that on our twice-a-year migrations between AZ and Maine, and we found that doing four of those days, back-to-back, was a killer. No more. Since we have more time, we try to limit each day to seven hours or so, and usually they are shorter than that, the exact length being dictated by the location of "acceptable" campgrounds.

Bill

Wow, Bill...

I've done the 4-day cross country thing in a car and stopping at hotels, and THAT was exhausting. I can't imagine adding to that the towing, set-up and take down of a trailer each day. That was quite ambitious!