We're heading back south now.  Some miscellany from Rangeley and Quebec:

Using the internet in Rangeley

This store is really, really nice.  We picked up some backpacking stuff here, as well as postcards

The town of Lac Megantic seen from the hill above the city.  This hill has a tacky light-up cross on it.

We made it to Rangeley without adventure on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, we decided to go and try the other direction on the Appalachian Trail from Rangeley.  Instead of going with full packs, we decided to attempt the summit of Saddleback Mountain with day packs.  This also passed us by Piazza Rock, which we meant to see last time.  Unfortunately, we neglected to pack a flashlight, so we didn't get to explore the natural caves near the rock.  It's just as well: we spent almost all day just hiking.  The summit round-trip is 11.4 tough miles.  It was a good hike, with an unparallelled view from the top.  I think this is about our limit for endurance at our current level of experience.  It felt like an accomplishment.  Nearing the summit, we ran out of water, and there were no lakes or streams for at least a mile to refill (I brought iodine tablets for sterilizing water).  It was a good lesson for future backpacking, where we'll probably carry gallon jugs.

Piazza Rock

The trail, about a half mile from the summit

Pictures really can't do justice to the power of this vista

Taking a dip in one of the mountain lakes on the way back down

The next day, we left Rangeley heading west.  The day wouldn't be complete without the van breaking down, and it was happy to oblige.  The engine abruptly shut down after a couple hours of uneventful driving, and wouldn't start up again.  The good news is that it turns out I have four, not three, free AAA tows, so this one was also free.  I guess there's more good news: the fix was cheap and fairly quick.  The gas lines were old and dry-rotted and took this opportunity to rupture.  Some new hosing and an hour of the mechanic's time: $70.  Relatively speaking, we got off cheap.  For those of you keeping count, this is the fifth breakdown in less than two weeks.


That wasn't the end of it, either.  The engine started heating up on some long uphills.  Given, it was a very hot day, and they were very long hills.  I still think something isn't right.  We're not leaking coolant, so I think it might be a problem with the thermostat, which can "stick" after an engine overheats.  By the time we started getting hot (although I was careful to pull over long before the heat would damage the engine), it was after closing time for most mechanics.  I elected to just let it cool down and keep driving, turning on the heat to keep the coolant temperature down.

At that point, with the heat blazing on a 90 degree day, I was seriously contemplating the theory that our van has been possessed by some eldritch horror.  It may be the case that the van is inducing us to put the heat on so that when it eventually devours us, we'll be well-cooked first.

We decided that, although we wanted to enjoy ourselves on the drive back, it might be more prudent to try to get back to western Pennsylvania as quickly as possible.  We've decided to scrap our Mount Marcy hike.  Tonight and tomorrow night we're spending in Burlington.  We're hoping to make it to Ithaca, NY on Sunday, then push on to our final destination on Monday.

Anyway, the engine stayed pretty cool for the rest of the drive.  We were planning on bringing our camping stuff and catching a ferry to Burton Island for the night, but because of the time lost at the mechanic's and on waiting for the engine to cool down, we just missed the last ferry.  Burton Island is in Lake Champlain off  a small peninsula near St. Alban's, Vermont, less than an hour north of Burlington.  Although we couldn't make it to Burton Island, we found St. Alban's to be a really pleasant vacation town.  We swam in the shallow, unbelievably warm water at the municipal beach.  We ended up sleeping in a parking lot for a boat launch.  It was incredibly hot and humid, and neither of us slept that well.

The municipal beach in St. Alban's

The interior of the lovely stone recreation hall/changing rooms

We are now in Burlington, which seems like a very vibrant small city.  I like it a lot so far.  We are staying here with our friend Elysia's sister, Julia.  The coffee shop in which we spent the afternoon researching travel plans for Europe, Uncommon Grounds, had extremely good coffee.  I bought a pound of beautiful beans, using the last of my Canadian currency.  We ate at Zabby and Elf's Stone Soup Restaurant for dinner, and Julia took us to Radio Bean, a kind of wild gypsy/punk bar.  The workers all live in a tent compound behind the building, accessible through the bathrooms.  Or something.  I ate about a million too many fries.  We got to do laundry and shower.  It was a good day.

Looking over Lake Champlain from Burlington's waterfront

Tomorrow, I'm taking the van into a mechanic to check on the "Maintenance Required" light which recently blinked on.  Apparently, none of the other catastrophes which befell the van up to this point warranted "Maintenance."  I'm going to have them look at the thermostat and check the transmission fluid.  On a more fun note, we're also all going swimming at some amazing local swimming hole with lots of little natural rock pools.