New York - Day 28 - Lake Placid

Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA
Monday, 28 May 2018

today's route

The drive from one campground to another was just a little more than an hour, so I decided to take a detour down to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake first.  The turnoff to the top of Whiteface Mountain was on the way to the campground, but the peak is at 4,865' and I wasn't convinced I could get up even part of that so passed it by.  The mountain itself was pretty hard to miss, though.  It seemed wooded all the way to the top, thought that may have just been my point of view.  This photo isn't mine, unfortunately, because the mountain was too close for me to get any kind of angle on it.

Whiteface Mountain

Lake Placid (the town) was in full-on tourist mode.  Of course, because it's Memorial Day there may have been quite a few more visitors than usual, but they packed the place.  I was thinking about shopping for a t-shirt and walking the dogs but couldn't find anywhere at all to park.  Adding to all that was some kind of situation that required what were probably all the emergency vehicles in the entire area with a main section of streets being shut off.  I had to figure out a detour and ended up just following some of the locals and hoping they'd go somewhere I wanted to go.  As a result, I've now seen the high school from the back and several neighborhoods.  Seems to be a nice town.

We drove on to Saranac Lake, the complete opposite of Lake Placid.  Saranac Lake (the town) is a very small, undeveloped town sitting at the base of Lower Saranac Lake (the lake), not to be confused with Upper Saranac Lake (somewhat larger).  Very quiet town, apparently, even on Memorial Day.

It was my understanding that Olympic events and housing happened here as well as at Lake Placid, but if that's true, you'd never know it now.  Lake Placid has a big sign saying they hosted the Olympics both in 1932 and in 1980.  The "miracle on ice" hockey game with the US beating the USSR happened at the 1980 games.  Lake Placid also has a huge building with Olympic symbols outside that I think is an Olympic museum, though I couldn't stop to check because of the aforesaid traffic problem.

We drove on back to the campground, and I'll say right now that this is hands down the nicest KOA I've been to.  It's absolutely enormous but, thank goodness, we got there on what was probably the slowest day of the year: everybody had already left because the 3-day weekend was ending.  As a result, it was very quiet and very few dogs to match the very few people.  Plus the place is laid out well and there are several nature trails for the dogs.

There were also massive numbers of chipmunks, driving Dexter crazy.  There's also a resident Downy Woodpecker.  Nice place.

New York - Days 6 & 7

Lakeside Beach State Park, near Rochester
Monday, 7 May 2018

Sunday's route

Sunday, I drove from the west side of Seneca Lake, past the other, smaller Finger Lakes to Letchworth State Park.  More on that park later.

Geneva City Park at the north end of Seneca Lake

numerous farms in this photo

Too bad the morning was mostly overcast because this area is really pretty.  All along the way was farmland, as in this photo below, and many of the houses I passed had huge weeping willows in the yard, like this one (above) at the Geneva park.

Upper and Middle Falls

Letchworth State Park is known for the gorge running through it, carved centuries ago by the Genesee River.  The 550' gorge is known is the Grand Canyon of the East; certainly not as jaw-dropping as the real one but stunning nonetheless.  And the waterfalls are beautiful.  The Upper Falls are 70' high and 300' wide, though they don't look so impressive in this photo - the Upper Falls are the ones under the bridge in the distance.  The Middle Falls are 107' high and 285' wide.  You can see how that much water could carve a canyon.

In the park I saw several black squirrels and was lucky enough to find one that would sit still long enough for me to take a picture to prove he really is black.

Apparently, Heaven on earth for squirrels is here: there must be a million of them in this park, and Dexter was on the edge of his seat.  There are several "Wildlife Crossing" signs in the park and I promise at one of them I saw 2 squirrels crossing the road.

The whole way through the park I kept thinking it must have been built by the CCC and, sure enough, near the falls is a statue and plaques commemorating the work they did: 3000 of them staying in 4 camps from 1933 to 1941.

Monday's route

I had a route all planned out but got short-circuited when I learned the south entrance to the park was closed - probably till Memorial Day, like everything else I've wanted to see.  So I had to go out a different entrance and got turned around, making a substantial sidetrip into the New York countryside.  At least I can add Bliss to the places I've been, and not everybody can say that.

In one town I saw a store named "Junk and Disorderly."

Out in what seemed to me like the middle of nowhere - but was actually near the village of Darien Center - was a giant amusement park named Darien Lake Theme Park.  Giant, with a roller coaster that must have let the riders see two counties away.

Elba, NY, proclaims itself the Onion Capital of the World.  (They may want to have a little discussion with Walla Walla, WA, or Vidalia, GA.)

I guess in every road trip there comes a time when you come close to a fatal traffic accident, and today was mine (I hope it's the only one).  I was on a 2 lane road with no shoulder, coming up a hill, and saw a semi stopped at the top of the hill on the other side of the road.  Just as I got to the crest of the hill I saw another semi coming the other way, and he had pulled into my lane to go around the parked semi.  I had almost nowhere to go and he was going pretty fast, and I'm still not sure how I was able to pull over enough to avoid him.  What I am sure of was that it was only by inches, because I saw him right there.  I'm guessing he was as spooked by it as I was.  A little farther down the road I pulled over at someone's mailbox to regroup.  I wasn't really scared because it had happened too fast and was already over, but I may have been in shock, or in denial, or stunned, or something else numb.

For some reason I can't put my finger on, I wanted to go to Batavia, which is why there's another jog in the route I took.  It seems a nice enough town but has a very expensive grocery store that I stumbled on.  Why do I keep finding weird grocery stores?  Everything I bought cost a lot more money than I've seen it anywhere else.  Oh well.  I have supplies.

It was in Batavia that I encountered my first instance of road rage.  I'd pulled out of the grocery store parking lot into the center turn lane and sat there waiting till I could pull into traffic.  I heard somebody lean on their horn and they gave me the finger very decidedly, then pulled in ahead of me at a turn lane, at which point I could see it was a woman (I normally think of men in this context, apparently a sexist thought).  There were 2 odd things about that: one is that I hadn't done anything at all that should have been a problem for that driver, and the other is that the license plate frame read "Massage Therapist."  If she is one, I'm glad I'm not going to her, and if she isn't, I hope she was hot-footing it over to a session.  But you know, I've come a long distance to have this be my first time.  Not bad.

I'm scheduled to spend a couple of nights at this state park and consider myself luckier than I expected because my campsite is right on Lake Ontario, which has gorgeous sunsets.

Lake Ontario makes a nice background

the sunset out my bedroom windows

New York - Day 5 - Ithaca

Sampson State Park

Saturday, 5 May 2018

Taughannock Falls

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Also it’s Kentucky Derby Day!  (What a culture clash.)

This state park doesn’t owe its existence to the CCC but instead to WWII.  The second largest naval training station in the US was established here, it was used as an Air Force base during the Korean War, and then was promoted to a state park.  The original infrastructure is either being repurposed or going back to nature.

I’m guessing the entrance road was the original because it’s so bumpy (think bump bump bumpety, look at Frosty go) I have to slow down to 10 mph to keep everybody from being jolted out of their beds.

Spring has come to the Finger Lakes region – the trees are showing spring green, the fruit trees and redbuds are blooming, tulips are wide open in people’s yards, japonica is blooming – everywhere is beautiful.

Except for the flies.  I’m guessing these are the black flies I heard about and they are a NUISANCE.  Unless there’s a breeze to keep them away, they swarm and pester and generally make being outdoors not so pleasant.  Let’s hear it for the breezes!

I turned off the state road (like the farm to market roads in Texas) to visit Taughannock Falls.   At 215’ it is the tallest single drop waterfall in the northeast US.  It’s hard to get a photo that conveys the size.  I took the one with the little family at the viewing station to try to give some perspective, but I’m not sure that worked.  The Falls flows down its gorge into Cayuga Lake.  While we were there I took the dogs for a walk in the woods down a trail the parks people had laid out.  Very pleasant until we ran out of breeze and the flies drove me back to the RV.  The dogs didn’t seem to mind so much, but I did and I was in charge.

I wanted to see Cornell University because I’ve known their school song since I was a kid.  I don’t remember when I learned those words, but I can still sing almost all of it.  It starts, “Far above Cayuga’s waters . .  stands our noble Alma Mater” and in fact, it is.  It sits on a pretty tall hill at the end of Cayuga Lake and is a very pretty setting.  The directions I’d gotten off Google told me to turn at Stewart Street, and when I did I found myself on a steep narrow brick-paved street that caught me off-balance in trying to negotiate the school traffic situation.  They allow absolutely no parking as far as I can tell, unless you’ve got a permit, which I didn’t.  I really wanted to take a picture from up there but could never find a place to stop.

At about that same time Jasper started yelling at me, which I’ve learned means he wants to use the box.  I kept telling him I was trying to find a place to stop, like that would make a difference to him.  I kept driving and kept not finding anyplace even to stop, and then found myself suddenly in another town – Forest Home – that I think was a little place jammed up against the school and Ithaca.

Without warning I found I’d be crossing a one-lane bridge and, after successfully negotiating that hazard I miraculously found myself at the Cornell Botanical Gardens – with a parking lot – because they wanted people to come visit them.  So we did.  I had to back and forth a bit to fit into a parking spot, but Jasper made it out of his crate just in time.

The botanical gardens had a wildflower garden and clearly contemplated having doggie visitors, so I took the dogs on a little walk.  The garden runs along Falls Creek, which that 1-lane bridge spanned, and which had a pair of Common Mergansers and a Canada goose.  I’m guessing there was another goose somewhere nearby sitting on a nest but didn’t see it.

Falls Creek 1-lane bridge

The garden was lovely, even at this early time of year.  After we walked a bit, we found ourselves at a gate in a 7’ tall fence.  A sign said they’d tried every non-lethal method they could think of to keep the deer from stripping their garden bare up to the 4’ they could reach and nothing worked until they installed the fence.  Now – like magic – they’ve got a wildflower garden.  The sign invited us to go in, but I decided the dogs might be as destructive as the deer and decided not to.

Some nice women in the parking lot told me how to get back down the hill to downtown and, on the way, I learned that Cornell was the first in the US to establish a school of veterinary medicine.  They now have a companion animal hospital and an equine hospital.

Just past there I stumbled on the Cornell Orchards and a store they operate, advertising apple products and maple syrup.  So of course I stopped and bought some syrup made there at Cornell and some pancake mix from the New Hope company.  That’s tomorrow’s breakfast.

I’d forgotten when I was in town that when I first came through a couple of days ago, I saw the Moosewood Restaurant.  I recognized the logo right away, since I used to have their cookbook, and thought maybe I’d come back, but today I was almost out of town before I remembered and decided not to go back and fight traffic.  You wouldn’t think traffic would be bad on a non-event Saturday.

I stopped at Interlaken on the way back to take a picture of this church, that I’d noticed on the way out.  I just thought it was really pretty – too bad there was no angle that didn’t involve even more power lines than in this shot.  

And the front yard I stopped at to take the photo had some artwork of its own.  I spotted the T. rex, the eagle and the tortoise, I’m not sure if there was more there.  Someone’s very creative.

I’m fixing tacos tonight in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

New York - Day 3 - Seneca Falls

Cayuga Lake State Park
Thursday, 3 May 2018

On our morning walk, we saw a flock of 9 geese, that I'm pretty sure were snow geese, though I had to look in the bird book to be sure they were here (since I've only seen them in Washington before) and a Great Blue Heron and a chipmunk.  I've seen the geese and the chipmunk several times since then today - they're hanging around like we are.

today's route

I went in to Seneca Falls to the Women's Rights National Historical Park, run by the National Park Service.  The women's rights movement originated here in the 1840s.  I had no idea the women's rights movement was as closely aligned with the anti-slavery movement as it was:

In 1840 the World Anti-Slavery Convention met in London, where the male delegates decided not to seat the female delegates.  Two of the rejected delegates - Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott - met for the first time and had plenty of time to talk.  Ms. Mott was a Quaker abolitionist, and she called on others to meet with Ms. Stanton; together they organized the First Women's Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls in 1848.  (You know, this is what happens when men try to put women in their proper place.)  Seventy years later, women had the right to vote.  Some of the few men to support the women were involved in abolitionist work.

The team that did much of the work to achieve equality for women was Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were introduced to each other on a street corner by Amelia Bloomer in 1851.

This Seneca Falls statue commemorates that meeting 

At that museum I learned about another distinction for Seneca Falls.  Take a look at this bridge.

George Bailey meets Clarence here

Picture the bridge covered in snow with George Bailey talking to Clarence.  Okay, "It's a Wonderful Life" was filmed here, with Seneca Falls substituting for Bedford Falls, as you can see on the street signs leading to the bridge.  There's also a It's a Wonderful Life Museum here too.

Afterwards I drove out to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, which is only a few miles out of town.

Many years ago this area was hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat.  Then the marsh was drained for farmland.  The National Fish and Wildlife people have acquired the land and are gradually restoring the habitat.  You probably can't see it because of my lack of photographic skill but there are birds all over the place in this photo.  Red-winged blackbirds in the grasses and many different duckies out on the water.  And the F&W signs say lots of little mammals (think mice) live in the grasses, and they're hunted by red foxes and other such critters.  It's a huge area that covers miles and is really nice to see.

On my way back to the campground I stopped at a grocery store - another really odd one.  This one was, as far as I could tell, run by Amish people, with a strong emphasis on products that were naturally produced and signs posted all over the store reminding their customers that they'll be "Closed on May 10, Ascension Day, In Observance of our Savior's Ascension into Heaven," they say.  I can honestly say I've never seen a sign quite like that in a grocery store - even the ones that close for Christmas.   I feel like I keep running into odd grocery stores - and all I wanted were some lettuce and mustard (which they had) and mandarin oranges (which they didn't).

New York - Day 2 - Seneca Falls

Cayuga Lake State Park
Wednesday, 2 May 2018

On our early morning walk at the KOA, Dexter went into his frantically-tracking-the-scent mode.  I kept telling him it was a raccoon or something but he ignored me.  We came to the top of a rise and I could just see over the top to the meadow and saw 3 deer grazing peacefully.  The deer hadn't seen us and the dogs hadn't seen them, so I quickly took the dogs back down the hill.  But it was neat for me to see them, even if I was the only one to enjoy it.

As we were driving away toward the highway, we saw a marmot cross the road, looking like a very overgrown squirrel (which it is).  Dexter again went on high alert.  Later, farther down the road, I watched a wild turkey poke his head up in the roadside ditch, climb the rise and trot across the road.  It's lucky I'd seen him from the beginning because I'd never have been able to avoid him otherwise.  I'd have thought a wild turkey would be smarter than a domestic turkey, but apparently it doesn't include street smarts.

One of the reasons I wanted to take this trip was to see what could be found by getting off the main highway, and today I found out.  I went down I-88 from exit 11 to exit 8 (more than 3 miles) and got off at Bainbridge.  There I saw a sign saying "Welcome to Bainbridge, Home of Elmer's Glue."  Who knew?

If you should ever find yourself in the village of Whitney Point, NY, be sure to stop at The Scoop, where I had the best chocolate malt I've ever had in my life.  It's right across the street/state highway from the town's school.  Apparently it's got only one school building and all the grades use it.  Called Whitney Point Central School.  It's the class C field hockey state champions for the last 4 years!

In both PA and NY I've noticed that several towns have signs such as, for example, "Lisle Free Library."  I'm guessing these date from the time when people had to pay for a subscription to get books from a library.  Then thanks to Mr. Carnegie, we started enjoying free libraries, open to all.

I spent several hours this afternoon driving along Cayuga Lake, almost 40 miles long.  I had reservations at this state park at the north end of the lake and chose a route that hugged the shore much of the way.

Cayuga Lake from the state park

New York state highways are much like PA's, except the road surface is much smoother overall.  It seems to take a long time to get from one place to another, but that's not really a problem because the scenery is very pleasant; it's just something to account for.

today's route

Pennsylvania - Day 7 - Museum of Indian Culture

Allentown KOA, PA
Saturday, 7 April 2018

This morning when I was out with the dogs, we heard what sounded like a wildcat warning of an imminent attack.  Both dogs alerted and wanted to go check it out.  That scared me almost as much as the sound, and I made them retreat the way we'd come.  In the pitch dark, the sound was extra spooky.

It turns out that there are bobcats throughout Pennsylvania, and they're seen as helpful in keeping the small mammal populations down.  I've seen plenty of rabbits - I even saw one in the parking lot at the last Walmart, heading towards a Wendy's - it was closed but maybe the rabbit knew where they threw out their lettuce.  Anyway, it might actually have been a bobcat we heard and I'm glad we didn't have any closer contact.

The weather reports keep saying the temps are 10° to 15° below normal.  But I have my new shoes now, so I'm sure this is going to stop soon.

continuing winter at French Creek State Park

Just before we left this morning, I walked the dogs around the campground and we came across a couple of little kids playing with radio controlled cars.  The dogs were absolutely fascinated.  It was pretty funny to watch them watching the cars apparently zipping around on their own.

A short way down the road, we passed a sign indicating Daniel Boone's Homestead and I decided we had plenty of time for a visit.  He was born there in 1738, and the family lived there until 1750.  Actually, the cabin he was born in was torn down after the family moved away but a stone house they built before they moved is still there.

The brown stone house is the one his family built.  Nearby, the state had a little museum and did different kinds of tours.  There was a sawmill and some other buildings that PA had preserved.  It was interesting.

Only about 5 miles out of our way to the new campground is a place called Museum of Indian Culture.  I'd heard about it in one of the children's books I read about PA and decided to take a look.  It was little but a very good museum.  They had pottery that was 4000 years old.  They had baskets and intricate beadwork and porcupine quill decorations on various items.  They had a birchbark cradle with beautiful decoration.  They had a uniform from one of the men on Iwo Jima, and one that belonged to a WAC and an exhibit on the Code Talkers.  They had many flints and stone implements.  Just all kinds of things.  I'd expected it to focus on the Natives of Pennsylvania but, instead, they tried to present information on all American Indians.  Of course what they had the most of was local stuff, but they had things from all over.  I can absolutely recommend this stop.

The campground I left had acquired quite a few campers for Friday night - a surprising number of whom were in tents.  I mean, it's been really cold at night.  This new campground, though, isn't at all overloaded, which is just as well because they're having to shut off some of their water faucets due to nighttime freezes.

Tomorrow I'll see what I can find in Allentown and Bethlehem.  At least, I will if the roads don't ice - there were some serious grades and winding roads getting in here, which means they'll still be there when we're ready to get out again.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Colt Creek State Park

Thursday, 8 March 2018

Colt Creek State Park, FL

This morning I discovered I have a tick attached to my hip.  Great.  I probably got it when I was wearing shorts on one of my walks with the dogs down the nature trails at Rocky Bayou.  It means I need to go over every inch of my critters, and both dogs are almost entirely black.  And without wi-fi, I have no idea of how to get rid of the one tick I found.

The only other time I’ve encountered this problem, I was about 15 and my dad had decreed our family was going camping.  For the first time.  In Arkansas, with a rented canvas tent that was probably Army surplus.  That trip was memorable for so many reasons, not the least of which is that several of us came back with ticks.   After leaving Arkansas, we went to Tulsa to visit family.  My Aunt Edna helped my Momma deal with the tick on my head by holding a lighted match to the tick’s rear end to make it pull its head out.  If I haven’t figured out the tick solution in the next couple of days, never fear.  I’m going to be spending the weekend with Aunt Edna’s daughter, my cousin Karen.  Karen’s now lived in Florida for about ¾ of her life and raised 2 boys so almost certainly knows how to deal with ticks.  Not that that makes the greatest way to start a visit – Hi, how are you, I have a tick to get rid of.

The sky was completely clear last night and I was glad to see so many stars this morning.  It’s reassuring, somehow, to know the stars I looked at as a kid are still up there.  There was almost no light pollution to block them out, except for the moon which was incredibly bright, even though it was only at half phase.

I located a ranger who knew about tick removal.  Lighted match not needed, fortunately.  Tick now removed.  Thank goodness.  I was feeling unclean with a parasite attached.  Of course, a major tick search is still to come on all 5 of us.

The ranger also told me what I thought was a crane I’d seen was probably a crane.  She said Sandhill cranes seem to be moving into the area because, instead of the none they used to see, now it’s common for them to see pairs here and there.  Pretty neat. 

Colt Creek State Park campground

This campground looked odd after all the wooded areas I've been staying in.  Here there are tall pines and low scrubby palms.  I asked the helpful ranger who said they're Saw Palmettos, that they're like ground cover and one plant can cover hundreds of feet and be 100 years old.

Blue Springs State Park next.

Martin Dies Jr. State Park

Friday, 2 March 2018

Martin Dies, Jr. State Park, Jasper TX

Silly me – I chose a site  here next to some standing water, thinking it wouldn’t matter because it’s not mosquito season yet.  Wrong.  The multiple mosquitoes lined up on my screen door are telling me I’m way off base.  Good thing David mended the door for me, because it’d be stuffy in the cabin without the open door.

Lots and lots of pine trees out this way, and especially in this park.  There are 2 large ones a couple feet away from the RV.  The rest of Texas doesn’t have many pines, but east Texas does and it’s really nice to be among them.

Today is Texas Independence Day!  One year, Momma and I drove over to Washington-on-the-Brazos to enjoy their elaborate celebration there. Reenactments and handcrafts displays and the Texas history museum they have there.  We enjoyed it.

Back at Brazos Bend State Park (last night), they’ve got lots of signs warning people about alligators.  The call the park “the home of the American alligator.” I’m very glad we didn’t see any, because Dexter would undoubtedly be a vet patient now.

Our campsite at Brazos Bend - lots of Spanish moss

But there really were a lot of deer.  I mentioned it to the ranger when I checked out, and she said they didn’t allow a deer hunt this year because so many deer had died during Hurricane Harvey.  But, she said, the population was clearly rebounding anyway and yes, there were lots of them.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I heard a very loud owl.  It was an odd sort of call but recognizably an owl.  This morning both my neighbors mentioned it, one saying it must have been in the tree right behind my RV – which would explain why it sounded so loud.  He said it was a Barred Owl and, reading the bird book’s description of the call, I think he’s right.  I don’t remember hearing the who-cooks-for-you but I definitely heard: “a drawn-out hoo-ah, sometimes preceded by an ascending agitated barking.”  It sounded weird in the middle of the night.

At that park, I also heard something that sounded like a monkey, although I’m pretty sure it was a bird.  I asked the ranger and she said she knew what I was talking about but didn’t know the name.  Since I was on my way out of the park, she told me to call and transfer me to the nature center, where they’d definitely know.  I have to remember to do that, because it was such a bizarre sound.

Did you know there’s a very small town named Soda?  Neither did I but I’ve been there.  It’s one of the many small towns on Hwy 109 between Livingston and Jasper.

I noticed when I was getting things set up tonight that the TV had moved during the drive.  It had never occurred to me that I need to tighten the arm it swings into the cabin on.  Yet another lesson.

I had a great visit today with Mrs. Blackwood and Patty and her husband Gary. Actually, I think I mostly talked nonstop, but occasionally I’d let them get in some information about the rest of the family.  It was really good to see them again.

I stopped on my way into Houston to buy gasoline this morning because the gauge registered nearly empty.  As a result, I’m in a position to state that it only takes about $80 to fill up the tank, given gas prices of $2.13.

Anna took this photo as I drove away from their house.  The caption is hers.

And the adventure begins!!

Tomorrow night, I’ll be staying at Lake Bruin State Park in Louisiana, near the Mississippi River.  They wouldn’t let me have a reservation because I’m only staying one night (it’s a weekend so they get picky), but the ranger said not to worry, they weren’t anything like full right now.

Sunday night, I have a reservation in Florida at the Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park.  I think it’ll be quite a drive from LA but for some reason Alabama state parks cost more.  Maybe I’ll plan to stay an extra night at the Florida park, just to get some rest.

The driving is turning out to be okay – the RV drives like a Ford pickup, which it sorta is.  But I’m not used to driving so much so regularly, although I’m rapidly getting used to it.