7 days in Northern New Hampshire

Coleman State Park, located on Little Diamond Lake, is 10 miles from the nearest town of Colebrook, New Hampshire . This was another no hook up, no cell service or wifi location so we filled the fresh water tank and emptied the gray/black water tanks for the stay. We dealt with the small internet problem by driving into the town's library or golf course to get connected. Our campsite #26 was spacious with a gravel pad, fire pit and picnic table close to the bathroom, shower and laundry facilities. We had plenty of open sky during the day for solar power production with surrounding trees for some privacy.

The park is very beautiful and realitively quiet except for the occasional ATV noise. ATV's are popular in Northern New Hampshire and range from the simplest single 4 runner to the more exotic Polaris RZR 4 seaters with roll cages and light bars. We took our RAM truck 4 wheeling on a couple of the back roads into town to get the feel of the area's remoteness while we looked for moose.

While we have been in New Hampshire, Canada has been plagued with massive wildfires throughout the country and a couple of our days were smoky with poor visibility. But fortunately the weather has been unseasonably wet with showers and thunderstorms which has helped to keep the air clear and fresh most of the time we've been here camping. On one of the less wet days we ventured north to the town of Errol, New Hampshire to see the L.L. Cote Sporting Goods store and saw a beautiful lakeside resort and also our first moose sighting. Karen spotted a young female that was standing next to the side of the road. Very cool! Later we stopped for a picnic lunch along the way and walked to some waterfalls.

Most recently, on Tuesday, June 27 we took another road trip into Canada via Canaan, Vermont across the Connecticut River border between the two states. We drove on some picturesque back roads through the Province of Quebec to the city of Sherbrooke. I was on a mission to try Poutine. Poutine is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding its invention. For many years, it was used by some to mock Quebec society. Poutine later became celebrated as a symbol of Québécois culture and the province of Quebec. It has long been associated with Quebec cuisine, and its rise in prominence has led to its growing popularity throughout the rest of Canada.

Poutine was consumed in small "greasy spoon" diners (commonly known in Quebec as cantines or casse-croûtes), pubs, at roadside chip wagons (commonly known as cabanes à patates, literally "potato shacks"), and in ice hockey arenas. For decades it remained a country snack food in Quebec's dairy region, due to the narrow freshness window of cheddar cheese curds. We stopped at Louis', a favorite of Sherbrooke locals, for this culinary adventure. I ordered a hot dog, a medium Poutine and a diet Coke.

Karen gave it a try, then pulled out the salad she had prepared before we left the campsite.

I, of course, consumed the entire meal of Poutine. I can only imagine how bad this particular dish is to my cholesterol level. Honestly, I don't get why it is so popular. Soggy, gravy covered french fries and squeaky cheese curds just didn't do it for me. I however can say I tried it, but it's not a do-over.

Today was a "get ready to travel again" day. We provisioned Diesel fuel, DEF and filled the empty trailer propane tank and made one last visit to the library to update incoming and outgoing emails and blog post. Tomorrow we travel to Christies Campground, a small family run camp ground located in the heart of Maine on Lake Sebasticook.