Up North With the 4-Wheelers
Finally! A weekend away with the 4-wheelers!! We rode on trails in Jericho Mountain State Park as well as the Success Trail which lead to Success Pond where we ended up at a boat ramp. We also went as far as the LL Cote Store in Errol, NH, which was mobbed and has almost everything a person would need; camping equipment, bug spray, guns, clothing, gift items, archery equipment, even ice cream. I got a bowl of smores ice cream which was yummy.
We stayed at the Top Notch Inn in Gorham. Now I will admit that I prefer 5 or as many star hotels as I can get. This is not one of those hotels, but it worked out just fine. We only needed a place to sleep and shower. It was clean, and I would stay there again. The only major trouble we had there was excessive heat in the room. They had to come and shut off the heat as something was stuck on, it was 78 in that little room by the time we called. We were given a little space heater instead as that first night temperatures dropped way down and it was freezing outside in the morning. Brrr!
The only other problem we had occurred on the second night and that involved the family sleeping next door with 2 children. These people made so much noise, they were either playing football in their room or putting all of the furniture on the roof. I never got up to check but I could have killed them. I have to laugh as the people on the other side of us, were two rough and tough guys who also came up for 4-wheeling. We heard not a peep from them. Thank you kind sir's.
Above is a photo of some of the parked vehicles. Never had I seen a hotel parking lot look like this. I find it totally cool for sure. Trucks and trailers were parked out back, and your smaller mode of transportation was parked out front. Now the coolest thing of all is, we could drive right to trails from this parking lot. Yes!!! We could drive on the main streets and on certain other streets. We could go to restaurants and stores and gas stations all on our 4 wheelers! I have no photos of us driving our ATV's on the main roads, as well, I didn't want to get killed. There was a lot of traffic here. I have to say, it would be nice to have blinkers, I kept thinking I would be rear ended. We will also be getting little mirrors to make seeing behind us easier.
As I said before, Saturday morning was freezing. I had on a pair of long john bottoms, a pair of pants, and a thin third pair of pants. A long sleeve shirt, a t- shirt, a sweat shirt, and a warm coat. While driving, I was warm, all but my hands. I started off wearing gloves and when I had frostbite, I switched to mittens. Sunday was so much warmer in the morning, thank heavens!!!!
Saturday we started off at the firehouse. The Gorham Fire Department was having a breakfast for $7. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, coffee and OJ for $7. You can't beat that and it goes to a good cause. They also had a 50/50 raffle which we lost and a Poker Run. Now you may not know what a poker run is. You pay a fee and are given a paper which lists 5 stops along the trails that you must make. At each stop there is a person to check you in. You pick a card and they write what card you got on your paper. You are hoping to have a good hand by the end of all the stops. We of course got terrible cards and won nothing, but again, it went to a good cause.
With full bellies, off we headed to the trail head. We had packed a lunch, our room had a sort of functioning baby fridge. I can tell you the trails were pretty well marked, but I also had an expert map reader with me. I'd probably still be lost there myself had I gone alone.
With no rain in over a month, the trails were bone dry and wicked dusty. I ate a lot of dirt and did a lot of sneezing. Tissues are a must have and blowing your nose isn't pretty. Ugh! Yuck! We were filthy at the end of the day.
Above is the warming hut, inside is a lovely woodstove, where we warmed up. I would like for this to be my cabin.
I think Rob likes the cabin too.
Who would not want to sit here:
People going on trails didn't seem to wake up early, which worked out well for us. In the mornings you pretty much had the trails to yourself, by afternoon they were busy and you had to pay real good attention to oncoming vehicles through all that dust
Now let's talk about the trail from hell. Rene's trail. Pure rock trail that goes on forever, it seemed like the end would never appear. This was a skinny trail which was totally covered with moose poop. Had you ever seen a moose, you would have been doomed as you could not turn around, and you could only crawl through this rugged rock trail. I nearly cried twice, and I'm not kidding. I hated this trail and don't ever want to go on a trail like this again. It is hard to see in this photo, but these rocks were big, and it wasn't an easy chore getting over them. Never again. I said the F word at least a million times. I'm pretty sure my blood pressure rocketed. It was sort of funny as later on in the day we were speaking with Henry, the President from the Presidential OHRV club, he said he would never go on Rene's trail. So, I give you my warning. If you like rocks, go right ahead. You will work up a sweat on this one. A big thank you to Henry and all of the other members of the Presidential OHRV Club that we spoke to. Every person went out of their way to be nice, and offer us advice on trails. Thank you!
Not long after we went on Eric's trail, which started off just as bad. I was ready to strangle Rob for getting me on another dreadful trail, but fortunately only the beginning was rock.
Below is the beautiful building of Jericho Mountain State Park. What a lovely area.
It was windy!
For dinner the first night we at at the Salt Pub. Chef Liz Jackson had cooked with Julia Child. How lucky Gorham is to have this restaurant. It's a small, cozy place that fills up soon after opening, so get there early or be prepared to wait. Do try the crispy duck ravioli for an appetizer. Who knew we would like shredded duck confit?!! Then grab yourself a burger; locally raised beef on homemade buns served with homemade chips in a mug or order some hand cut fries. I had the Cambodian Bowl, you will have to try if you are feeling adventurous and want something like you have never had. I can't even describe it, but it's very filling.
For dinner the second night we ate at Mr. Pizza. They have a huge menu and it's way more than pizza. We both ordered prime rib which was delicious. Our only complaint here was the waitress.
Sunday we were up at the crack of dawn again. Drove the 4 wheelers down to Welsh's for a breakfast buffet. We usually avoid buffets but this one was pretty good. They claim it's a 35 foot buffet, with anything you would ever want for breakfast (unless you are looking for those cute tiny cereal boxes). There is an omelet station and a Belgian waffle station all for $10.95 each. Again, we got there before the mob so I don't know what it's like when its busy.
After breakfast we headed for the trails. Today we were doing the Success Trail and then we ended going all the way into Errol.
That's a long way down! Don't look!
Above and below is Success Pond
A little dirtier than when we started. Packing up to go back home. Before we left, we ate at Mountain Fire Pizza, you can walk there from the hotel. Wonderful Pizza and the cheapest place we ate. The pizza is cooked in an oven over wood.
A fun trip! Remember to get outside and play!!!