2. Adirondacks and the Thousand Islands
Day 3: Thursday, September 6
Another glorious day with good scenery, interesting places to visit, and beautiful weather.
Didn't get to bed last night until midnight -- Sprint PCS allowed me to connect to my ISP for downloading e-mail, but try as I might, couldn't reconnect to upload replies. Sprint PCS really is a major source of frustration!
Anyway, slept well until 6:30 AM. Since I had opened all the windows, cabin temperature matched the outside 50F. Turned on the heater and slept for another hour while the cabin warmed to a comfortable 72F. Was on the road by 9:00 AM and headed north on US 9 to Glens Falls, and then east on SR 32 and US 4 to Whitehall and the Vermont border. Then took Vermont SR 22A north - a rather attractive two lane highway without much traffic. Near Orwell, VT switched to SR 73 and SR 74 to get to the ferry that would take me across the southern end of Lake Champlain back to New York State and Fort Ticonderoga.
The fort is definitely worth a visit. Its museum contains a good collection of artifacts from the mid to late 18th century and provides an excellent historical perspective. Built on a point where the lake narrows to the width of a smallish river, it was built by the French in 1755 because travel south from Montreal would be on Lake Champlain, then a portage to Lake George near the fort, and then on to points south on the Hudson river.
The British won the fort during the French and Indian War, but then lost it to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys who came over from Vermont. The British recaptured it in 1777 but then abandoned it. It has been beautifully restored.
Next came a long drive on SR 9N, quite scenic in part with vistas of Lake Champlain to the right, and the foothills of the Adirondacks to the left. Passed through the little town of Essex with its impressive display of pre-Civil War buildings -- actually, the whole town is on the Register of National Historic Sites.
Continued on local roads and SR 22 to Keeseville and the Ausable Chasm, cut through the sandstone by the Ausable River.
Then took US 9, SR 9N, and SR 86 -- all quite scenic along the Ausable River -- to head for Lake Placid. Made a little detour on SR 431 to take the Veterans Memorial Highway to the top of Whiteface Mountain. A picturesque drive of about 5 miles took me from about 800' ASL to the mountain top parking area at about 4,500'. Rode the elevator to the mountain top (4,867') and enjoyed a spectacular view of the Adirondacks mountains and Lake Placid.
Went back down, picked up SR 86 again and headed west to Wilmington and the Wilmington Notch State Park. $12.75 got me a good site (no hook-ups) and the state park has coin-operated showers. I'll be trying them out tomorrow.
Drove 180 miles today and was on the road for 7 hours. Late afternoon temperature was 79F, but it got a bit cool after sunset.
Day 4: Friday, September 7
It stayed unseasonably warm during the night with the temperature remained just above 50F. Slept well for just about 8 hours and was on the road by 9:00 AM after a very enjoyable hot shower in the OK bathhouse.
Spent the morning driving through the Adirondacks -- moderately scenic roads to Lake Placid (tacky), Saranac Lake, Paul Simon, Tupper Lake. Then SR 3 all the way to Watertown. A pleasant drive, but all in all the vistas east and south of Lake Placid are probably more impressive.
The most enjoyable aspect of Watertown was that I could connect to Sprint PCS and my ISP to send and receive e-mail. Then on to Sackets Harbor and the historic battlefield site. Sackets Harbor is where the US Navy established a shipyard for building ships with which to fight the British in the 1812 war. Of course the Brits weren't particularly pleased about that and twice tried to overrun the fort and destroy the yard. They did not succeed. In one of the first battles, five British battleships were repelled by a single US ship and a group of farmers on shore who had but one cannon. A single Brit made it on shore -- he was promptly killed, loaded into the cannon, and shot back to the British fleet. He took down the mast of the British flag ship.
The Seaway Trail (SR 12E and SR12) took me through the western part of the Thousand Island area -- where Lake Ontario empties into the St. Lawrence River. Occasionally there were good vistas of Lake Ontario, but nothing really spectacular. I was told that the road on the Canadian side would have been a better choice.
Crossed over to Wellesley Island at the Thousand Islands International Bridge -- where I-81 connects with Canada. Wellesley Island is a huge state park with 429 campsites -- from full hook-up parking lot-type sites to dry camping in very private sites -- many directly on the water. Good views of the river:
Opted for a very private dry site off the river -- $15.75. Enjoyed the late afternoon walking along the shore and catching up on housekeeping chores. The weather continued to be great -- afternoon temps in the low eighties and clear blue skies. Grilled a cheeseburger for dinner and watched some TV after dark.
Was on the road for 6 hours and traveled 235 miles. Bought gasoline in Watertown for $1.469/gal. Averaged 16.9 miles per gallon on the last tank.
Day 5: Saturday, September 8
It stayed quite warm during the night, the temperature remained just above 70F. Slept well for over 8 hours and was awakened by a morning shower. But the sun was out within the hour and the weather was perfect when I left at 9:45 AM. Decided to backtrack to Cape Vincent -- which turned out to be a good idea since SR 12E westbound offers much better views that I experienced yesterday going eastbound. Cape Vincent is a fairly attractive little town, worthy of some driving around and exploring.
Took the rather unusual little ferry to Wolfe Island/Canada. The island is named for the British General who defeated the French. The island is mainly farmland and doesn't seem to have changed much in 200 years. Marysville is the only town on the island. From there a sizable (and free) ferry took me to Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Kingston is definitely worth a visit. The historic district reflects that the town once was the capital of Canada, and many old buildings remain -- and in beautiful condition.
Next came a very pleasant drive on CR 2 which occasionally is combine with the superslab 401. Made my way to Gananoque -- a lovely town founded by Loyalist to the British Crown during the American Revolution. Say what you will about the Royalists, but they sure knew how to build an attractive town.
Then 25 miles of really beautiful driving on the Thousand Islands Parkway.and more travel on highway 2 to Prescott. The Canadians have managed to make this a beautiful road. No tacky fast food places, no dilapidated buildings, no trailer courts and rusty pre-fabs, no roadside litter, no hand-painted "For Sale" signs -- a total absence of anything that would displease. Houses of fieldstone or brick construction look attractive and well-maintained. Villages are clean and tastefully decorated. A wonderful absence of billboards.
Crossed back into the US just east of Ogdensburg and followed the relatively boring and unattractive SR 37 to the SR 131 Massena bypass and the road to the Eisenhower lock. I first visited the lock in 1960, shortly after it was placed in operation. At that time much was made of the fact that the ports of the Great Lakes would now be accessible to ships coming in from the Atlantic. It was supposed to be a major transportation revolution. But I suspect that -- like so many government projects -- it didn't work out as planned. Only two ships were scheduled to go through the lock today, and the seaway is closed from late Fall to mid-Spring because it is frozen solid. A Panama Canal it ain't.
Continued on SR 37 to Ft. Covington and Westville Center (unremarkable villages) and SR 122 to Constable, Burke Center, and Chateaugay (wonder where that name came from) and to the beautiful little town of Rouses Point on the Vermont state line. A pleasant drive on SR 2 took me to Grande Isle and the Grande Isle State Park. $14 got me a reasonably private site close to the bathhouse. No hook-ups, but grille and picnic table. Coin-operated showers are excellent.
Had unusually warm weather -- the thermometer climbed into the high eighties. Drove 270 miles and was en route for 8 hours. Enjoyed a pleasant evening, sitting outside, grilling dinner, and watching the stars.
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