9/10 New Hampshire

On Sunday, we started the day with a breakfast of banana pancakes cooked in our outdoor kitchen.  Our campsite didn't have a lot of amenities, but we were in a national forest and there were a lot of trees for the kids to roam through.  We enjoyed some relaxing outdoor time and then left for a hike through Flume Gorge.

Flume Gorge was a more challenging hike than others we had done, but the weather at the beginning was perfect.  The Gorge was formed by lava which eroded more quickly than the surrounding rock, and the water flowing through was beautiful.  We stopped at the top of a hill with a beautiful forest overlook and had a family testimony meeting.  Once we got to the second half of the hike, it started to rain... and then pour!  This must be common at Flume Gorge, because the trail had multiple rain shelters, but of course we didn't want to just sit in them all day, so we all got completely soaked.  Fortunately, we did have coats for the kids, although they were still really wet.  I pretty much felt like I had gone swimming fully dressed.  But I still preferred being wet to the heat of the first few days of our trip, and after the hike, we were able to go back to the RV to change clothes.  Unfortunately, with that much wet clothing in the RV, we were never able to get everything fully dry for the rest of the trip.

Us at the trail center for the hike.


Us at Avalanche Falls in Flume Gorge.


After our hike and changing out of our wet clothes, we ate lunch in the RV and drove on to our reserved campsite in Canada.  I found it rather disorienting to tow a large trailer in a foreign country.  I don't speak French at all, so Emily was trying to navigate and translate all the important signs for me.  We got lost at one point and had to call home for help because Emily didn't have data on her phone (I'm not sure if it was because we were in Canada or if it was just because she had run out).  

We finally made it to our campground, which was huge, and the person at the front desk spoke English, which was convenient.  The campground was like a little village, and I think a lot of people live there full time.  They had a restaurant and a pool and several playgrounds and a mini golf course and an outdoor gym and more.  Our site was way in the back, and it was another back-in site, this time without the usual angle that makes it easier to get in.  Emily and I were back to our usual routine of having me drive back and forth until we could get it right when a security guard showed up in a golf cart and offered to help.  I gave him the keys and he backed in (although he did hit a flimsy little tree, but that hurt the tree more than the RV).  He didn't speak any English, so Emily had to do all the talking to him.

Once we were in the site, we still had to make some adjustments for leveling and then get hooked up.  Rhonda and Sierra helped me out with the setup while Emily tried to get the kids settled and fed.  I really appreciated having such great young helpers!

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