Sunday, August 17, 2014

Back in the New York Groove

 

Yep, I am back in The Empire State. Been here the two weeks since I wrote my last blog post. Why so long? I have taken photographs at 12 campgrounds so far totaling well over 1500 campsites. And that is not even half of the campgrounds I plan on visiting in ADK. So lets just say I have been very busy.

They are all in this place.

Adirondack Sign

Adirondack Park is known to locals simply as ADK. It is one of the two areas run by the DEC, the Department of Environmental Conservation.

I was in the other one, Catskill Park, in early June. It’s almost 800,000 acres seemed pretty large but is tiny in comparison to ADK.

Take Yellowstone NP, throw in Yosemite NP, add Grand Canyon NP, and the combined land area is still less the the 6 million acres that make up ADK. That is big. That is why it will take me five weeks to visit all the campgrounds.

The New Yorkers I have met so far have be very cordial. I didn’t know what to expect, you know, with The Soprano's and all.

The only person I met who was a little nervous was not even a person. He was a moose. Wearing full body armor.

Moose

Must be a New Jersey moose.

Anyway, I left Grand Isle State Park in Vermont and looped north around Lake Champlain to the NY side.

Lake Champlain Sign

New York Sign

I wonder what came first. The building or the nickname.

The Canadian border was less than 1/2 mile away.

Decisions

I flipped a coin and headed south.

Right into a storm.

Storm

Wound up at Ausable Point.

Ausable Point Sign

The weather pattern I have been noticing in the northeast seems to be consistent. Afternoon thunderstorms that only last a short time.

By the time I set up in site 99, it was sunny again.

Ausable Point has 125 spots, some on the shores of Lake Champlain and some along the Ausable River.

My was the latter and it was a beauty.

My Site 2

Had my own private beach.

My Site 1

My Beach

View From My Beach

The river was wide and slow just a few hundred feet before it emptied into the lake.

Ausable River 1

Ausable River 2

So of course, campers took advantage of it.

Floaters

There was a steady stream of them parading past my site.

I made a batch of fresh taco meat.

New Taco Meat 3

New Taco Meat 2

New Taco Meat

Enjoyed a riverside meal as the sun started to set.

River Tacos

The next day I checked out the rest of the campground.

The beach area was rather nifty.

Ausable Point Beach Pavillion

Ausable Point Jetty

Ausable Point Beach

Sites 19 and 30 are examples of camping on the lake.

Ausable Point_019

Ausable Point_030

Bea aware that it can windy at those spots.

The river sites are more sheltered, such as 93 and 98 in my neck of the woods.

Ausable Point_093

Ausable Point_098

And don’t forget the afternoon storms.

The Usual

It was a great campground and a nice way to enter ADK.

I continued south to my next stop, Crown Point.

GPS

Crown Point Sign

It was fun to watch that afternoon’s storm roll in.

Sky 1

Sky 2

Loads of fun.

The park’s 66 sites are mostly open, like 19 and 49.

Crown Point_019

Crown Point_049

46 is a good spot for a small group.

Crown Point_046

If you want a cool view, 2 and 9 have you covered.

Crown Point_002

Crown Point_009

That would be the Champlain Bridge, connecting NY to Vermont.

Champlain Bridge 1

Champlain Bridge 2

Brother Mike is all over that.

The call it Crown Point because there is a point. At the tip of which you find a lighthouse.

Champlain Sign

Lighthouse 1

Lighthouse 3

The lake was named after this guy, who stumbled across it over 400 years ago.

Champlain Plaque

Behind the lighthouse is a popular fishing pier.

Crown Point Pier

I made a day trip from here to visit two other campgrounds in the area.

Lincoln Pond Sign

Lincoln Pond has just 25 sites but many are on the water. 2, 6, 9, and 13 are good examples.

Lincoln Pond_002

Lincoln Pond_006

Lincoln Pond_009

Lincoln Pond_013

The pond has a nice beach and is great for paddling about.

Lincoln Pond Beach

Lincoln Pond

Next stop was Sharp Bridge, one of the first two campgrounds built in ADK.

Sharp Bridge Sign

Sharp Bridge Plaque

It’s 40 sites are located near the Schroon River.

Schroon River

This is a camp for hikers, with many trails leading off into the mountains.

The sites are not large, but 19, 20, 34, and 36 could take a small trailer.

Sharp Bridge_019

Sharp Bridge_020

Sharp Bridge_034

Sharp Bridge_036

I left Crown Point and headed south to Rogers Rock, a massive campground with 301 sites on the north end of Lake George.

Rogers Rock Sign

The next morning (don’t remember what day) I walked down to the lake before embarking on another long day trip to check out 3 other campgrounds.

Lake George 1

Lake George 2

You can rent buoys here to tie up your boat. Many folks did.

Lake George Buoys 1

Lake George Buoys 2

More on Rogers Rock later.

My first stop was at Eagle Point on Schroon Lake.

Eagle Point Sign

The 71 sites offer a few on the shore, such as 8, 9, and 11.

Eagle Point_008

Eagle Point_009

Eagle Point_011

Mix in a lake and beach and you wind up with a winner.

Schroon Lake

Eagle Pont Beach

Paradox Lake was next.

Paradox Lake Sign

58 campsites with a nice beach and lake as well.

Paradox Lake Beach

Paradox Lake

The sites are large and shaded. I liked numbers 10, 12, and 24.

Paradox Lake_010

Paradox Lake_012

Paradox Lake_024

Finally Putnam Pond.

Putnam Pond Sign

63 sites near the shore of a beautiful lake, err, pond.

Putnam Pond Beach

Putnam Pond

15 and 23 were good sites.

Putnam Pond_015

Putnam Pond_023

My favorite was 47. Great for a little trailer or tent and the only site with direct water access. It has a very steep and narrow entry so be warned.

Putnam Pond_047

OK, back to Rogers Rock.

The following day, which I believe was last Friday, I walked the campground.

Some of my favorites were 4, 54, 82, and 83.

Rogers Rock_004

54 is for tents only and is right on the lake.

Rogers Rock_054

Rogers Rock_082

Rogers Rock_083

There is a tiny loop here with only 11 sites, 23 to 33.

Very safe spot for kids because of the lack of traffic and a flat loop to ride bikes and scooters.

I was in 30.

Rogers Rock_030

Great neighbors near me in 26 and 27.

Rogers Rock_026

 

Rogers Rock_027

The cul-de-sac looks like this.

Rogers Culdesac

At the end is a short path down to a dock where I took the earlier pictures of the lake.

Lake Path

The beach is just a short walk away.

Rogers Rock Beach

Last Saturday I followed Highway 9N south alongside Lake George to Hearthstone Point. There was a bit of traffic.

Lake George Traffic

Hearthstone Point Sign

Hearthstone’s 251 sites are only a few miles from the town of Lake George, the biggest tourist destination in ADK. You can tell by the sign above it is very popular.

There are a plethora of motels and hotels in this area. Even an amusement park called “Great Escape”.

Great Escape

Passenger ships ply the south end of the lake for hourly excursions.

Lac Du Saint Sacrement

Adirondac

I think that boat’s sign maker needs to run spell-check. Kinda missing a “K” but maybe that is the French spelling.

When I arrived at the campground I gave them my name and they looked up my reservation. I saw the rangers grimace. They looked at each other and nodded.

“The site you reserved is not really suitable for your trailer. not very level”.

“Um, OK” I replied.

“ You drove here all the way from California?”

I was thinking about a sarcastic answer but wanted to see where they were going with this.

“Yes”, I answered tentatively. I didn’t mention that I was Canadian because that might have botched things up.

“We had a cancellation 10 minutes ago. One of our best sites. It will work for your 3 night stay”.

“Great, Thanks. I’ll take it”.

Which is how I wound up in site 70.

Hearthstone Point_070

Yes, that is just one site, 30 feet from the lake. I even walked in a bit so my rig didn’t look too tiny.

Again, it is at the end of a cul-de-sac with just a handful of other sites like number 68.

Hearthstone Point_068

A few hundred feet away is the beach.

Hearthstone Point Beach 1

Hearthstone Point Beach 2

I walked all of the sites on Sunday. 146 was a private spot in the loop across the road.

Hearthstone Point_146

73 was a good tent site with views of the lake.

Hearthstone Point_073

16 was in the more open area near the showers.

Hearthstone Point_016

Monday I watched the sunrise.

Lake George 1 (2)

Lake George 2 (2)

Lake George Sunrise

By myself. I guess sunrises take some dedication. Sunsets are easy.

My campsite at dawn.

Hearthstone Campsite

Made some tea.

Campsite Sunrise

And killed a mosquito.

Skeeter

Spent the rest of the day on the computer processing campground photos.

It is hard to make reservations in ADK without having been to a campground before and noting the best sites. There are no pics anywhere.

Well, there will be soon, along with my choices of the best ones.

You are welcome.

Tuesday I continued my trek south to Luzerne.

Luzerne Sign

The rain fell all day, not briefly like a thunderstorm. Reminded me of the Pacific Northwest. Yes, this was the period when New York City got deluged by over a foot of rain. Set a record. Because of me. Sorry.

It didn’t let up on Wednesday so I grabbed my umbrella and walked the 174 sites anyway.

I stopped first near the crowded beach and lake.

Luzerne Beach

Fourth Lake

Amongst the nice damp sites I liked were 11, 80, 87, and 132.

Luzerne_011

Luzerne_080

Luzerne_087

Luzerne_132

You might have noticed a preponderance of tarps in this post. In fact, everyone carries them for the occasional shower. You are allowed to tie ropes to the trees to set them up. Most campers try tossing them over the limbs. Some will tie rocks to the end of the line to make it easier.

I even added an extra one to my California Room.

Luzerne Campsite

But these campers had the best idea.

Luzerne_134

Bring along a 15 foot ladder. Good job.

Luzerne is one of the few campgrounds in ADK that has a horse area. 22 separate sites with a stable and barn.

Luzerne Stables

Did I mention the rain? Here is a view of the shower house on Wednesday as the staff tried to stop the flooding.

Luzerne Bathroom

Thursday I left and headed southwest to Northampton Beach, crossing over Great Sacandaga Lake.

Bridge 1

Northampton Beach Sign

But I have not even processed those pictures yet. What, you call me a slacker? The equivalent of my good friend Glenn?

I beg to differ.

Friday I walked all 220 plus sites here and then processed photos for Hearthstone and Luzerne. Today, Saturday, I drove to Sacandaga campground, walked it’s 140 or so sites, and then spent the last 5 hours writing this blog.

I think I might not leave you with another great camping tip.

Oh, you are sorry? Well alrighty then.

It is all about watching what you eat.

See, bugs blend in to their surroundings by means of camouflage. Well, most do, some choose gaudy colors for various personal reasons.

I made my usual dinner on Thursday, tacos, and ripped up a bunch of lettuce by hand to top off the tacos.

I was heading back into the trailer to eat as it was getting dark. I noticed that a piece of lettuce had fallen on my sleeve.

I picked it off and popped it into my mouth. It was not lettuce.

A slight crunch followed by squishiness, juice, and a nasty taste let me know I had made a mistake.

I gagged and spat it out. On the ground lay a partially chewed green moth.

Camouflaged to blend into the deciduous leaves, it resembled a piece of lettuce in the dying light.

Ugh!

So be careful out there in camperland. Inadvertent food happens.

Although I hear fried grasshoppers are good…let me know.

Regards,

Greg

No comments:

Post a Comment