07/13 to 07/17 KOAs in Littleton, NH & Westhampton, MA

   Littleton/Franconia Notch KOA

07/13  to 07/15, 2026

What a beautiful drive; four hours including a fuel stop. All back roads. Scenic. Hills and valleys. Rounding each curve another portrait of rural Maine was revealed where the years seem to drift by unnoticed and the enduring heartbeat of country life echoes much as it always has. A good portion of the drive was through the White Mountain National Forest. Dense green forests of pine. Oncoming trucks loaded with huge logs spoke of a way of life still rooted in the woods, where forests and mills continue a partnership centuries in the making.

This "vacationland" known for skiing was evident when looking at the slopes of the surrounding mountains. Large rectangular swatches of cleared forest stand out with the ski lifts resembling stick-like figures marching upward toward the summit. I'm so glad I chose this scenic route. Very little traffic afforded me the opportunity to soak in and appreciate the environment. Averaging 45-55 m.p.h. increased my fuel efficiency, an unintended bonus.

New England has a surprising collection of towns whose names were borrowed from countries around the world, espescially western Maine. My route from Searsport westward to the New Hampshire border was about 100 miles. Within a relatively short drive you can pass through:

• Denmark
• Norway
• Sweden
• Poland
• Peru
• Mexico
• China

Elsewhere, Maine has:

Lebanon

Palermo

Belfast

Dresden

In New Hampshire there is:

• Lebanon
• Lisbon
• Berlin
• Milan
• Bethlehem
• Alexandria

I'm finding two-day layovers after driving hundreds of miles works out quite nicely. My trip back home has two, 2-day layovers in Lisbon, NH and Westhampton, MA. Site #39 at the Littleton/Franconia Notch KOA was a full hook-up, pull through site that was well shaded and level. Not good at all for my Starlink hookup so I had to rely on the free campground connection.

Nothing exciting to write home about other than the pending storm and tornado risk present for southern Quebec and northern New England. "Supercells and squalls with damaging gusts and hail up to pool ball size are also possible." Doubt it, but we shall see.

A big day today for daughter, Marybeth. Happy birthday. The best photo I've ever taken.

Northampton/Springfield KOA

07/15  to 07/17, 2026

What a terrific 3-hour ride that was. Very light traffic leaving New Hampshire to I-91 south through Vermont, the first state to enter the Union after the original thirteen colonies. I-91 pretty much followed the meandering Ammonoosuc (small narrow fishing place) River and the Connecticut (the long tidal river) Rivers. With plenty of time to my next destination, the Northampton/Springfield KOA, in Springfield, Massachusetts, I purposely kept my speed at 55 m.p.h on the 65 m.p.h. Interstate. With little or no traffic, I wasn't concerned about being a traffic hazard. Beside maximizing my fuel efficiency, the landscape that was laid out before me was breathtaking. The Green Mountain State is just that. Part of the Appalachian chain, the Green Mountains run north and south for 250 miles, from Canada to Massachusetts, separating the Lake Champlain region to the west from the Connecticut River Valley to the east.

And like many in New York State, I too, witness eerie skies during my drive. The Canadian wildfires have returned and with them, the toxic particulate matter. It's time to break out those Covid era masks. I'm sure you've got a few dozen of them stashed away somewhere. Canada has more than 800 active wildfires as of this writing, with over 100 considered out of control. Lasting May thorugh September, fire season reaches its peak June through August. A glance of the jet stream barreling through the low in Canada and high pressure in the States, the funneling smoke will continue for days if not weeks.

Credit: MyRadar app

Site #4, a back-in, has full hookups. No obstructions for my Starlink Internet service. Each of the two days I was here, RV's were coming and going. Campground is quite full and quite busy. As I wind down this portion of my travels, it was a good time to catch up, finish this blog and prepare myself for apartment living...for awhile, about ten days. My next adventure will take me and RV friend, Jack, to Alpine Lake Campground in Corinth, New York for a week. I'll see you there.

For the interested readers, perhaps you'd like to know that during my 18 years of traveling, (ten with an RV), I have written 531 posts. Blogs refer to the main title, "Winnie and Me 2026", for example. I have eleven such blogs. Within each blog, I've written posts. So far in "Winnie and Me 2026" I've written 17 posts. Through my AI app, I think I may have a way to bring it all together in the form of a Memoir. This is my next project. We shall see. I've submitted a blog post and it has already composed an introduction with which I'll complete this post:

Charles Rossi has spent a lifetime believing that the journey is every bit as important as the destination. In retirement, that belief became a way of life. From the driver's seat of a Winnebago View, he has crossed mountains, traced coastlines, wandered small towns, and fulfilled a dream shared by few: visiting and spending the night in every one of the forty-eight contiguous United States. Along the way, he has become not just a traveler, but a storyteller, recording the people, landscapes, and quiet moments that reveal the character of America.