2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 11

 Sunday, October 31, 2021 - Melton Dam TVA Campground, Lenoir City, TN - 187 Miles, 924.0 Miles for the Trip

Site 32

Happy Halloween!

The first night in awhile that I didn't listen to the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof. Still very damp with a heavy mist as I packed up the trailer. 

The Walmart heater did eventually start cycling although the range was much wider than that with the Pelonis. The Pelonis holds the set temperature within a degree. The Walmart cycles through 7-8 degrees. Still, it will do until I fix the Pelonis.

I stopped by to say goodbye to Walt and thank him for the rally & coffee, and if all goes as planned, we will see each other again in Quartzsite in February.

Rain most of the drive to Melton Dam, although it started to clear after leaving Knoxville. Clouds, but no rain & 59°F this afternoon here at Melton Dam.

The Melton Dam TVA Campground overlooks the lake behind the dam. It is built on a hill with three tiers of campsites. Many have the picnic tables on different levels from the trailer pad, and a few are tent sites only. Some have long steep backins to get to the flat section near the hookups. I'm in site 32, a back in on gravel with one step down to the picnic table. Deep enough that I can leave the truck connected. I did have to use the Anderson levelers to raise the driver's side of the trailer 3", but it is level front to back. Water & electric for two nights at $22.50 per night. The front of the site is steep enough (you can see in the photo) that I can't lower my tailgate but I can live with that.

I walked around the campground and took notes on which sites were practical for my trailer, and added the information, along with a photo of the campground map to my Campground Sites notes page. That makes 2 so far. I didn't do one for Hungry Mother or the Jonestown KOA because all the sites are fairly level and fit my trailer.

I checked both Verizon & AT&T and while both have data connections, Verizon is slow, even with MiMo outside antennas. When I checked AT&T without the added antennas it was about the same as Verizon with them. I added the antennas and AT&T ended up at 43Mbps down & 1.6Mbps up, compared to 11Mbps down & 0Mbps up without the added outside antennas. My AT&T iPhone 10 shows no connection except over WiFi, while the Verizon iPhone 7 shows 2 bars. Cell phone over WiFi (which ended up connected to the AT&T cell modem) gave me a poor connection when I called my brother. 

There is a NPR station, WUOT that has a good signal at the campground. 

Dinner was a Boston Market Chicken Parmesan Dinner & a salad.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 10

 Saturday, October 30, 2021 - Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA, Day 5 - 0 Miles, 737.0 Miles for the Trip

The Morning Coffee Crowd

I did a short walk this morning, ending up at Walt's for coffee & visiting with a bunch of fiberglass owners. Cooler than yesterday with a nippy wind. No sun, but it is not raining, just a bit of mist.

My Pelonis Disk Furnace died. While it has died before (it was built in June, 1989) and I've rebuilt it, this time I bought a cheap Walmart replacement until I can find out what is wrong with it. I like the Pelonis because it is small, and is one of the few electric ceramic heaters that, when set for a temperature, slows down the fan & lowers the current to the ceramic disks when it reaches the set temperature. Very quiet at night, and, of course, draws less current. I still wouldn't run it on the inverter since any electric heating device is a battery hog, but I like it. Unfortunately, the newer ones have a poor reliability rating, and the versions that have the variable fan/current feature seems to have disappeared, at least from their website. So, rather than replacing it, I'll keep fixing it. I do have a second one that I use for parts - of course I left it home.

A dreary day. While the rain has held off so far, it is still cold at 48°F until noon. I did a couple of trailer tours, and handed out pieces of blueberry pie. Because of the rain, the Cowboy dinner was canceled, and I don't want to try to take the pie with me, plus it is a bit too much for one person, so about two thirds of it is gone. Now, at 3:30 the pie is gone with the last couple that toured the trailer. I did get a piece...

I'm not all that impressed with the thermostat on the new Mainstays (Walmart) electric heater. If you set it to come on, it never shuts off, and if you lower it to where it shuts off, it never comes on. We will see how it does with a greater temperature range overnight. 

I did get out to take a short walk in the light rain around 4:00. A Scamp 19 just arrived, and I took a photo of the teardrop across the way belonging to a couple that has an Escape 21C on order & wanted a tour.

More photos at today's LakeshoreImages page or the Hungry Mother Rally page.

Dinner was a chicken sandwich and some chips.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 9

 Friday, October 29, 2021 - Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 737.0 Miles for the Trip

Fiberglass Row

A warm night in the 50's, although it rained off & on all night. It pretty much stopped by morning & I headed for coffee & a donut at Walt's Clam. We sat around chatting, then I headed back to the trailer to finish breakfast. After that the sun was out so I made another loop around the campground with the camera. Lots of new arrivals, including a ParkLiner & an Oliver. Photos at today's LakeshoreImages page or at my Hungry Mother Rally page.

After the walk around the campground I headed for the showers. They are 4 individual heated rooms, including one handicapped. The shower stall was large, with a standard shower head, plenty of hot water, and a basket for your soap & shampoo. The drying area is perpendicular to the shower stall, a bit smaller than the shower with 3 hooks & a bench. A full length shower curtain. The only problem is the floor of the shower & the drying room are continuous with no lip. While the shower curtain is full length, water runs under it and floods at least half of the drying room floor. I'd rate it a B+, although I rated only a B in 2019. Must be getting soft in my old age!

Back at the trailer it was time to make a blueberry pie for tomorrow's group dinner. I really ought to do something besides a blueberry pie, but the last time I did that there were many unhappy folks, so I'm stuck. Since Walt is making his Cowboy dinner, dessert makes the most sense. I used frozen blueberries picked from my garden last summer. Frozen blueberries means a soupy pie, but this is not the time of year to buy fresh.

At 3:00 I headed outside, but within 5 minutes it started to rain, so I'm reading inside. 

I had a late lunch, so dinner was a couple of White Castle Sliders.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 8

 Thursday, October 28, 2021 - Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 737.0 Miles for the Trip

Holly's Casita

Not many new arrivals today, although a few arrived, and a couple left. Casita owner Holly & Suze pulled into the site across from me. Many of the sites have October 29th stickers on the posts, so I suspect sites will empty of many of the stick built trailers & fill with fiberglass tomorrow. There is a sign at the entrance that the park is fully reserved and no sites are available, even though there are many empty sites at the moment. Maybe there will be a number of late afternoon arrivals. I was hoping the the 2 sites next to mine that emptied this morning would fill with fiberglass, however a mid sized MiniLite trailer moved into the site on the right.

I drove to Walmart for a new pair of sweatpants - my shower sweatpants were getting a bit ragged. I also filled the gas tank. So far gas is costing almost as much as campsites. The 36 gallon gas tank is great for being able to choose where and when you fill up, and gives you great range when towing, but a fill up from a 1/4 tank can be a shock. $79.48 today.

I was going to make another round of the campground to be sure no one sneaked in without me seeing them, but a light rain started. It is now raining off & on & I'm in the trailer. 

By the way, the Burson Campground has good Verizon data coverage, but no AT&T. I got 61.4Mbps down and 12.9Mbps up on Verizon, using Speakeasy.

Another by the way - I found an NPR station, WETS at 89.5. The "Seek" function on my trailer radio couldn't find it, but the truck did. Weak, fading in & out during the morning, but OK right now. I still have not found a radio for the trailer that has the sensitivity of the truck radio. At this point, after trying 4 different radios, I will stick with the Sony that I have.

Dinner was a going to be a grilled chicken thigh, but turned into a baked chicken thigh because of the rain, along with oven roasted potatoes. The last of the leftover beans are going to get tossed...

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 7

 Wednesday, October 27, 2021 -Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 737.0 Miles for the Trip

Another Photo of My Site

I have a correction for last night's post - the Dragon road is called the Back of the Dragon, not the Dragon's Tail.  The Dragon's Tail is in North Carolina.  In any case, those in the know tell me not to take my trailer on either of them.

A very cool night at 37°F. The electric cube heater kept the trailer at 65°F so I was comfortable. I walked a little over a mile around the campground & up to the dam that created the park lake before breakfast. After breakfast I read for a bit, then did two loads of laundry. The laundry room got very humid while my clothes were drying. I checked to outside vent for the dryer and nothing was coming out of it. Checked behind the dryer & the vent hose was disconnected. I let the campground host know about it & he called it in for repair. 

Walt, the host for the rally pulled in during the afternoon & we chatted for a bit. Since it warmed up (57°F) with lots of sunshine, I made a round of the campground photographing the early arrivals. Lots of Casitas, and a few Scamps & Escapes.  Photos on today's LakeshoreImages page.

After the loop around the campground I read outside for a bit, then headed to Food Lion for the things I forgot or didn't find yesterday. I still have not found the toaster corn things I like for breakfast, and am not far enough west for Alaskan Amber beer.

Dinner was a salad & an ice cream sandwich.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 6

 Tuesday, October 26, 2021 -Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA - 215.5 Miles, 737.0 Miles for the Trip

Site 40

While we did get some late afternoon rain yesterday, and a few rumbles of thunder, no major downpour. It was a cold morning at 52°F and 56°F in the trailer. I didn't feel cold under the flannel sheets, blanket, and bedspread, but making breakfast left me wishing I had left the electric hookup! I finally fired up the furnace. 

After breakfast I packed the stuff away for traveling, then headed out of the park. A long, boring drive south on I 81. One stop & go section for a single lane merge, and lots of truck traffic, but uneventful. I drove past a couple of $3.15 per gallon gas stations, but didn't stop. I looks like $3.21 here in Marion.

My GPS likes to take me into the park from the other end from where Burson Campground is located through something called the Dragon's Tail. My GPS also yelled at me because the Dragon's Tail has a 38' length limit. I'm 43' with the truck & trailer, however I suspect the limit is for something that doesn't bend in the middle. Some day I'll drive out the other side of the park to see what the Dragon's Tail is all about. Anyhow, I need to remember to get off one stop before the one it wants & take the Park Road off US 11. I did remember to get off at the correct exit, and stopped at Food City for supplies. The computer remembered my phone number so I got the weekly discounts (and earned 39 "Fuel Bucks" that I'll never use).

The last few times I arrived at the park with an undesignated site, I had to stop at the office to register. I stopped there this time & discovered that I could pick from any of the non designated sites & my paperwork was in an envelope at a campground building. I drove around & picked site 40, which has a pretty maple tree in nice fall colors behind the trailer. There are already 5-6 fiberglass trailers in the park, mixed with a number of stick built trailers & motorhomes. Site 40 is a water & electric site for $43.12 per night including sales tax & a $5.00 transaction fee.

I don't know why, but at 52°F here it feels much colder than it did at Natural Chimneys. By the time I had the utilities connected, the jacks down & the welcome sign up, my fingers were numb. I do remember that the bathrooms, including separate showers are heated. They also have a laundry at $1.50 per load, so I'll probably do my first laundry of the trip tomorrow.

A bunch of us got together to chat, but I ducked out early - it is too cold for me! I watched a couple of owners setting up Clams. While they will keep the wind down, particularly if you add the sides, it is still chilly. Maybe it is the thin air - we are at 2000'. 

Dinner was a chicken sandwich & more of the Bush Bourbon & Brown Sugar beans; there are still enough beans left for one more meal. I wish they sold their Bourbon & Brown Sugar beans in their small single serving cans, but I've never found them in anything other than the 22 ounce size.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 5

 Monday, October 25, 2021 - Natural Chimney County Park, Mt Solon, VA, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 521.5 Miles for the Trip

Not too cold overnight - 52°F outside & 56°F in the trailer. I didn't fire up the electric cube heater until after my morning walk. After breakfast I read on the computer for a bit, and listened to NPR's Morning Edition. Once it warmed up I headed outside and finished reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead on my Kindle. While I put off getting a Kindle for years, I have to admit I have gotten quite comfortable reading it rather than paper books, something that I thought would never happen. I haven't read more than 10 paper books this year. Much easier to use reading in bed since the Paperwhite Kindle has a lighted screen, and is much lighter than most books. It also saves me money since much of what I read is now library books & Prime Reading, although I have to admit to paying more for Kindle versions of new books than I did when I waited for the paperback to come out. 

I went to the showers around 2:30. The bathroom was still a bit cool from the night, but lots of hot water and a standard volume shower head. A narrow bench, 2 hooks in the drying room, and a 3' X 3' shower stall. The drying area was a bit larger, but tight. The floor got wet; while there was a shower curtain, it was well off the floor & a fair amount of spray got under it. I rated it a solid B.

Back at the trailer I sat outside enjoying the 71°F sunshine until it got cloudy. There is rain predicted, and my radar app shows it arriving soon, so I decided to disconnect the utilities to avoid packing up wet cable & hose in the morning. No neighbor moved in, so it looks like my exit plans for the morning will work.

Now I'm inside listening to the rain of the roof.

Dinner was a microwaved Innovasian Honey Chicken dinner.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 4

Sunday, October 24, 2021 - Natural Chimney County Park, Mt Solon, VA

The Natural Chimneys

For what ever reason, I didn't fall back to sleep after my 7:00AM eye drops to my usual 8:30 up & out of bed. By 7:30 I was still wide awake. I got up, made the bed, and breakfast. It was 45°F outside & 62°F in the trailer. I decided to save my walk for the Natural Chimney park.

After breakfast I read on the computer for a bit, then packed up the trailer. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive to Natural Chimney County Park, all except the last 15 miles on I 81. Fairly heavy traffic, including one stop & crawl when everyone moved to the outside lane going past a stopped trooper. I filled up in a Virginia Mobil station which is the cheapest gas of the trip so far at $3.30 per gallon. This will be a more expensive trip compared to 2019 - 20, at least for fuel since the most expensive gas for that trip was $3.00 per gallon (cheapest $1.90).

I arrived at Natural Chimney County Park around 2:15 and checked in at the office. The sites are interesting - the only ID is stamped on the power pedestal, with back to back sites on each side, ie I'm in site A4 & behind me is site A17. According to the attendant, your site goes from 1/2 way to the previous site number to 1/2 way to the next site number. Site A4 is interesting. There is no way to get to it through the 10 2' diameter trees scattered between it & the road unless you back in 50' weaving through the trees. I drove around the loop, and pulled into the site from the back using the entrance to site A18. As long as my neighbor in site A5 doesn't park his truck at the edge of his site next to mine, I should be able to weave my way out on Tuesday. It is on grass/dirt, water & electric for $32.65 per night. A very beat up picnic table (labeled A17 - site A17 has a picnic table labeled A4. I guess they got here first!). 

Site A4

I decided to walk around the campground, making notes on which sites are suitable. The campground on line map doesn't show the trees or the sites that are heavily sloped. I think it would be a good idea to do this for all the campgrounds I plan to make repeat stays & keep it in the notes section of my computer & phone. That will make on line reservations work better.

That said, it is a pretty site with lots of room between the trees. There was even a fire going in the fire pit. There is one minor problem - all those trees are dropping fall leaves. While the shade would be appreciated in the middle of summer, right now sitting outside results in leaves falling on your head. Sitting outside is nice otherwise - sunny (outside of the shade) and 72°F.

I sat around the fire reading until 5:00 or so, and made dinner (an Impossible Burger & Bush Bourbon & Brown Sugar Beans.

After dinner I headed to the park's namesake, the Natural Chimneys

More photos of the chimneys & my site are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 3

Saturday, October 23, 2021 - Jonestown KOA, Jonestown, PA, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 292.4 Miles for the Trip

Best Costume Award

A dreary Saturday. I woke up to do my 7:00AM eye drops, and a light rain was falling - decided to go back to sleep. I thought about getting up at 8:30 to do a walk around the campground, but it was still raining, so I spent half an hour listening to the Weekend Edition Saturday program on WITF, the local NPR radio station. By then the rain stopped, and my weather app said that it wouldn't be raining for at least an hour, so I did a couple of loops around the campground. Cool at 52°F so when I got back to the trailer I fired up the electric cube heater and brought the trailer up to 70°F while making breakfast. After breakfast I did another short loop around the campground, then settled in to do some forum & journal reading. 

Around 11:00 light rain started again, and it has been off & on since. Pretty much a do nothing day. I did some cleaning which I had been putting off since the last trip, but not much else. The front half of the trailer is done. 

Around 2:30 I decided to photograph some of the Halloween decorations. I was/am planning to do it this evening with them lighted and maybe some trick or treaters, however it is still raining (although very lightly) so I thought it would be good to get some photos while I can. One of the sites was even kind enough to fire off the smoke machine for the photo.

Not as scary as they will be at night, but they didn't wait until dark anyway. Around 5:00 the ghosts & goblins gathered for awards, then headed out around the campground. Unfortunately, I didn't have any candy to give away, but there are enough trailers with buckets out in front that I'm not missed. At least the rain stopped. You can see some blue sky is a few of the photos.

Many Halloween photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner was Barber Foods Chicken Cordon Bleu & mashed potatoes. I'm getting a little room in the freezer for some frozen vegetables, so I'll probably stop tomorrow for the first resupply.

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 2

Friday, October 22, 2021 - Jonestown KOA, Jonestown, PA - 164.1 Miles, 292.4 Miles for the Trip

Dinner last night, by the way was veal cutlet. Only fair, but the Greek salad was excellent. 

As I mentioned, after dinner we headed to the Binghamton University campus for my first live theatre performance in 2 years - Triptych: An Experience in Three Acts. An unusual show program - not printed, but by photographing a QR code, you get a link to the program as a web page. The type was far too small to be practical on a cell phone & it was easy to accidentally hit a bunch of ads. While I prefer paper programs, it does solve some printing costs & clean up after the show. It was great to see live theatre, although not the most exciting theatre I've seen. 

 Back to today: 

 Another usual stop, although I'm not sure for how long it will be usual. While KOAs are predictable, my back in full hookup site is $74.10 per night & they have a 2 night minimum stay. It is an almost level site that only required lifting the from end of the trailer a bit; not enough to require unhooking, and it has a fire pit (that I won't use) a concrete slab & a picnic table. That said, I don't need the sewer connection, and $74.10 is a bit steep! The Jonestown AOK Campground , which looks like it was a former KOA, looks to be a good substitute at $45.00 per night. I'll try that next time I'm heading by. They have a sign at the entrance to the KOA that they are full. They are doing an early Halloween weekend which filled the place.

 There is a bit of color in the park, and lots more at the higher elevations in Pennsylvania, but in general, Fall seems to be running behind 2019.  

Not Much Fall Color

After setting up I took a walk around the campground, although less than my usual 2 miles. The weather is OK for late October at 61°F. Lots of clouds mixing with some sun. I did hit light rain on the drive down. 

Dinner was my last frozen lasagna. I found it in the bottom of the freezer, is 3 years old, but vacuum packed.  Hard to believe, but it was pretty good!  The last time I was here they had a 1/4 broasted chicken with macaroni salad & French fries delivered to my site, but all chicken is off the menu because of high prices. Somehow I wouldn't think that a KOA would understand high prices! 

Until Tomorrow -

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest, Day 1

 

A Familiar Stop

Thursday, October 21, 2021 - Anne & Guido's, Binghamton, NY - 128.3 Miles, 128.3 Miles for the Trip

I'm at one of my usual stops when heading south - Anne & Guido's home in Binghamton. I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop since today is my son Kyle's birthday, but we decided to celebrate it last Sunday with a cake & his favorite meal (spaghetti & meatballs from scratch). Since he has to work today and he is on the 2:00 - 11:00 shift, dinner wouldn't have worked. And, it is the last time for 6 months that he will have home made sauce. So, I headed out around noon.

The first stop was at the CAT scale to weigh the trailer. I did the usual two weighings, first with the truck & trailer, and the second with the truck alone. With both sets of weights, I could determine the trailer & tongue weight, as well as trailer axle & truck payload. I do have a Tow Ball Nose Weight Scale that lets me check tongue weight but I need a stop at the CAT scale to get the rest. I do need to use my calculator to determine the weight in pounds - the scale is marked in kilograms. The Tow Ball Nose Weight Scale read 215 kg or 473.994 pounds. At the CAT scale the first weighing resulted in 3060 Front Axle, 3480 Drive Axle, and 4400 Trailer Axle for a Gross Weight of 10,940 pounds. After unhooking the trailer & doing a second weighing with just the truck, the results were 3260 Front Axle, 2740 Drive Axle, and, of course, 0 for the trailer axle, for a Gross Weight of 6000 pounds. So, if the truck & trailer weigh 10,940 pounds, and the truck alone weights 6000 pounds, the full trailer weight must be the difference or 4900 pounds (about 40 pounds heavier than when I left for the Southwest in 2019). Tongue weight calculates as the trailer weight minus the axle weight or 4900 - 4400 or 500 pounds. While not exactly the same as the manual Tow Ball Nose Weight Scale gave, it is within the error ratings of each.

I stopped for gas in Binghamton (3.49 per gallon), then heading towards Anne & Guido's house, saw them across the street coming out of a plaza. So, I beat them home. I put together today's journal entry & posted it.

We are heading to the Spot Diner for dinner.

After dinner we are going to see 3 one act plays and a short stay at the after opening party, so I did my 7:00 eye drops a bit early. 

Until Tomorrow - 

2021 - 2022 Trip To The Southwest

Rescue Exercise

Wednesday, October 20, 2021 - Oswego, NY - 0 Miles, 0 Miles for the Trip

After taking a winter off and spending it in Oswego, mostly because traveling during the Covid era when vaccines were not available didn't make much sense, I'm heading out. I am fully vaccinated (even got my booster shot) and am ready for a trip to Arizona. I did a few changes to the trailer over the last year, including adding an additional lithium battery for a total of 3, and switched my portable 160 watt solar panel to a 300 watt flexible panel that is smaller & lighter. 

The truck is packed, and the trailer is as packed as I can do ahead of leaving day. There will be a bunch of last minute additions on Thursday.

The trailer has 30,942.8 miles on it, the truck at 42,404. 

The first month or so of the trip is a bit unusual for me in that I've made reservations all the way up to November 28th. I usually avoid reservations since I prefer to be flexible in my traveling plans, but during summer travel I found that getting sites without reservations was difficult. While the winter is probably better, I still decided to reserve when I could. I do have a stop planned at Jeff Busby Campground on the Natchez Trace that doesn't take reservations and hope I'll be able to get a site. If not, I'll look for the nearest commercial campground. Because I made reservations, I am pretty much duplicating my 2019 trip, at least until Big Bend National Park in Texas. I've also discovered that many state & national parks have gone to reservation only (with many not allowing reservations within two days of arrival) rather than keeping a bunch of first come sites. While this solves the money handling problems, it makes it difficult for unscheduled stops. It is also a bit annoying to see all the reserved, but empty sites since many national parks camping fees are under $10.00 per night with the various park passes. While some state parks are as expensive (or even more) than the nearby commercial parks, there are many that are also so inexpensive that people make reservations that, if they they don't use, they don't bother to cancel. I'm not sure what the solution is but since the park is being paid for the site, they don't seem to be in a hurry to find one.

Enough whining. I'm on a schedule for the first month & will live with it. The first long stay will be at Hungry Mother State Park in Virginia for a fiberglass rally. Many of the usual activities won't happen because of Covid, but it will be nice to see folks that I haven't seen in over a year.

I made my last deliveries for Meals on Wheels until next April then packed everything I wouldn't need overnight. A bit of excitement at St Luke's Apartments (my Meals on Wheels delivery location). A fire truck was pulled up to the building with a truck ladder going to one of the balconies. Luckily, it was an exercise for the fire crews.

After that I did some last minute shopping, then returned to continue packing the trailer. By the way, it was a beautiful day. Oswego is just trying to keep me from leaving for Arizona - it hit 68°F this afternoon. Of course I know better - January is coming. I quit packing around 4:00 as a light rain began to fall.

Until Tomorrow - 

Day Trip to the Adirondacks

 I am in the middle of packing for my trip to Arizona; leaving next Wednesday.  We are having a warm week, but that will be ending this weekend.  I decided to take a short trip to the western side of the Adirondacks today.

I stopped off at Salmon River Falls on the way.  A bit early for good fall color,  They rebuilt the path from the rim to the bottom of the falls.  It is still quite steep with some large steps between rocks, but they have added cast concrete steps in some of the bad sections.  I didn't go all the way to the bottom since both the color & lighting wasn't all that good, but here is a photo.

Salmon River Falls

After that it was east on route 3 to Cranberry Lake.  I made a couple of stops on the way, which was good, because the campground at Cranberry Lake was closed.  I was a bit early for the western side of the Adirondacks, and a bit late (at least according to reports) for the northern & eastern sections.  I hope I'll run into some nice color on my trip to Arizona.

Dobson Creek Along NY 3

Stream Feeding Cranberry Lake

Stream Feeding Cranberry Lake

Stream Feeding Cranberry Lake