Day 16 – (08/31) Lake Placid, NY (Day 2)

This was a great day for sightseeing.  It was sunny and cool (low 70s).  We headed for Whiteface Mountain and then toured downtown Lake Placid.

The Flume

This waterfall is behind R.F. McDougall’s Family Pub (we had dinner there last night).  The Flume is on the west branch of the Ausable River.

The Flume

Whiteface Mountain

NY 86, NY 431 and Veterans Memorial Highway took us to the only Adirondack high peak accessible by car.  Surprisingly, the short trip took us by The North Pole.

This is the North Pole?

Whiteface Mountain is one of the highest peaks in the Adirondacks (4,867 ft.).  The drive up the Veterans Memorial Highway was steep and rough.  There were many viewing spots.

Looking down on the road up

The views were outstanding

Whiteface Castle
(near the summit)

Entrance to 426 ft tunnel & 276 ft elevator ride

The Tunnel

Looking down from the summit

Lake Placid in the background

The trail down to the parking area
(or you can ride the elevator)

Lake Placid

We walked the main street, had a so-so lunch at Jimmy’s 21 Restaurant, and shopped a little.

Downtown Lake Placid

We were able to see greatness and history when we stopped by the Olympic Center.  We walked into the 7,700 seat Herb Brooks Ice Area late in the afternoon.  It was empty except for three figure skaters and five Russian spectators.  Oleg Protopopov and Ludmila Belousova were two of the figure skaters.  They are famous pair ice skating champions from the 1960s.  They won gold at the ’64 and ’68 Olympics.  They also won the World and European Championships from ’64 to ’68 and the Soviet Championships from ’61 to ’68.  They are known for their back outside death spiral and are credited with inventing the “Life”, “Love” and “Cosmic” variations of the death spiral.  And … we got to see them practice!

 Olympic Center

'64 & '68 Olympic Pair Skating Champions

We returned to the campground and ... Carol beat (really whipped!) Dick at miniature golf.

Day 15 - (08/30) Change of Plans #2 - Lake Placid, NY (Day 1)

It's another beautiful day in Verona.  The sky is clear and there's no wind.  However, we have a problem.  We can't get to Maine by any reasonable route due to flooding and road closures.  We're going to change plans again.

We're heading north through the Adirondack Mountains toward the St. Lawrence River and Alexandria Bay, then will travel south toward home along the river and Lake Ontario.  This shortens our trip significantly but does add some fun to the way home.

==== Evening Update ====

The 183 mile drive through the Adirondacks was beautiful.  It was part of the National Geographic Adirondacks scenic drive (pages 61-63).  NY routes 365, 28, 30, 3 and 86 took us past Old Forge, Blue Mountain Lake, Tupper Lake, and Saranac Lake.  It ended just beyond Lake Placid at Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA.

We stopped at Lake Durant State Campground near Blue Mountain Lake with thoughts of staying overnight.  We were greeted by a sign that said "Closed until further notice" ... with no further explanation.  We learned later that the state had closed all campgrounds as a result of hurricane Irene.

There was little evidence of storm damage along our route.  There were a few trees and some branches down.  Camp residents say there was high wind.  The campground was one of a few locations that didn't lose power.

Tupper Lake from NY 30

Tupper Lake

White Birch and Pine along NY 3

Adirondack Mountains

Saranac Lake from the center of town

Saranac Lake from the center of town

Site 70 - Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA

We had a great dinner at R.F. McDougall's Family Pub.  It was just down the road from the campground.

Day 14 – (08/29) Verona, NY (Day 3)

What a difference a day makes!  It’s sunny and there’s a light breeze.

The move from VT to here on Saturday has really paid off.  The area where we camped in VT on Friday appears to be cut off by highway closures today.  Even I-90 (NY Thruway) has been closed in our area.  Travel east or north seems unwise right now.  We’re staying put today hoping conditions will stabilize.

We drove to Rome (NY) and were treated to a tour of Fort Stanwix National Monument.  It is known as “the fort that never surrendered”.  We learned how the American victory at this frontier fort directly contributed to the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777.  Sorry, no pictures.

This campground has been a great place to stay.  The large sites, the landscape, their services and staff are exceptional.  Here’s a short tour …

Site 321 - The Villages at Turning Stone

Fishing Pond

Playground

The Pool

Tennis Court

Basketball Court

Paddle Boat Pond

Day 13 – (08/28) Verona, NY (Day 2)

9am
It’s been raining steadily since 3am. There’s a slight breeze.

Noon
Rain has been steady, wind is increasing and the temperature is dropping.

We enjoyed a breakfast of french toast and sausage before taking on the nasty task of moving  in the rain.  It took about 45 minutes.  Dick got really wet and Carol got to stay inside and ride in the trailer for the first time.

3pm
Our aluminum ark has kept us warm and dry through 12 hours of steady rain.  Wind gusts come and go.  No one is moving about in the campground.

6pm
Clouds continue to hang low over the region, the rain has lessened, and the wind gusts continue.  Tomorrow is supposed to be nice.

8pm
The rain stopped at about 7:30.  The clouds are clearing.  The wind gusts continue (est. 20-30 mph).

Day 12 – (08/27) Change of Plans … Verona, NY

We woke up early and hit the road before 9am.  It was partly sunny and calm early in the day. 

We traveled 199 miles west into NY.  The route was: south on VT 100 from Weston to Londonderry, west on VT 11 to Manchester, south on VT 7 to NY, NY 7 to I-90 at Albany, and then west on I-90 to Verona.  Hopefully, we’re on the western edge of the storm.

We were on I-90 for about 1 ½ hours.  Carol counted 150 electric company repair vehicles heading east in about an hour.  They traveled separately and in convoys of up to six trucks.

We’re staying at The Villages at Turning Stone Campground for the next three days.  It’s very nice here and we’re close to the Turning Stone Casino.  Both are operated by the Oneida Indian Nation.  You could say this change of plans may turn into quite a gamble.

Cloud cover moved in this afternoon.  We have to move to another location tomorrow because the place is full ...  many of the residents escaped here from the east coast.  Hopefully we won't have to move in stormy weather.

Here are a few pictures of our current campsite.

Site 320 - Yellow Birch Village

Fishing pond behind our site

Gazebo behind our site

We had dinner (hamburger, fries and Coke) at the Turning Stone Casino & Resort and donated $10 to their electronic games of chance.

Day 11 – (08/26) Change of Plans ... Andover, VT

Morning Update
We woke up to a sunny, calm morning.  The weather report says this is the calm before hurricane Irene moves north.  We seem to be sitting on the high wind side of the storm track, so we’re going to head inland a few hundred miles for the next few days.

Leaving Site 48 at Red Apple Campground

Evening Update

We traveled 217 miles today and landed at Horseshoe Acres Campground in Andover, VT.  We’re in south-central VT just east of the Green Mountain National Forest.

The route from Kennebunkport followed I-95S to NH 101, west on NH 101 to Keene, west on NH 9 to VT, and then west on VT 9 to Wilmington, north on VT 100 to Weston and east on VT 11 to Andover.  The forest and mountain scenes through NH and VT backcountry were peaceful and beautiful.  The VT 100 drive is part of the National Geographic Vermont 100 scenic drive.  This is the Main Street of Vermont's Green Mountains, running alongside the state's rugged spine from MA almost to Quebec.  The road passes through many villages typical of this Yankee heartland.

The road from Wilmington was narrow, curvy and hilly.   The climbs and descents were really steep (up to 11% grades).  We were grateful for the new asphalt surface.

Not much traffic here

And down we go!

We have no phone or internet service at the campground

Site 18 at Horseshoe Acres Campground

View from our site

We had dinner, worked on travel plans and watched TV.  We learned this area is a target for high winds, heavy rains and flooding.  We’ll head farther west tomorrow.

Trivial, but interesting ...

VT doesn't advertise on highways.  The "food", "lodging" and "gas" signs we're accustomed to seeing along highways are placed down the exit ramps.  You don't see what's at an exit until you exit ... not helpful.

Day 10 – (08/25) Kennebunkport, ME

We left Salisbury at 10:30am.  Here's a departure view of the Black Bear Campground.  Our site was OK, but not as good as their rating implied.

Our 47 mile trip followed I-95N for a short distance, then US 1N along the coast.  We got just a peek at NH ... we were in the state for 22 minutes and covered 17 miles.  We’ll be back.


We made it to day 10 before it rained.  Fortunately, we had made the short trip to Kennebunkport and were settled in Red Apple Campground before it started.  The rain continued for hours.  It was heavy at times.  We hunkered down for the afternoon, did laundry, relaxed and waited for the weather to improve.


The rain stopped for a while around 4:30pm.  We went for a driving tour of Kennebunkport.  The coast views were as we imagined.

Maine coast

Maine coast

This guy wondered why we were out in the rain

Yes, we saw the Bush estate on Walker Point.  We don't think they were home.

Bush Estate

Bush Entrance/Guard House

We were taken by the class of the Kennebunkport area.  The streets were narrow, winding and tree-lined.  The homes impressed without being ostentatious.  There were lots of impressive homes.

Downtown - Dock Square

There are three Kennebunkport beaches: Mother's, Middle and Gooch's.

Gooch's Beach facing east
(toward Colony Hotel)

Gooch's Beach facing west

We grocery shopped and got a quick sandwich before returning to the campground.  It rained on and off throughout the night.