Finishing Up Our Summer 2015

     Here it is August, 26, 2015.  Summer breezed right passed us, as it tends to do up here in Upstate New York.  For those of you familiar with this part of the country, you know that our summer is merely 8 weeks long, and it seems most people spend the time getting ready for next winter.  All around us we watched neighbors cutting and stacking wood.  They need a lot of it to stay cozy when it's well below zero for weeks and months at a time.  The most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching.....Back to School Day!  And although we have no dogs in the fight, we can see the glitter in all the mom's eyes as they daydream of those beautiful yellow school buses stopping at their front door in just a few short weeks.

      We'v made our arrangements to get the boat put away for winter before we start out on our travels.  Plans are being finalized for the winterization of the house. Decisions have to be made about which clothes to bring on the trip this year.  We'll be coming back to New York to spend Thanksgiving with MAE, so we'll need some warmer clothes.  I was doing some calculating the other morning, and it looks quite possible that we could be on the Journey Across America 2016 for nearly 9 months!  Getting closer to that full-time category every year.
     We haven't been completely stagnant this summer.  Upstate NY does offer some terrific summer activity, and we took advantage of Big Red sitting in the driveway a couple of times.  In July, we traveled over to Cole's Creek State Park near Waddington, NY, and had a terrific campsite alongside the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Construction of the seaway was authorized in the U.S. in 1954 and in Canada in 1951.  It opened in 1959, and is 2342 miles long, consisting of a system of canals, dams, and 8 locks between the Port of Montreal and Lake Ontario.  We stopped along the Seaway to view the lock at Massena, NY and were lucky enough to catch this yacht coming through.  We also watched a tanker destined for the Port of Montreal pass through the lock, and it's amazing watching it disappear as it's lowered down to the river level to continue on its journey,
     Of course a trip to the St. Lawrence also requires a visit to Alex Bay, and the 1000 Island area of the river.  Downtown Alex Bay is a typical tourist town with eclectic souvenir shops and restaurants.  But the river is the main attraction, and there are several boat companies running tours out to Boldt Castle and over to the Canadian side of the Seaway.

 Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection have a presence on the Seaway, but boats seem to travel at their leisure from one country to the next.  As long as you stay on the Seaway and don't touch land in Canada, there's no requirement to report for inspection, so the tour boats move tourists back and forth across the international border all day.  The Seaway and 1000 Islands are magnificent and a tour on the river is a must.  The summer homes and watercraft  of the rich and famous really are spectacular, along with the history of the area.  To get a full appreciation, jump on a tour boat and have a look.  I'll guarantee you, you won't be disappointed.

 Last week we ventured over into the Adirondacks and visited a state park my family used to camp at when we were growing up.  The Sacandaga Campground, located a short distance south of Wells, NY on State Route 30, is a vintage Adirondack campground.  Created back in 1920, the campground has 143 primitive sites with fireplaces, a picnic area with fireplaces, as well as hot showers.  The Sacandaga River flows by the campground, and as a child, we would spend all day jumping the rocks and wading in the river.

 At the beginning of the season when there was enough water flowing, we would float a mile or so down the river.  Today the dam has been removed and the former beach area is grown in, although the river seems to be deep enough for a nice swim.  Below the dam, it's much rockier, and a makeshift dam has been built by campers across the river, creating slightly deeper pools. Our first day visiting the river, the temps were well in to the upper 80's.  The rocks were almost too hot to touch.  Stepping into the river, we were amazed finding it so warm.  We would have thought that a running Adirondack River would be a little cool, but the water temperature was well into the 70's, possible 80's.  We spent a few hours just cooling down from the hot sun.  Campers are minimal during the week, but the campground seems to fill up on the weekends.  So Debbie and I enjoyed some nice quiet days.  There was no cell/internet service in our campsite (#6-riverside), but cell service seemed to return right outside the entrance.  But that just made it camping a lot nicer.  We went for some quiet walks and bike rides around the campground, and thoroughly enjoyed our few days there.

 
     

An additional item purchased a few weeks ago and a definite traveler is my Davey Crockett Pellet Grill   It's a portable pellet grill, capable of cooking steaks at high heat, or smoking ribs at low heat for several hours.  Warm up time is drastically reduced, and so far everything I've cooked, seemed to have come out quite well.

 Here's some lamb chops we grilled for about 6 minutes on each side at 550 degrees, and they turned out perfectly.  "Roughing it Smoothly" is a great little motto.
     We also had a nice visit from David and Sheri, high school classmates from Corinth.  Dave has a great looking Honda for traveling around in the nice weather, and Sheri seems to enjoy being the passenger.

 David took Debbie for a ride, and although she really enjoyed it, it's going to take a lot of convincing on my part, to get one parked in my driveway.  Also, we're a little limited on how many toys we can tow behind Big Red.  But it probably is nice not having to remember to put your feet down when you stop!!!
      We'll be hitting the road right after Labor Day, for California.  Well, maybe a few stops in Utah first.  There's a few more National Parks we need to visit near Moab, Utah, as long as we're passing by.  Then a quick stop in Monument Valley, where John Wayne and John Ford made some great Westerns.
     Of course, we have to get through a family wedding first.  Mark and Diane should be putting on a pretty good "shindig" for their daughter Katie, down in Saratoga, N.Y.  After that we're on our way west.  Hope we get to visit more of our friends during our Journey Across America 2016.