Oct 28

Oct 28 Vanlife in The Northeast: Trip Report.

I am embarrassed to say that my geography east of Denver is non-existent. As a kid, I traveled to New York City, Boston, and Washington D.C with my family doing the tourist thing. Until this trip that was the extent of my east coast knowledge. Without the Rocky Mountains as a reference and with Grant doing most of the driving, I have had no idea what direction we are going. We have covered a significant amount of ground, but unfortunately, my geography knowledge hasn’t improved much. Despite my directional confusion, we have seen some incredible parts of this country. So far, this is where we have been in the North East.

Canada

Oh Canada! On our first official night in the van we slept in a parking lot in Niagara Falls, Ontario. We crossed the border as a light show and fireworks started that left Lhotse terrified of Canada. Niagara Falls is an interesting place. There are massive, gorgeous water falls surrounded by the Canadian version of Las Vegas. We woke up early for sunrise and checked the weather, 20% chance of rain. Well that 20% chance of rain turned into 100% downpour. All three of us were soaked by 7 am. We should have brought some shampoo with us for a free shower. Even though it was a quick visit to the falls, it was great to see such an iconic part of the world...and of course, where Jim and Pam said “I do”.

New York

Our first stop in Upstate New York was Watkins Glen Village. How cute is it that they use village instead of town? Watkins Glen State Park contains a beautiful gorge with several impressive waterfalls flowing through it. We hiked around and under multiple waterfalls surrounded by fall colors. Once again, I was really enjoying the hike until I had to stand close to a waterfall for one of Grant’s photos and got completely soaked. So is the life of a photographer’s wife. From there we headed northeast to the Adirondack Mountain park, home of Lake Placid and the Winter Olympics of 1932 and 1980. If I had to pick a favorite spot so far, this would be it. The village feels like a Swiss mountain town and provided some of the best fall colors we have seen. I loved seeing all the bright oranges and reds that we typically don’t see in Colorado. We hiked to the summit of Mount Jo and were greeted with incredible views and strong winds. Everyday we hiked a new trail and at night we slept in national forest land amongst the fall colors which was by far my favorite sleeping spot.

Vermont

We headed east and spent a day walking around Montpelier, the capital of Vermont. It was cold and rainy but I loved the feel of the vibrant colors and old-century buildings. We even treated ourselves to a pho dinner for surviving the first week in the van. The following night we hiked up to Nichols Ledge in Woodbury, Vermont where we overlooked a beautiful lake and fall colors. I did have to use my mom voice and instruct someone (won’t mention any names) that they were too close to the edge.

New Hampshire

We were able to reset in Lebanon, New Hampshire when we connected with some of the Ordelheide’s longest friends: Leslie, Nolan, and Max. They were kind enough to allow us to shower, do laundry, and fed us multiple meals. Of course, it’s not a visit with Leslie and Nolan if we don’t watch a Pitch Perfect movie with popcorn! It’s always a good time when the O’s and Sco’s get together. The following night, we hiked up to Mt. Morgan which was a lot steeper than we anticipated and had ladders to get to the top. Luckily for Lhotse, there was an alternate path for hikers with paws.

Maine

Whenever someone asked me where our first stop was my answer was always Maine. However, it was almost two weeks into our trip when we finally arrived in Acadia. Acadia is a beautiful National Park with rugged coastlines and colorful forests. Thankfully, Acadia was dog friendly allowing us to take multiples hikes with Lhotse. We ended up spending 6 days there driving around all parts of the island and experiencing Bar Harbor or as the locals would say “Bah Habah”. Even though I am extremely afraid of heights, we hiked the Precipice Trail which has iron rungs and ladders on exposed cliffs. I bet Alex Honnold will be wanting to pick my brain on techniques for his next climb. We did multiple hikes around Acadia hiking to higher grounds to get the full view of the Atlantic Ocean and many lakes. There were heavy rains and strong winds and by the time we left Acadia most of fall was done. We finished up Maine in Port Clyde at the Marshall Point Lighthouse where Forrest Gump was filmed and then Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth.