Northeast Honda SUV Rally
The rally has come and gone, but we'll be back next year
The rally began at 10:00 with introductions for newbies and warm greetings for those of us who have met before. There were six vehicles present; each with at least a few passengers. From Massachusetts, we had CJ and Kelly in their first generation CR-V (blue). Rudy and Michele drove up from New York in an original 1997 CR-V (black). Matt and Melanie came down from Montreal in a highly customized Naples Gold rig. The silver 2002 CR-V belongs to Diana and Craig who hail from Connecticut. Ron brought his whole family from New York. His CR-V "Gadget" (black) is another highly customized rig. My wife and I also live in Massachusetts. We hauled our greyhounds, Swagger and Gabbie, in our silver '99.
Each rally starts out the same way. We all gather around, going from car to car, and talk about our modifications. This rally was no exception. Take a look at the galleries for each of attendees and you'll find almost every accessory on the market.
Caution: There are many photos. Load times may be significant.
CRIANA
CJ
Rudy
Varmint
Matt
Goonga Ron
The sky was overcast, but the GoongalaGoonga Gods were kind enough to hold back the rain. Not wanting to anger them with a display of arrogance, we decided that it would be best to hold the Olympic Games while the sky was still clear.
Varmints calls everyone together
The opening ceremony
Spectators perked up their ears
Take a peek at the Olympics link for more information on the games.
After the games, we took a tram to the summit of Cannon Mountain. At the lowest point, the cable cars ride about 10 ft. off the ground. At the highest, they pass 100 ft. above the mountain slope. While they may look small, each car will hold as many as 80 passengers. The tram ride takes about eight minutes to climb to the 4,200 ft. summit.
From the summit, we were able to see several of the surrounding states and a few peaks in Canada. We ate lunch in the cafeteria at the top and warmed ourselves over hot food. Without the sun to heat things up, it was cold at the top. There are hiking trails from the summit back to the base of the mountain. A few of us walked these trails with cameras in hand, but no one used them as transportation back to the parking lot. Go figure.
Mustard (the yellow tram)
Ketchup (the red tram)
The tram station from the tram
Looking out from the tram station
The summit trail
The lunch bunch staying warm
With our bellies full and half the afternoon spent, we gathered once more in the field where we started. Everyone received an Edmunds T-shirt for coming and at least one item from our list of door prizes. Our Olympic medallists earned their choice of several awards.
We had dinner plans at the Common Man restaurant and the group wanted to hit some dirt trails. So we packed up our things and hit the road. I led the six vehicle caravan through Lincoln and N. Woodstock to the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.
When we arrived, I explained that the areas around the trails were to be respected as the forest is a research site. While most trails could be passed easily with a vehicle as meek as a Civic, Metro, or Kia, we still found a few steep climbs and tight spaces to play in.
