Cross Country

2000 Winter Road Trip to Acadia

February 19, 2000 - February 26, 2000

7 days 1,104 miles 9 stops

Herb with Lazy Daze in Maine winter

We were still in that honeymoon stage of RVing where we (meaning us and the RV) wanted to be together at every possible moment. So when the February break from school came around, we decided to try our first winter expedition, despite the logistical challenges, of which we found there were many.

The first problem was finding a campground in the Northeast that was open in winter. I diligently pored through every page of [amazon 0762742690] marking the handful that were. Since even these campgrounds did not have running water this time of year, we would have to take very short showers to get by on what we could hold in the water tank (or hope that the campground had showers). This could be a problem with Andrew, who generally spent a good twenty minutes of singing in the shower.

Then there was preparing the motorhome for winter camping so that it would be warm and cozy, despite potentially subzero temperatures (for a full description on what Herb did, see our Tips section for RV Modifications/Winter Camping).

Then there was packing all that winter gear—downhill skis, cross country skis, snowboards, ice skates, tubes, etc, and what about all the wet clothing after coming in from playing in the snow. It was not like we were going to have access to a clothes dryer.

And just think how filthy the RV was going to get with all the salt and gravel on the roads. It would take days to clean it up. And what if we got stuck in the snow?

The logistical nightmare list went on and on. It began sounding like it would be easier to just stay home. Having said all that, we defied logic and set out of the driveway and headed north towards Acadia National Park in Maine. Were we right about the logistical problems? Absolutely. Do I regret taking this trip? Absolutely not! The best things in life don’t come easy. This trip was one of our best.

Itinerary

# Stop Date Miles Hours
1 L. L. Bean February 19, 2000 328 6.5
2 Acadia National Park February 20, 2000 147 3
3 Kancamagus Highway February 22, 2000 235 5
4 Tree Farm Campground February 22, 2000 111 3
5 Okemo Ski Area February 23, 2000 38 0.75
6 Weston Country Store February 24, 2000 21 0.5
7 Clark Art Institute February 24, 2000 57 1.5
8 Mt. Brodie Ski Area February 24, 2000 10 0.25
9 Home February 26, 2000 157 3