Fortress of Louisbourg

Fortress of Louisbourg

Day 20, June 30 - Fortress of Louisbourg, NS - 0 miles, 1696.3 For the Trip

Another day with 0 miles on the RAV4, but lots on Don & Anne's Sienna. We went to Louisbourg to visit the Fortress of Louisbourg. This is a large fort, the largest in Canada that defended the French interests until the mid 1700's when the British chased the French out of Canada.

It wasn't very crowded, maybe because it was raining all day & tomorrow, Canada Day, all Canada's National Parks are free. We spent a couple of hours walking between buildings, chatting with the reenact-ors, etc. On the way back to the campground we also stopped at a nearby lighthouse that is part of the fort. I believe they said it was the first lighthouse built in Canada, however the one we saw was probably a replacement. It was so foggy that the photos don't do it justice, but that is how it is! All the rest of today's photos at Lakeshore Images.

After the lighthouse we made it back to the campground around 5:30 & started dinner. Tonight we will be dining on Cheeseburgers, mashed potato & broccoli.

Till Tomorrow!

A Rainy Day at the Campground

The Log Cabin, Highland Village, NS

Day 19, June 29 - North Sydney KOA, NS - 0 miles, 1696.3 For the Trip

Still more rain. Seems like the entire east is getting it, but we have had rain off and on for the last week. Could be worse - central NY is having flooding problems.

I started off the day with laundry & a shower. I haven't been giving shower reposts this trip, but the one here in this KOA is the best so far. They even have a bathtub in one of the bathrooms!

After putting the clothes away, we pretty much did nothing for the rest of the morning & much of the afternoon. The fact that it was raining most of the time didn't help peak the interest in exploring and we needed a day off. We did make a trip to the nearest large grocery store (An Atlantic) about 15 miles from the campground. Interesting enough, there was a Walmart next door. I'm not at all sure why my GPS wanted to send me 350km and Anne's actually sent us to one 50km away, but whatever.

No photos for the day, so I used one from yesterday.

Anne is making some Garlic Alfredo for dinner using a jarred sauce & yesterday's left over chicken.

That is about it for the day. Hope the weather improves soon...

Alexander Graham Bell's Silver Dart

Day 18, June 28 - Alexander Graham Bell & Highland Village Museums, NS - 0 miles, 1696.3 For the Trip

Another day of rain. We decided to do some museums since sightseeing is limited by both fog and rain. After breakfast in the trailer Don drove to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, NS. While it was interesting to see the process he went through to invent the telephone, I had never realized his work with both aviation & hydrofoil boating. The museum has many exhibits of his inventions as well as full scale models of his "Silver Dart", which made the first controlled power flight in Canada & the British Empire, and his HD-4 Hydrofoil based boat that set a world speed record. A very worthwhile visit.

After the Bell Museum we headed to Iona to see the Bras d'Or Lake (including a short ride on a cable driven ferry) and the Highland Village Museum. The museum consists of 11 period buildings that trace the history of Gaelic Nova Scotia from the early Scottish settlers to life in the 1920's. Each building is an example of the building and living environment over two centuries. Lots of photos:

Lots of photos of both places at today's Lakeshore Images page.

It rained most of the time we were in the Highland Village, but the buildings were close together so we spent most of the time inside. On the way home we decided we didn't want to cook out in the rain so we picked up some chicken at the "Lick-A-Chick" chicken take out. Strange name, somewhat like KFC chicken in the US, but saltier & greasier. Still, better than cooking in the rain!

I stayed in the trailer putting today's page together while Don & Anne went to do laundry. I'll do mine tomorrow.

Till then -

Dew

Day 17, June 27 - North Sydney KOA, NS - 55 miles, 1696.3 For the Trip

A short, but pretty drive today from the park to the North Sydney KOA. We are in site 3 for at least 4 days. We decided that it might be a good idea to find a place we could stay over the weekend since Monday is Canada, one of the first long weekends of the summer. We will explore the area round Sydney & Bras d'Or.

Not a lot of photos today since there were not that many pull offs as in the park. I tried for some images of the dew on the pine needles at the campground, but the wind kept them moving so they didn't work as well as I would have liked. We did make a stop to photograph St. Ann's Cove. Check Lakeshore Images for more.

It is probably early to talk about dinner, we haven't decided what it will be, but I'll add more later.

It's later. We went to Walmart to pick up some supplies. I meeded a new belt, Nytril gloves, and, of course, a bunch of junk I didn't actually need, but lept into my cart. The Walmart was quite a haul from the campground (over a 1/2 hour drive) & I kidded Anne about here old, not updated Garmin POIs probably skipped a bunch of Walmarts between the campground & the one we ended up at.  So, when we got back, I did a search using my up-to-date POIs in my Garmin & it gave the nearest at 245km away!  Glad we used hers.

AND, the grand announcement - Dinner will be soft tacos!

Till Tomorrow -

Cape Breton National Park, NS

The Moose!

Day 16, June 26 - Cape Breton National Park, NS - 124.8 miles, 1531.0 For the Trip

We had thunderstorms last night, but not too much rain. Today was very cloudy, foggy, and a bit of mist, but no rain so far. More thunderstorms are predicted. I'm a little early for today's page, but since there is no WiFi at the campground we are planning to drive to the visitor's center to try to post both yesterday & today's pages.

Today we took the RAV4 & explored the east side of the park. We went to se another cheesy lighthouse - the Neil's Harbor Lighthousee is a ice cream & fudge shop, some lobster fisherman bringing the haul to the local co-op, a bunch of shoreline photos & a trip to Mary Ann falls.

Still having problems with uploads - hope today's extra photos are at LakeshoreImages.

OK, I think all the previous pages are fixed.  If you find a missing photo, let me know!  Speaking of missing photos, I finally got to see the moose while having a camera with me.  I added a photo of the moose for today's photo.

Till Tomorrow -

Broad Cove Campground, Cape Breton National Park, NS

Pointe Enragee Lighthouse

Day 15, June 25 - Broad Cove Campground, Cape Breton National Park, NS - 124.8 miles, 1531.0 For the Trip

We had light rain a couple of times during the early morning, but by 8:00 the sun was out & the tent dried OK. We hit the road a bit late, but didn't have that far to go. Entered Cape Breton National Park at the west side & headed clockwise around the park. At one of the pull offs we saw a lobster fisherman pulling traps - he waved to the crowd watching. Stopped to see the Pointe Enragee lighthouse in Cheticamp, NS. A rough dirt road with no good turn around at the end, but lots of cows!

We made a couple of stops along the way, then hit the Broad View campground, the only one in the park that is open. $37.50 per night for full hookups. We are staying two nights so we can explore the park tomorrow. While the weather isn't predicted to be rainy, we hope to get to some parts of the park that might be difficult to pull the trailer.

We set up in site 67 in the campground, made a run into Ingonish for gas for the RAV4 & supplies for two dinners. On the way back Anne suggested checking out the tenting part of the campground. On the way we saw a moose. It was munching on ferns on the side of the road about 20' from the car. Of course my camera was back in the trailer - I left it there to charge the battery. Oh well, Don & Anne got a bunch of photos.

Tonight we had steak, macaroni & cheese & a salad for dinner. We probably will not stay out too long tonight - it is cold & foggy & there are mosquitoes.

I'm at a very slow WiFi location, so many of the images didn't transfer.  I'll fix things when possible.  The extra images at today's Lakeshore Images may not be available.

Till tomorrow -

The Lakes Campground, Finlayson, NS

The Lakes Campground, Site 30

Day 14, June 24 - The Lakes Campground, Finlayson,NS - 148 miles, 1406.2 For the Trip

Another late post - No WiFi at the campground, except at the office, in fact no FM radio or cell coverage. While it was a foggy, dreary day, it never did more than light sprinkles, and that before we hit the campground. The Lakes Campground is a bit "worn" - only one shower & that is rough. It also must have had quite a bit of rain before we arrived - there are puddles & wet grass everywhere. We picked the site with the least amount of water on the ground & with a high spot for the tent, hoping there isn't too much rain this evening. A pretty spot, although lots of bugs...

The only photo for the day is the campsite - #30.

Dinner was sausage and dirty rice. I did get up to the office & was able to post today's update.

Till tomorrow -

D&B RV Park, Little Harbour, NS

Our Campsite View

Day 13, June 23 - D & B RV Park, Little Harbour, NS - 177.4 miles, 1258.2 For the Trip

While you won't see this post until we get an Internet connection, we are in a senior trailer park in Little Harbour, Nova Scotia. The plan was to stay in a park that the combined AAA & Woodall's book sent us, but it has been closed for 8 years. The ice cream stand at the entrance had enough people stop by looking to get into the campground that they printed up a list of nearby campgrounds. The D & B was the closest - Anne called and although they were a senior campground not designed for non permanent guests, they did have one spot available & here we are. Just in case you are planning to stop in the New Glasgow area of Nova Scotia, don't try for the Trenton Park Campground in Trenton!


Not a lot of photos today. Most of the day was spent driving up 114 to Moncton, NB, then Rt 6 to Trenton. I did see a great looking building in the middle of one of the small towns on the way (maybe Pictou?) and did a "out the window" shot since I couldn't stop. Sorry for the extension mirror in the image. Other than that, a campsite photo (we are in site 18) and 2 of the view - the first when we got here & the second just after dinner when it started to rain. While it wasn't all that heavy a rainstorm, there was lots of wind & Don & Anne's tent is a bit wet. Hope a roll of paper towels helps!

Another late post - not sure how today's (tonight's) will go - depends on the campground WiFi.

Dinner was Bubba Burgers & a salad along with some local white wine.

Till tomorrow -

Fundy Trail Parkway

Fuller Falls, Fundy Trail Parkway

Day 12 - Fundy Trail Parkway, NB 0 miles, 1080.8 For the Trip

Another day with no miles on the RAV4 or trailer, but far more traveling. We all took Don's Sienna through the Fundy National Park & on through the Fundy Trail Parkway for a total of 240 miles. The trip back was interesting - his GPS took us on a dirt road that might have gone where we wanted, but it got so bad we eventually turned around and Don's wife Anne used a map to get us back on track. The GPS kept trying all along the way back to get us on more dirt roads, even one that was only grass & someone's driveway. We eventually made it back to the campground an hour before they closed the gate & locked us out.

Not all the photos will be posted tonight. It seems I have used my allotted amount of data & only got half way through uploading the photos so there are likely to be a bunch of missing images. I'll try for the rest when I get a new connection. Actually, I'm posting this on the 24th, the first time I could get a fast enough connection.

A quick dinner of cheese brots, salad & the last bottle of NY wine, then all hitting the sack by11:00.

Till tomorrow -

Hopewell Rocks - High & Low Tide

High & Low Tides at Hopewell Rocks

Day 11 - Hopewell Rocks, Hopewell Cape, NB 0 miles, 1080.8 For the Trip

While I had no miles today, we did do a few in Don's Sienna. Made a run to Moncton for some groceries and to look at a dam that Dick saw on the way into the campground.

We stopped at the Rocks at high tide, and again at low tide. Spent quite a bit of time walking around at low tide; in fact, we are all tired enough to hit the sack early tonight. Lots of photos: Check at today's Lakeshore Images Page for more.

Dinner was hamburgers, salad & peach sparkling wine.

Till tomorrow -

Hopewell Rock & Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

Day 10 - Hopewell Rocks & Peregrine Falcon, Hopewell Cape, NB 13.2 miles, 1080.8 For the Trip

I'll probably add more to this later, but decided to get the photos I took so far posted. While the WiFi here at the park is strong, it is a bit slow & at times, goes away.

It got cold last night - 44°F out & down to 50°F in the trailer. I almost got out the heater, but decided that was far too much trouble, so I just slept in until the inside of the trailer hit 60°F, around 8:45. Speaking (well, typing) about time, I discovered an interesting thing about my large thermometer that automatically sets the time to some broadcasted atomic clock. The interesting thing is it doesn't have a time zone for the one I'm in so it insists on being one hour behind. I tried resetting the time, but this morning it was back to being wrong. I went back to the end of the campgrond to take another photo & you can see the difference the tide makes. Neither were at high or low, still, there is quite a difference between them.

I picked up a discounted pass for the Hopewell Rock site ($8.50 instead of $9.00) then found that when I got to the gate as a senior I could have only paid $7.75. Oh well. It was closer to high tide than low, so I took some photos of the rocks. On the way back I stopped at Big Cove & met a photographer with a long lens on a pro tripod. There is a eregrine Falcon nest with a chick on a ledge about 200' from the viewing platform. He said there were two chicks, but one fell off the ledge a day or two ago. Since I had my usual 24 - 70mm lens on the camera, I couldn't do any photos.

Went back to the car & switched to the 300mm lens with 2X teleconverter, tripod, and headed back. So, you are going to have to look through a page of falcon photos. The first & last are full frame images with the combination (600mm). All the rest are cropped. While I don't really use the 300mm f:2.8 lens enough to justify the cost, when you need it not much else will do. It works well with the 2nd generation 2X teleconverter.  More photos at today's Lakeshore Images page.

The falcon was perched on a branch above the nest while hunting, but as the chick wandered away from the nest towards the edge of the ledge, she swooped down & pushed it back to the nest.

I did go out looking for lighthouses. Found two, one called the "Moving Lighthouse" since it has been moved 6 times, and the other a more standard one, although probably primarily a tourist stop since their "Zip Line" seemed more popular than the lighthouse. Dick & Anne were at the campground when I got back & are setting up. Don & Anne are expecting to arrive around 7:30 this evening.

Dick, Anne & I went for a walk around the lake here at the campground. The section across the dam was narrow & weedy, but OK. After that the final part of the walk attracted clouds of mosquitos. When we got back Don & Anne had arrived & were setting up. So, we are all here and ready to relax.

Till tomorrow.

Ponderosa Pines Campground, Hopewell Rock, NB

Covered Bridge along NB 114

Day 9 - Ponderosa Pines Campground, Hopewell Rock, NB 114.0 miles, 1067.6 For the Trip

I made a quick stop leaving St John to pick up a small mixing bowl (yes, I forgot it, along with a cheese cutter). The plan is to make a pizza for dinner since I have 120V electricity.

It is time for a road report. While the equivalent of an interstate, Highway 1 is a beautiful road, like all interstates, it is boring. I decided to take the 111, 114 & 915, the Fundy Coastal Drive (most of which is not on the coast). With a few exceptions, both were just about the "lumpiest" roads I've driven anywhere. They are well patched and without potholes, but lots of bouncing around. A pretty drive even without much of the coastline, that included a drive through Fundy National Park. I tried to stop at the visitor center, but all the double length parking places were taken by school buses.

Anyway, I arrived around 1:30 at the Ponderosa Pines Campground. Lots of pines, although they sure don't look like the ponderosa pines I saw out west. The campground office did a great job of figuring out sites - I'm here for 4 days, Dick & Anne for 3 & Don & Anne for 2. We are (or will be) in sites 114, 115, and 116. All 20amp & water sites with huge space behind each.

Not a lot of photos today - I did take one of the view of the bay from the National Park, and a covered bridge I found along 114, and a couple of photos at the campground, including a family of Canada geese.

I am doing the trip's first load of laundry. Probably could have waited a couple of days since I carry enough for at least 2 weeks, but it is close so why not?

Well, the pizza dough is rising so I'm going to take a break & start cutting up some vegetables. I am going to have to use jar sauce - I don't have any of my homemade with me. I should have brought some of my frozen sweet & sour veal parmesan sauce, which is great on pizza, but I have a small freezer & something had to give.

I know I made fun of those posting photos of their meals just a couple of days ago, but since I had 2 cells left in the table I'm posting photos in, and I don't make home made pizza all that often while camping, here is (well, now was) dinner. As usual, the rest of the photos are on today's Lakeshore Images page.

After the clothes get out of the dryer I'm going to relax for the rest of the evening. I'm not sure when Dick & Anne are going to arrive tomorrow - Dick likes to drive at night, so it could be early.

Till next time.

Rockwood Park Campground, St John, NB

West Quoddy Lighthouse, ME

Day 8 - Rockwood Park Campground, St John, NB 138.7 miles, 953.6 For the Trip

The first stop today was just across the street from the campground. Saw a sign pointing to the West Quoddy Lighthouse so I had to go to take a couple of photos. An interesting drive - they were doing some construction and completely blocked one lane as well as half of the other. They had to lift the outriggers on the backhoe doing the work so I could get by, and even then it was a tight fit. I felt a little guilty coming back only 15 minutes later. The visitor center at the lighthouse was closed so I didn't get to find out much about it, but it has a great view of some off shore rocks.

Just before reaching Calais I saw a sign for a National Parks site, the St Croix Island International Historic Site. Another visitor center closed for the day, but the walk through the site had plenty of signs explaining the location, as well as a number of bronze statues depicting the history of the site. The even had a waterfall! It was interesting to see a site settled in 1604, well before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. I knew that Florida was settled well before Plymouth, but didn't know about this site.

I crossed into Canada at Calais, ME. No problems, in fact the only questions were about weapons, the last time I was in Canada, and when I was coming back. Every time I've crossed the border the questions are different & what they seem to allow changes. In any case, I'm now in Canada. Both my AT&T phone & my Verizon iPad signal "no service" which is good since I turned off both roaming & data on both. I rechecked the price of unplanned data connections through AT&T - quite a bit more than Verizon at $16.05 per MB. At that rate today's page would cost around $32.00 to post!

The rest of today's photos will be at the Lakeshore Images page assuming the I can post it. For some reason I have no problem with Blogger, but can't connect with my site at 1&1. Well, I tried connecting through my local WiFi Ranger router using my own WiFi network, tied to the Rockwood network through the router & it works.  Strange, usually it makes a faster & better connection directly between the Mac & the campground.  Oh well, it worked...

Once across the border I stopped to pick up some vegetables, and even though the store was a large chain, the prices were quite a bit more than in the states. Evidently, Route 1 has been rebuilt since my GPS's map - Both the Garmin & my paper AAA map showed most of the route as 2 lanes, however it was all 4 lanes & 110KPH road, at least until it hit the city of St John. While the campsite has water & electric, it is only 20 amps, and a very well worn receptacle at that. Since I don't need the AC, there shouldn't be a problem.

Dinner tonight will be a steak picked up at 30% off (Still close to $8.00) and a salad.

Till next time.

Sunset Point RV Park, Lubec, ME

Sunset Point RV Park, Lubec, ME

Day 7 - Sunset Point RV Park, Lubec, ME 126.9 miles, 814.9 For the Trip

We did have a little bit of rain last night, although still not heavy enough to be sure the upper rear storage compartment will stay dry. I checked my new caulking around the upper taillights I added & it looks OK, but I don't want to store anything in the compartment until I'm sure I fixed my lousy installation. It is amazing how much the loss of just one compartment messes up storage. I can't find anything!

Spent most of the day driving up US 1 & 1A, however I saw a sign for the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park, and decided to explore. While I've been to Acadia a bunch of times, I've never been to this section. A very pretty drive, particularly at Schoodic Point. Took some photos, then continued on to Lubec, ME. Lubec is the eastern most town in the US. Now I've been to the southern most point as well as the Eastern most point. I guess I still have two to go although I may have hit the Western most point in the continental states during one of my west coast trips. While I've been to Hawaii, I know I didn't get to the western most park. We did stop at the Geographic Center of North America at Rugby, ND on a previous trip across the US. So many landmarks! The rest of the photos are at the Lakeshore Images page for today.

I stopped for the night at the Sunset Point RV Park and am in site 6. $30.00 for electric & water with a great view of the bay, and only $2.00 more than a state park. I thought about staying at Cobscook State Park, but misread the AAA map thinking the state park was on Highway 189 - it isn't, but Sunset Point is. We are close enough to Canada that both the iPhone & iPad insist on connection to Canadian cell towers.  I'm glad the campground has WiFi.

Dinner will be a duplicate of last night, finishing the chicken & left overs, at least if the wind dies down enough to cook. The view is great, but the off shore breeze is rocking the trailer!

Till next time.

Day 3 at Lamoine State Park

Pulling a Lobster Trap

Day 6 - Lamoine State Park, ME 0 miles, 687.7 For the Trip

Actually, there were about 15 miles put on the RAV4 today, making a run to Ellsworth to get it washed & finally buy some chicken thighs. Other than that I didn't do a thing except sit around the campground, read, go for walks & finally, make dinner, which was grilled chicken, dirty rice (Knorrs from a package, but pretty good) and broccoli. I did get to Skype with my daughter in Botswana which was a nice father's day connection. I find it interesting that here in the campground far from anywhere I have a Verizon LTE connection that is faster both down & up than what I have at home with Time Warner cable. It worked great for Skyping as well as posting photos for pages.

The plan is to head out in the morning & stop at another Maine state park for tomorrow night. After that, I'll be in Canada, and the only updates will come from WiFi locations.

Till next time.

Acadia National Park

The Atlantic Ocean at Acadia National Park

Day 5 - Acadia National Park, ME- 76 miles, 687.7 For the Trip

The 76 miles today were driving through Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor without the trailer. I haven't been to either in quite a while - the last time for Acadia was in 1999, and Bar Harbor in 1968. Not much change to Acadia, and Bar Harbor is as touristy as ever. I did take some photos of the view from Cadillac Mountain, including a panorama that I'll put together once I get home to a faster Internet connection, Thunder Hole & and the surf on the rocks of Acadia. I also caught a couple of lobster fishermen pulling traps just off the rocks. After that I walked around Bar Harbor. As usual, more photos at today's Lakeshore Images page.

It was a nice day with temperatures in the 70's, great for walking around. I stopped at an IGA on the way back to the campground hoping to buy some chicken for dinner, however the only packages they had were far too many pieces for one person. They had a butcher, but evidently he can't repackage trays into smaller batches. I'm not sure that qualifies him as a real butcher, but what can you do. I'll have some frozen Orange Chicken instead.

Till next time.

Lamoine State Park, ME

Frenchman Bay, Lamoine State Park, ME

Day 4 - Lamoine State Park, ME- 201 miles, 611.7 For the Trip

A fairly uneventful day driving the rest of the way across New Hampshire and much of Maine. I even managed to follow Matilda's route (My GPS) without yelling at it. While there were a couple of stops for road construction, nothing as bad as yesterday's dirt road. As I got close to Lamoine State Park I started marking all the campgrounds. Arriving at a state park on a Friday is usually not a good idea, at least without reservations. Since I didn't really know when I'd get here, I didn't make any. I did try last night, but they require at least 3 days notice - I'm planning to leave by then.

I was given a list of open sites at the entrance office, and drove around to pick out a site. I really liked Site 50, so I set up, went back to the office, and told them I was in Site 40 - a bit of a brain slip. When I realized that I gave them the wrong site, I went back, and found that Site 50 was only available tonight. Since I'm staying until Monday morning, I decided it would probably be better to move tonight rather than wait till morning & find that some other site I chose was taken by an early arrival. So, I broke camp & moved to Site 40. Confused? Well so am I, but I'm settled. While there are no hookups at the sites, there is a bathroom with hot showers. I have a little more shade than at Site 50, but hopefully, there will be enough sun to keep the batteries up.

Not a lot in the way of photographs. I did walk down to the bay & took a photo, as well as an interesting rock, and, of course, two campsite photos. While walking along the shore I met another photographer, a Canadian from the Thousand Islands area. We talked shop for a bit & went on our ways. As usual, more photos at today's Lakeshore Images Post.

I wish I could say what has changed since the last time I was here at Lamoine, but that was in 1956, and about all I remember is we were in a site overlooking the water, and my brother & I went for a walk along the shore, met a Lobster-man who told us that if we talked our father into it, he would take all of us out on his boat at 6:00 the next morning. We did, and it was a memorable experience. On top of that, he gave us a lobster each as well as loaned us a pot to cook them in. I went looking for his lobster shack & pier today, and couldn't find it. I may wait for my lobster until we all get together in New Brunswick.

Dinner, for those interested, will be the rest of yesterday's beans, and probably a cheese brot along with a ear of corn. Actually, dinner will be the same for those not interested. Since I never know what to write in a blog, and I noticed that others seem to always include food, I figure I should include what was for dinner. At least I'm not taking photos of every meal & I'm sparing you from breakfast & lunch!

Till next time.

Lamoine on Dwellable

Jefferson Campground, NH

Another Waterfall

Day 3 - Jefferson Campground, NH - 206.7 miles, 410.7 For the Trip

Another day, another 200 miles. I spent most of the day in Vermont on VT 125, VT 100 & US 2, driving some interesting roads. My "most interesting" was a 14 mile section of what I believe was VT 125. Rather than stripping the highway down to the first layer of asphalt, they took it down to the dirt. With all the rain, it is mostly mud. The sides of the RAV4 & the front of the trailer are not pretty, although it appears to be easier to wash off than the infamous red dust from Utah. I still have some of that caught in the crevasses of the RAV4 & my tripod! It also slowed me down quite a bit, mostly driving 25MPH. It did improve the gas mileage. While I usually get 15MPG towing, in the mountains of the Adirondacks & Vermont it was more like 14.5MPG. By the time I hit the end of the dirt it was up to 14.8MPG. I know, far too much information about nothing.

Not a lot in the way of photographs, although while still on the NY side of Lake Champlain I saw an interesting house - way too many windows, although since they were facing the lake I can understand why. It looked new, although a bit of a retro style and a nasty roofing job.

I did stop in Vermont for a photo of a roadside waterfall - in fact, two for the price of one. I'm now set up in site 34, with electric & water at the Jefferson Campground. It looks like it is mostly resident trailers, most of which seem to be empty. There is a amusement park of some sort next door.

Dinner tonight will be a Bubba Burger & Grandma Brown's Sauce Pan Beans. They are my favorite beans, however they seem to only be available in upstate NY.

Till next time.

Lake Placid, NY

West Branch of the Ausable River

I was off at the crack of 10:00AM. A bit of a late start packing the final items into the RAV4 & trailer. Spent most of the day on US 11 & NY 3. I stopped for a photo of the Oswegatchie River and a Hotel that I suspect you could make a deal on. I stopped for the night at Lake Placid, NY. The plan was to stay at Whispering Pines Campground, but they whispered so quietly that they were closed. No one at the office or any where near by. They did have a sign stating they were newly opened, and a list of the site prices. Finally gave up & headed for a New York DEC campground - Wilmington Notch. I stopped for a photo of a couple of the Adirondack Mountains & the ski jump built for the Lake Placid Olympics.

Wilmington Gap Campground was not very crowded - there were 3 reservations for empty sites, about 5-6 sites already taken, so I had lots of choices. I'm in site 40, with the solar panel peaking out from under a tree.

There is a waterfall on the West Branch of the Ausable River below the campground. Of course I had to hike down to take a photo. The river is running fairly high & the waterfall quite impressive. There was also a small stream feeding the river just below the falls so I took a few photos of it as well. You cannot easily get below either falls, the position I prefer to take photos from, so these will have to do.

As usual, the rest of the photos are at today's Lakeshore Images page.

It is a dry campground, although they do have hot showers. Dinner will be simple, for some reason I'm a bit beat. Probably all the packing!

Until Tomorrow!

Lake Placid on Dwellable

Ready to Go!

Snapping Turtle LayingEggs

Today's photo has nothing to do with RVing or the trailer.  Can't say it has much to do with traveling since I took it about 1/4 mile from home.  Still, something different!

I'm all packed for Nova Scotia.  Plan to leave in the morning.  I discovered that the leak I mentioned a few posts ago was not due to a partially open window, but to my poor installation of the upper taillights.  While I did caulk around the wiring where it went into the trailer, trying to get caulk around 4 individual wires is harder than it looks.  We have had over 4" of rain so far in June, & when I went to pack the upper rear storage cabinet where I store bedding, everything in it was wet.  So, I've recaulked the lights, and will leave the cabinet unpacked to help it dry out.  While tomorrow is suppose to be dry, rain is predicted for Thursday.  We'll see how well I did by then.

Other than that, I'm ready to go.  Plan to take my time heading to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, where I'll meet friends on the 21st.  Since I'll be traveling through the Adirondacks for the next couple of days, I may not find a good cell signal to post, so the daily blog updates may arrive in bunches.

Till then -