Sometimes I have ideas for posts and by the time I get to the computer they've slipped completely from my mind. It's absolutely maddening. Other times I'll be writing something and I feel like maybe I ought to not be so frank, or "vulgar" or out there I suppose.  Some days my mind is leaping around like a million tiny grasshoppers on caffeine are in there. Yet the second I touch the keyboard my mind is as blank. 

I suppose it's the need to feel like you are posting something relevant. Why? If no one reads it, does that make it less important? No, either way they're still just my thoughts. 

Dig the photo up above? I took it at the border of Quebec and Vermont, where the kindly border guard let  us use his washroom.  A bit cloudy and hazy, took it with my crummy blackberry camera.

Seriously I had no real idea we were even reaching the border, it was just out on a tiny two lane road in piddly squat no-place. So weird! Canaan, that is where we drove through. I would not suggest going that way- However, it was really beautiful, I've never seen  real mountains, nor have I driven through them before. All the ones near here are older mountains, and worn down, less impressive.  -Blue mountains, etc- 

I didn't love coming down the twisty dirt lane my GPS chose, in the pouring rain feeling like the van was going to have the brakes fail and shoot us over the side...but I digress. The view was stunning .

I have seen pictures of the mountains in Banff, etc and those are so ruggedly awesome. The mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire were so green.  I wish we'd had time on the way back home to stop in a few of the Vermont side of the road stops. There were so many scenic opportunity spots- but we had so far to go and we were not getting anywhere fast. Because I'd blown the power steering fluid cable, but didn't yet know it.

Travelling north through NH and VT we ended up suddenly coming upon the border without being aware we were close. Anyone who has crossed at Niagara Falls on a crap day will know why i say I didn't know the border was coming up. One minute I'm on the highway, then suddenly the gates were right there! At Niagara...well, I have been in traffic about a KM from the bridge entrance waiting to get over. I have waited 3 hours to cross going one direction before. Not a treat. More commonly the wait is between 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.  So pulling up and going immediately through a one lane the border was a total novelty to me. Word of warning, anyone going the back roads with kids- there are no places to go to the bathroom for literally hours in the backwoods, and not enough room to pull off the road in a van in most places either. Coming back up the more main highway there were several food and toilet options thank goodness!

Anyway again I'm off track and blabbity blabbing.  Coming back we ended up in Stanhope I think it was called. By this time my power steering was screaming so we got gas and fluid and returned to Canada. Where we were lucky enough to immediately come upon this!

http://stansteadstonecircle.org/

considering we went out of our way once on a road trip to see Foamhenge, coming across the stanstead circle at the 45th parallel was a stroke of absolutely weird happenstance!