Baa Habaa & Acadia Hike

Thursday, September 20

Since I have been a slacker when it comes to taking my turn behind the RV wheel, I volunteered to drive this morning.  About a mile down the road, our GPS said "Turn Right".  I said "NO! we want to get to Hwy. 2."  Jim said "Turn Right!"  So, with two against one, I turned right.  OMG, we are on a dirt washboard road going through farms...literally!  We were on that awful road for 5 miles before we turned onto a paved road.  Actually, looking at the map, that short-cut road saved us about 30 miles.

I'm now getting into the groove of driving these winding mountain roads through northern Vermont and New Hampshire, when we come to the state line and crossed into Maine.  No question we crossed a line.  The Maine roads are narrower, steeper, and more winding, as well as being in rough shape with all the frost heaves.  My knuckles are turning white, and my neck muscles are cramping up while driving these steep mountain roads dominated by huge logging trucks which are constantly on my butt.  Driving through the Grafton Notch State Park, I saw a pull-out, stopped and gave the reins back to Jim. 

We stayed the night at a KOA Campground in Canaan, Maine.  A lady walked by and said "Beautiful day!  Ah leaves ah just stahtin' ta get some colahh".  We agreed, and I'll bet with that accent she must be from Maine.

September 21

Bar Harbor and Lobster

After getting set up at our campsite, which is on a bay of the Atlantic ocean, we drove 10 miles to  the tourist town of Baa Habaa.  We were on a mission to find some wicked good Maine lobstah.  There are so many places to get lobster that it was difficult to choose.  Finally, Jim said "I don't care where we stop, I'm ready for some lobster, now!"  He ordered a 4 1/2 pounder -- which we shared after devouring a delicious bowl of New England clam chowder.  It was wicked good.

Let's get crackin!

Sunset from our campsite.
 

September 22

Hiking in Acadia National Park

First a little history about Mount Desert (locals pronounce it DEsert) Island.  John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and other prominent wealthy families built summer "cottages" (mansions) on this Island in the late 1800's.  As the island became a popular resort destination, these same wealthy summer people became concerned that tourism and development would ruin the rustic character and natural beauty of the island.  They started buying up land, putting it into a land trust, and in 1919 donated the land for a National Park.  Acadia National Park is the first national park east of the Mississippi River, and was created from land donated by private citizens.

Rockefeller also financed over 45 miles of carriage roads that wind through the interior of the park.  He hired craftsmen to build 17 stone bridges to connect the single lane roads.  All the bridges are individually unique and made from local granite and cobblestones.  The carriage roads are enjoyed by hikers, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers in the winter.  Carriage rides are available in the summer.

OK, enough with the history lesson.  After stopping at the Acadia Park Visitors Center, we decided to hike a carriage road to see one of the bridges.  The road follows the natural contour of the land, so it was up and down, and all around.  The trees, vegetation, lakes and ponds along the way to the stone bridge were beautiful.  I understood the Park Ranger to say the trail was 3 miles; turned out to be over a 5 mile hike.  Oops!

Geez, Connie, I thought you said this hike was 3 miles.

Finally, got to the stone bridge.

 

One of the scenic sites along the hike.

LEAVING LAKE PLACID -- A NIGHT IN VERMONT

Monday, September 17

We took the Jeep and drove to the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area where the Olympic Alpine races took place, and then to the Olympic Sports Center where the bobsled tracks wind around down the mountain.  I wanted to get a better look at the ski-jumps, but while trying to find a way to get into the ski-jumping complex we ended up at John Brown's Farm Historic site.



These ski runs look like fun!



Bobsled tracks.  This would be fun to try.



Backside of the ski-jumps.  Don't need to try that.

John Brown was an abolitionist who helped runaway slaves get to Canada.  He ended up being hung by the Confederates after he was caught messing the the Rebels ammunition at Harper's Ferry.  His last wish was to be buried at his farm near lake Placid.  The historic farm included the house, barn, and grave site.  We then meandered through the mountains and valleys and through the charming towns and villages, while oohing and awing over the just beginning fall color changes.

Wednesday

Let me tell ya, when we are driving the RV down the road and we hear any strange noises or feel any type of vibrations, we both say "Now, What the hell is that?!?"  The RV has had a shimmy and shake and we think the wheels are out of balance since all the emergency tire changing on that first day didn't include tire balancing.  To ease our minds, and to help keep the tires from wearing out sooner rather than later, we decided to get them balanced before we left Lake Placid.

"Jerry, take a look at that valve extension ting."
(The big building in the background is the High School)

After hanging out with Jerry and the crew at the garage for a couple of hours, we finally got back on the road.  Upstate New York is a gorgeous area with the Adirondack Mountains, and many rivers with raging rapids and waterfalls, and beautiful mountain lakes.  The apple orchards near Lake Champlain stretch on for miles and the harvest is just beginning.  As we traveled parallel with the U.S./Quebec, Canada boarder, the traffic signs were in English and French.

We crossed a bridge over the north end of Lake Champlain into Vermont, and driving on winding narrow roads we made our way through this very rural area, where Moose Crossing warnings seem to be everywhere.  The maple leaves are turning a brilliant red and against the green pines on the mountains, it is going to be a beautiful sight when the peak of the color change happens in 2 or 3 weeks. The mountain valleys are dotted with dairy farms and the greenest-green pastures outside of Ireland.  We arrived at our campsite in-the-middle-of-no-where-Brownington, Vermont late afternoon.  We enjoyed a campfire, and after dark we were bedazzled by the gazillion stars in the clear sky. 

We even had a pool-side campsite!

LAKE PLACID, NY -- OLYMPIC CENTER

September 15 -- Saturday

We spent last night in Mexico, NY then drove northeast, taking the Olympic Scenic Byway through the gorgeous Adirondack Mountains to the North Pole Resort Campground in Wilmington, NY.  It's crazy how we went from Mexico, through Greece, and got to the North Pole all in one day and never left the state of New York!

September 16

Today we started exploring the charming mountain town of Lake Placid, home of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics.  Wilmington is about 10 miles from Lake Placid.

Right next to the Main Street is the long-track speed skating oval where, in the 1980 Olympics, Eric Heiden (from Madison, WI) made history by winning all of the men's speed skating races and 5 individual Gold Medals.



Looking good in spandex! That speed skating really burns a lot of calories.

We visited the museum at the Olympic Center where memorabilia from past Olympics are displayed.  Next we checked out the two ice rinks from the 1932 and 1980 Olympics.  The 1980 rink is where the unforgettable hockey game "Miracle On Ice" took place.  But in case you have forgotten or were too young to see it, here's what happened:  The U.S. hockey team, made up of amateur and college players, and coached by Herb Brooks (who was from Minnesota) unbelievably beat the professional Russian hockey team by 1 point, and then went on to win the final game against Finland, earning the U.S. Hockey Team the Gold Medal.

Entrance into the 1980 Ice Arena at the Olympic Center

  Two Olympic figure skating hopefuls were practicing, while the lady in the long coat was coaching.

Today we also drove as far as we could up Whiteface Mountain and then hiked a treacherous path over rocks and boulders to the summit.  What a view!  It was so clear we could see the Montreal, Canada skyline, 90 miles away.

Hand rails were a good idea!

What do you mean 'we could have taken an elevator'!?!

At the summit!  We did take the elevator down :)

LOCKPORT, NY & THE ERIE CANAL

Thursday, Sept. 13

The Grand Old Erie Canal flows through the center of historic Lockport, NY.  Between 1817 and 1825, this 363 mile long, hand-dug waterway was constructed to connect the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean at sea level, with the Great Lakes at 570 feet above seal level.  To overcome the 49-foot tall Niagara Escarpment, Lockport was chosen as the location of the the famous "Flight of Five".   This twin set of 5-tiered locks allowed boats to travel up in one set and down in the other.  After the canal was enlarged in the the early 1900's, the original twin set of 5 locks were replaced with the current set of 2 locks.  One of the original "Flight of Five" was kept as a spillway.

We took a 2 hour cruise on this part of the Eire Canal while the Captain of the boat provided commentary on the history of the canal and Lockport.  Parts of the original towpaths are still visible alongside the canal.  Horses, mules, and dogs walked along the towpaths towing the boats through the canal.  During the cruise we were entertained by old-time Erie Canal songs.   Does anyone remember the famous "Low Bridge, Everybody Down"?  I didn't remember that song, but Jim does, so he sang along.

NIAGARA FALLS

Tuesday, September 11

Today we drove from Parry Sound through the natural beauty of the Canadian countryside, along the Georgian Bay of Lake Ontario.  Many of the roads are cut through walls of granite rock so when the sun shines on the rock it looks like diamonds sparkling, and the colors and patterns in the granite are like works of art.

The lines in the granite are from the drills that made room for the dynamite to blast the rock.

We drove south toward Toronto; a large modern city with spaghetti like freeways, many under construction and jammed with traffic.  Jim's knuckles turned white and I had all I could do from not gasping and screaming while fast driving, tailgating, aggressive, inconsiderate maniac drivers cut us off and wouldn't let us move over to the traffic lane we needed to be in.  With Jim's magnificent driving skills, we managed to get out of Toronto without getting lost or having an accident.  Whew!

Since it was September 11th, we didn't know if there would be extra security at the border.  The border crossing out of Ontario into Lewiston, NY was uneventful and it felt good to be back in the U.S.A.

We are camping for a few days at Lockport, NY which is located about 20 min. east of Niagara Falls.  This is a farming area with many vegetable stands, as well as acres and acres of grapes growing in the developing vineyards.  (More about Lockport in a future blog.)

Wednesday

Today we drove down to Buffalo, NY (home of Buffalo Wings) and crossed the U.S./Canadian border at Fort Erie, Ontario, then took the Niagara Parkway north along the Niagara River.  I read in a tour book that Winston Churchill once said "This is the prettiest Sunday drive in the world".  I think he exaggerated a bit, but it was nice.  We arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario which has to be one of the most beautiful areas I've seen.  Not only are there spectacular views of the Falls, but the parks, gardens and flowers are incredible, as well as the architecture of the buildings near the Falls.

These are the gardens leading up to the Park Police Station.  The park gardens here have to be seen to be appreciated.

The falls on the left are the AMERICAN FALLS and the small fall on the right is the BRIDAL VAIL FALLS.  The buildings in the back ground are in Niagara Falls, NY.

These mammoth falls are called HORSESHOE FALLS. 

We took the "Journey Behind the Falls" tour. After going down 14 floors in an elevator and donning our fashionable yellow plastic ponchos, we stepped out into a tunnel that led the way to a platform where we stood under Horseshoe Falls.  We could feel and hear the thundering roar of the water coming over the falls in front of us.  It felt like we were standing in a rainstorm.  I wanted to take some pictures, but there was too much water spray and I decided it wasn't worth ruining my camera.

Our next tour was a boat ride on "The Maid of the Mist".  This time we donned fashionable blue ponchos and stood on the top deck as the boat went up the Niagara River past the American Falls and Bridal Vail Falls to the base of Horseshoe Falls.  As we got closer to the base of Horseshoe Falls, the "mist" turned in a torrential downpour.  Experiencing the power, and listening to the roar of all that water dropping 173 feet was amazing.  During the peak flow, an incredible 202,000 cubic feet of water per second goes over these falls.

I think Blue is his color!

Rainbow Bridge in the background; to the right are the American Falls, and further right is a small part of Horseshoe Falls. In the center of the picture you can see "The Maid of the Mist" just coming out from under a rainbow.   

SAULT SAINT MARIE

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7th & 8th

After visiting Mackinac Island we took the ferry back to St. Ignace, hooked the Jeep to the RV and headed toward Sault St. Marie, Michigan.  We stayed at Brimley State Park on the southern part of White Fish Bay on the shore of Lake Superior.  The wind was howling!

Sunday, we drove to Sault Saint Marie, MI and and boarded a tour boat for a cruise on the St. Mary River that included a ride through the Soo Locks.  The locks connect Lake Superior and Lake Heron.



That's an ocean freighter coming through the locks.



 

 

The locks are opening for our boat to go through.  The bridge in the background is the International Bridge connecting the U. S. and Canada.



Monday, Sept. 10th

This morning we left da Yoopers, U. P., and United States by driving across the International Bridge connecting Sault St. Marie, MI and Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Canada.  The fog was so thick and dense we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us; it was a scary ride.  "Good ting I got da pictures of da International Bridge yesterday, eh?"

After the fog burned off, the drive through this part of Ontario was beautiful, with a rocky forested landscape and many lakes with islands.  There were several warning signs about moose and deer crossing the highway, but we didn't see any.  We spent the night at the Horseshoe Lake Campground in Parry Sound, on the Georgian Bay.  

Mackinaw and Mackinac

St. Ignace - Friday, Sept. 7th

Our next stop-over in the U.P. was the town of St. Ignace on the shores of Lake Huron.  We crossed the beautiful Mackinaw Bridge to Mackinaw City.  The bridge is almost 5 miles long and is the longest suspension bridge in the U. S.  It connects Upper and Lower Michigan as well as spanning the straits of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Saturday, we took the ferry from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island.  Now you may be confused, as I was, about Mackinaw and Mackinac and how to pronounce those two words.  Well, this is their story and they're sticking to it:  both words are pronounced MackiNAW, but the French spelled it Mackinac and the British spelled it Mackinaw.  There was also confusion about mail being delivered to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island, so they distinguish the two places by the spelling.

Mackinac Island is a step back to the early 1900's and is full of flowers, gorgeous Victorian homes and hotels, bicycles and horses.  There are numerous fudge shops and other tourist gift shops.  Stepping off the ferry, our noses picked up the smells of horse manure and fudge...an interesting combination.

The only means of transportation on the Island is by walking, horse, or bicycle.  We took a carriage tour through part of the town and State Park, while the carriage drivers provided commentary on the history of the Island.  After the tour, we walked to the Grand Hotel for the grand buffet lunch.  This hotel is elegant inside and out!  A couple of movies have been filmed here, the latest being "Somewhere In Time".

Lucky we got to the Hotel before 6:00, because we didn't bring our evening wear.