A Short Trip To Letchworth State Park, Day 4 (Last Day)

 Check out was 11:00 so we were not in a hurry.  After fighting the bees that seemed to be in love with the front storage box cover, I finished hooking up and headed out.  I bypassed the dump station since 5 RVs were waiting, and I only peed in the toilet a couple of times (I know, way too much information!)  I'll dump into a pail and add it to my septic tank through a vent.

An easy drive other than getting stuck behind a large stick built trailer that was stuck behind a small SUV that insisted on driving 50MPH on NY 104, a mostly 2 lane road with lots of curves but a 55MPH limit where almost everyone does 60MPH.  They finally turned off 9 miles from home.

I shut down the refrigerator & unpacked the trailer since it will be 3 weeks before I head out for the Hungry Mother Rally & on to my winter snowbirding.

Dinner will be a shrimp dinner at Rudy's.  Since it is Sunday, even on their Fall schedule, they should be open.

Until mid October...

A Short Trip To Letchworth State Park, Day 3

 Much warmer last night, only down to 60°F and the electric heater didn't run. Richard (Telescopist on the Escape forum) never showed up.  He is either in a different part of the campground or our schedules are mixed up.

A quiet morning.  I walked around the 500 loop for my morning walk  Didn't see Richard's Escape 21, but there was a Casita parked in the loop.  

After breakfast & coffee I spent the rest of the morning sitting at the Guido trailer reading.  Eventually, I decided to head to the park visitor center for a new hat.  My previous Letchworth had mildewed, and nothing I did could get rid of the spots.  As long as I was getting a new hat, I also bought a new "T" shirt.

After that I stopped at Inspiration Point, one of the stops that lets you see the Middle & part of the Upper Falls.  It is a great location to watch the hot air balloons that often fly over the park, but none this afternoon.

Middle Falls

Middle & Upper Falls & the Railroad Bridge

After that it was back to my chair and more reading.  I finished listening to Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes, but because the internet is so slow here was unable to download a new book.  Looks like I'll be listening to either the radio or Sirius XM radio on the drive home tomorrow.

Around 5:00 it started light rain.  Strong thunderstorms were predicted, but so far only distant thunder.  We are planning chicken tacos for dinner, an outside meal, so I hope the rain either holds off or stops before 6:00 or so.

Well, the rain held off so it was chicken tacos for dinner.

A Short Trip To Letchworth State Park, Day 2

 A cool night at 54°F by 6:00AM.  Even ran the electric heater a bit.  Went for my morning walk wearing shorts & a sweatshirt.

Spent the morning sitting around reading.  Current book it Terry Goodkind's Temple of the Winds, #4 in his 11 part "Truth" series.  Each book runs a little under 1000 pages so it will take a long time to get through all of them.  I'm also listening to Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes.  I think I may have read it when it first came out, but that was in 2014, long enough ago to have forgotten enough to make it listenable.

Around 2:30 I started the baby back ribs.  The Napoleon TravelQ 285 grill has 2 burners so you can do indirect heating for ribs, roasts, etc.  A big advantage over the Weber Q grill.  It is heavier, and a bit larger, but the advantage of 2 separate burners makes it well worth it.  The ribs came out a bit dry, but it could be the supplier - I prefer the ribs I get from a real butcher at Bosco's in Oswego, but they were out so I had to get them from Price Chopper.

Anyhow, dinner was baby back ribs, corn on the cob and a fruit salad made by Anne.

Until tomorrow - 

A Short Trip To Letchworth State Park, Day 1

 We had a free weekend so both the Guidos & I decided to spend a couple of days at Letchworth State Park.  Richard (Telescopist on the forum) member of the Escape Trailer Owners forum is going to meet us here tomorrow.

Letchworth is about a 115 mile drive from Oswego, mostly on NY 104 & I390.  A very large park that centers around the Genesee River.  It has 3 large waterfalls, Morris Dam, and a very large campground with 8 camping loops.  The sites are electric only or dry, with one bathroom per loop with water & showers.

I'm in site 312, the Guidos in 314.  Both are somewhat sloped front to back, not too bad side to side.  Sites are gravel with a picnic table & fire pit.  $30.08 per night including a $7.25 reservation fee. The numbering system requires getting used to.  They are all one way loops, and the numbering is even sites on the left & odd sites on the right.  It isn't unusual for site 306 to be across the street from 313 so if you are trying to get sites together you really need to look at the map.

Me in Site 312

The Guidos in Site 314

It was 6:00 by the time we were both set up, so we had dinner - The Guidos went to lunch at the Olive Garden & they had a deal that you could get an additional meal for $6.00.  The meal came with a huge salad that was a meal in itself.  I asked for Shrimp Alfredo which I discovered wasn't one of the $6.00 meals, but was very good.  Lots of left overs.

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 14

Monday, September 16, 2024, Home, Oswego, NY - 159.7 Miles, 750.7 Miles for the trip.

Even though there were few of us left, we did have a campfire last night. Since the official fire tender, Alf's daughter Elizabeth had left, I pulled out the "Super Starter", my propane weed burner to start the fire. We sat around & talked for a bit, then I headed in to post the pages & do my 2nd batch of eye drops.

I did end up with a "rare" photo - the photographer! Thanks to Lorraine.

A good trip home. A fairly long wait at the border, including them closing the line we were in, but someone came out and moved posts around so that we ended up in the slot next to the one we started in. Very short questioning at the booth. I parted with the Guidos at the border since I was heading northeast and they were going southeast. Evidently the scheduled-by-Garmin route from I90 to home up NY 34 to NY 104 was closed so it routed me up I390 to NY 104 just east of Rochester. More time on 2 lane roads, but a steady 60MPH most of the way home. I arrived around 3:00. 

Parked the trailer and only took the daily essentials since I'm heading to Letchworth State Park on Thursday. Overall mileage a bit less than last year since Lakeport is closer to the border than Algonac. Adding this trip makes the trailer mileage 56,456.9 since purchasing in 2017, and 1201 nights in the trailer.

Dinner was my usual "home from a trip" meal at Rudy's - this time a Red Plate - fried shrimp, fries & Macaroni salad.

Until the Next Trip - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 13

Sunday, September 15, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 5 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

A quiet day with most of the rally folks heading out. There are still about 5 trailers here, most leaving tomorrow.

Some statistics:

A total of 28 sites with 3 Trilliums, 3 Bolers, 1 Egg Camper, 2 BigFoot 5th wheels, 2 Bigfoot pull behind, 15 Escapes (1-17, 7-5.0, 2-19, 5-21), 1 tent & 1 other.

The dates for 2025 are September 12-14.

Dinner was cheese brats.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 12

Saturday, September 14, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

A little cooler than last night, down to 55°F by early morning. I walked north along the parkway until I reached the cormorant roost.

After breakfast I dropped a couple of things at the blue tarp, a give away location. Managed to lose one item, but I believe my MIMO antenna is going to travel with me forever.

After showing the trailer a couple of times, I walked around doing some morning photos:

While there were not many takers on my "blue tarp stuff, lost of stuff traded hands.

The pot luck was wonderful, as usual. The raffle of stuff made 3 rounds before everything was gone. After that folks gathered around the campfire.

Dinner was, of course, the pot luck. All three pies as well as a couple of peach pies went!

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 11

 Friday, September 13, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

A warm night - the electric heater never came on although I spent the night switching between sheet only, blanket & comforter. 

I spent the morning & earlyv afternoon baking pies. I thought I had 3 disposable pie pans, but found only 2. Luckily, Loraine was heading out to do some shopping & bought me a 6 pack (of pie plates, not beer). As usual, each pie baked differently. The last was the neatest, while the middle pie is messy. They all taste the same.

I made a round of the campground for some photos. Lots of new arrivals - we have 2 Bolers, 2 Trilliums, an Egg Camper, 2 BigFoot 5th wheels as well as a couple of 25's, and many Escapes ranging from a 17, lots of 19's, 21, and many, many 5.0s.  More photos at the Niagara Wine Escape Rally page.

Dinner was left over Chicken Marsala with an Ontario Peach.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 10

Thursday, September 12, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

While warmer, it still cooled down to 55°F last night. At least the electricity stayed on. 

A quiet day. I did my mile walk heading south on the Niagara River Parkway walkway that parallels the road. After breakfast I read blogs & forums & enjoyed my morning coffee. After that it was sitting outside under the Guido's awning. Took a little break from sitting to have a pork loin sandwich using leftovers from yesterday's dinner. It got up to 82°F so the shade was welcome. Around 4:00 a cool(er) breeze started but it was still warm enough that I am tempted to fire up the AC before going to bed. It is still 81°F in the trailer.

I did a walk around the campground with the camera. Mostly Escapes & Bigfoots. Lorraine says she gets her best afternoon naps in the truck:

More at either today's LakeshoreImages page or the 2024 Niagara Wine Escape Rally page.

The AT&T cell service here is interesting, at least for the internet. I did a speed test using Safari & Speakeasy, my usual app for testing internet speed. 45Mbps down & 12Mbps up. When on a website owned by RV Life (such as the Escape forum of Fiberglass RV forum) they ask you to do a speed test, the results of which are posted in their reviews of campgrounds. The RV Life speed test showed .56Mbps up & 0Mbps down, both of which are wrong. On top of that, using my iPhone 13 and a speed test not using WiFi but directly connected to AT&T, I got 450Mbps down & 25Mbps up. My AT&T cell router is old and an older SIM card so I'm sure it is missing some frequencies that the cell phone covers, but that sure indicates that I should upgrade the modem.

Dinner was Chicken Marsala with Oreo cookies for dessert.

Until Tomorrow -

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 9

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada - 133.2 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

Another cool night at 49°F, and even colder for the trailers - the power went out around 8:40PM, and never came back on before we left this morning. A park employee said it was out for the entire city - a problem with a high tension power line. My propane furnace is set 2 degrees lower than the thermostat on my electric heater, so it was 60°F at the head of my bed. The Guido's furnace decided to not to make any flame. They had not used it in a couple of years...

I used the inverter to grind & make my morning coffee, and with the multiple runs of the furnace, left the campground with the batteries at 89%. They were full by the time I hit Riverside.

Most of the drive was on 3, either Ontario 3 or smaller local 3's. We arrived at the campground around 2:30. 

I'm in site 41 and the Guidos are in 42. Both are full hookup sites on grass, close to level, and plenty of room for both the trailers & tow vehicles. $412.45 Canadian for 5 nights, or $82.49 per night. US prices were $305.00 or $61.00 per night. They only take cash & the owner figured the exchange rate at .734 Canadian to US. My credit card at the restaurant gave me a .736 exchange rate, so the park rate was OK.

Me in Site 41

The Guidos in Site 42

The site photos are a little dim because I didn't take them until we got back from dinner. Notice that one of the hummingbird wind chimes is lit.

After setting up we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting & hanging out. At 5:45 we headed to Betty's for dinner. I had baked Halibut which was as good as usual.

Dinner at Betty's

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 8

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, Dalewood Conservation Area, St Thomas, Ontario, Canada - 83 Miles, 457.8 Miles for the trip.

Another cool night at 50°F; the electric heater ran more than the previous night. I packed up the trailer after breakfast, then sat around for a bit since we were only going 83 miles so no hurry to leave.

The border crossing went fine although there was a long wait for someone ahead of the Guidos at the bridge payment booth. Just the usual 30 second, 3 questions at the border. We drove most of the way on the QE 402.

I'm in site 71, and the Guidos in 70. Both are water & 30 amp electric on grass. Not all that level needing 1 1/2" side to side and the nose is 1" too high, but not enough out that I didn't bother unhooking. $74.00 Canadian or $55.15 US for the night.

It warmed up enough for shorts, but started to cool out of the sun as evening approached.

Me in Site 71

The Guidos in Site 70

Dinner was a Savory Brown Sugar Pork Loin, Mac & Cheese & Apricots.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 7

Monday, September 9, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 6 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

A warmer night than the last few - the furnace didn't run until around 6:00AM when it got down to 55°F outside.

By 2:00 it looked like an empty campground. Over the afternoon quite a few new arrivals, including a very shiny Scamp 13. I drove to the Murphy gas station at the local Walmart and got gas for $3.13, the cheapest of the trip.

We celebrated my 80th birthday. Calls from the kids, friends in Colorado, and the Guidos made me a strawberry shortcake. We had turkey burgers & summer squash for dinner, our first meal together here at Lakeport.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 6

 Sunday, September 8, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 5 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

Another cool night; down to 40°F. It warmed up to 67°F by noon, and felt warmer with lots of sun. I took a few photos of a hummingbird at the feeder & some of the trailers on their way home. We are staying today & tomorrow so that we hit the Niagara Wine Escape rally on Wednesday.

Dinner was the leftover Knoor Garlic Noodles with added chicken.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 5

Saturday, September 7, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

It started out cool and a very light mist. The Swap Meet started at 10:00. I brought a bunch of stuff, both to sell and to give away. I managed to give away almost everything, and sold all but a Coleman Grill/Stove, the 12/12/30 DC to DC Converter & my Easy Touch Thermostat. 

At 12:00 the Hot Dog Lunch started. 

At 1:00 "Show Your Trailers" started. I added a couple of photos above. A good chance to see what others have done to their trailers or to check out other brands. I showed the Escape 21 a couple of times. While showing off the Guido's Scamp is one of Anne's favorite part of rallies, they are still recovering from Covid and spent the time in the trailer.

There was going to be a 4:00 Solar demonstration, but the person doing it couldn't make the rally.

Dinner was Knoor Garlic Noodles with added chicken.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 4

Friday, September 6, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

Much warmer overnight; it only got down to 66°F outside & 69°F in the trailer even with the Maxx fan running and most of the windows open. A little after midnight a light rain started & continued until morning. I did go for my usual morning walk after the rain stopped, although there was still a heavy mist & no sun. Cool at 64°F

After breakfast I read some forums & journals, then finished my current book - Terry Goodkind's First Wizard's Rule and started Jimmy Breslin's The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Glad Goodkind's book was on a Kindle - his paperbacks are usually 2" + thick; this one is 852 pages in the print version. First Wizard's Rule is the first of a series of 11 books...

With the lousy weather, I spent most of the day in the trailer reading. I did walk around looking for new arrivals and found a few as well as a couple groups talking

Around 1:15 I headed for the showers. Individual shower rooms across from the bathrooms. One "family" bathroom with shower & toilet/sink, one handicapped shower, and 5 individual shower rooms. The one I used had a large drying area with 1 hook & a bench. The shower stall was large enough, shower head a standard one with adjustable temperature control. No shelf in the shower stall. Flat floor between the shower stall & the drying area, no shower curtain, but little runoff into the drying area. Overall, a B.

After my shower I made another round of the campground. Ever had a few minutes of sun:

At 6:00 I headed to site 65 for a Hobo Pie gathering. Hobo Pies are made using pie irons.

I've added a second page to the Algonac/Lakeport Rally Pages.

Until Next Time

2024 Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 3

Thursday, September 5, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

I finally found a good enough connection to post the trip pages to Blogger, so day 3-7 are all coming at once.

It cooled off comfortably last night. I walked around part of the campground before breakfast - did about a mile. I later discovered that if you do all of the loops, it is almost 2 miles.

After breakfast I sat outside in the shade & read. The Guidos appeared, both not feeling well. Some of the guests (and the bride) at the wedding they went to last week came down with Covid. Guido went to town for some supplies & Covid tests. They took the tests and are both positive. While I feel fine, I took one and am negative. I will have to test again in 3 days. The Guidos went to a clinic to see if they could get a Paxlovid prescription. The clinic confirmed that they both had Covid, but because of various medical conditions, neither were eligible for it. So they are back in the trailer & wearing masks when they go out. They have had Covid multiple times before and while they don't feel all that good, it doesn't appear to be an emergency.

I made a round of all the loops taking photos of any fiberglass trailers I found. I won't be able to post them until I get to Niagara Falls or home since the internet is too slow here at Lakeport. Both Verizon & AT&T are very slow to non existent. While yesterday I couldn't even read my mail with AT&T, I just rechecked it and it is usable, so I will post some photos. Many more at the Algonac/Lakeport page.

So, diner tonight will be in separate trailers. I'm microwaving an Impossible Teriyaki Chicken meal.