On Monday we spent the day at the Verona Beach SP campground near Verona Beach, NY. Had a site with a limited view of the lake. There was a paved multi-use trail we enjoyed twice during the day. Took Gopher swimming. A very nice park.
On Tuesday we headed towards Rome, NY and the Adirondack Mountains working our way towards Lake Champlain and Burlington. Made a Wal-Mart run in Rome, NY
Camped at the Little Sand Point Public Campground administered by the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). We got a site directly of Piseco Lake. What a wonderful view. Mostly Carol enjoyed the view & read her book. Gopher & I went walking and wading in the lake. The site is full of chipmunks. They know just how long the dogs tie out rope is and stay one foot away. Really aggravates Gopher.
It started to rain on Tuesday night late and continued through most of the day Wednesday. We stopped in Speculator, the closest thing to a town in these parts, and did a load of laundry. After that we went to the Lewey Lake DEC campground. Got the last waterfront site. What a view. Probably the best campsite to date. It even has a small sand beach. The rain finally stopped in the late afternoon & the sun came out. We enjoyed ourselves reading & watching the ducks, birds, squirrels & chipmunks. Gopher was sitting outside with Carol watching the squirrels & chipmunks. A squirrel made the mistake of coming too close. Regrettably Gopher got the squirrel. We'll be more vigilant in keeping her away from the wild critters.
We work up to a rainy day so decided to move on. We drove to the Village of Port Henry on the shores of Lake Champlain. Lots of history around here. The first blast furnace in America and the first commercial electrical generating station. The Village has a wonderful collection of homes from the mid-1800's. Stayed at the Village owned campground of Champ Beach and RV Park. Our campsite was just across from the Village beach affording us a nice view of the lake; at least between the rain showers. It was raining when we arrived and raining when we went to bed. The campground is interesting. We were the only transients; the rest of the RV's were seasonal. Mostly people who brought their boats for a summer of fishing. Had two unusual rules. First there was a $10 deposit required in case you left a mess at your site. We got out deposit back with no one checking our site. Why bother? The second was really annoying. If you wanted to dispose of your trash in the dumpster you had to get a key from the office and pay a fee of $2/bag of trash. Forget it. We took our trash with us and disposed of it at the rest area on the interstate. We won't go back there again.
On Friday morning we drove to the Ausable River Campsites campground near Keeseville,NY. The Ausable River runs right through the campground; our site has a perfect view of the river. Most of the campers are here to canoe or kayak the river. The sun's shining for about the first time in the last three days. Took Gopher for a swim. Sat in the sun & read our books. This is a nice campground. We would stop here again. We're staying here tonight & tomorrow. Today, Saturday, we went to a nearby farm market. The campground has a tractor that pulls a large, flat wagon used for hay rides for the kids. On Saturday it goes to the market. I was able to get Carol and her wheelchair on the hay wagon. We bought some local blueberries & tomatoes as well as some home made cookies.
We're very much enjoying our trip. Been gone for 26 days. Called Mom to say hello; she sounds just fine.
Tomorrow, Sunday, we take the Port Kent to Burlington ferry. Looking forward to Burlington. It's probably our overall favorite place to visit. We talked about ideas for next Spring/Summer. Maybe rent a house on the Shenandoah River for a few weeks then come to Burlington again. We'll see.
Saw a sign on the back of a camper today.
"Don't know just where we're going.
Not sure how to get there,
But we're on our way."
:-)
