After we checked out the collection of animals at the Taxidermists,
we headed for Wilmington where the Whiteface access road starts. Whiteface
is a rugged mountain with a steep rocky peak - the road ends before the
summit and access to the peak is via an elevator. This was blasted out
of solid rock and the residue was used to built a castle housing the restaurant
and restrooms. The north side of Whiteface has expert ski hills and was
the site of the Winter Olympics.
Whiteface Mountain, Killington,
NY
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The top of Whiteface
Mtn with Lake Placid behind
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The tunnel to the elevator
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A Close Encounter?
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The Olympic Ski hills
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Friday, August 31
Sandy is due to arrive today and rain is forecast for later. Had
an early ride down to Old Forge (too touristy - water slide park, go karts,
mini-putt, etc) and sat out at the campsite through the afternoon in case
Sandy called. Rain started just before Sandy arrived at 6pm and she'd
been driving in rain all the way here for 7 1/2 hours. Started the fire
before the rain but it didn't last long.
Saturday
Cloudy in the morning but started clearing around noon. Went to the Adirondak
Visitor Centre in Newcomb to see the Ranger talk on Birds of Prey.
Very interesting talk about owls and had a couple of injured owls - a small
Saw-whet with a broken wing and a big Horned Owl that was almost blind
- which were unable to be released to the wild so they were used in lectures.
Took the nature trail walk around the lake. After lunch we took a
drive to Blue Mountain Lake (road-side 'junk' sale), Indian Lake and North
Creek (North Hudson Scenic Railway). Shopped in Tops, and Mam found
out the next day she left her credit card there! BBQ and campfire
at night.
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One-eyed owl
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BBQ and campfire
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Sunday
Weather looked perfect today so headed out for Whiteface Mountain on the
bike with Sandy. Repeat of Wednesday and Thursday. Mam went back
to Tops for her Visa card.
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The top of Whiteface Mtn (my
third visit in 4 days)
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Easy Riders !
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Monday
Weather great again so sat around the campsite and watched the ducks, the
Great Blue Heron, the American Bittern and the turtles - really active
wildlife here! This pleasant time ended when Sandy noticed the toilet
was plugged - spent the next two or three hours unclogging the black water
tank - considering we just spent $700 for a new tank, Liddles RV will definitely
be hearing from us soon. After lunch, went for a bike ride
to Old Forge - the entire route is alongside lakes but the road is lined
with trees so you only get an occasional glimpse of the water - but it's
the usual nice twisty bike-ride road. Saw several deer and wild turkey
at the roadside, but also saw a young dead deer that looked as if it had
just been hit by a car - the mother was still close by watching - very
sad. Another nice BBQ and fire.
Tuesday
 Time
for Sandy to go home today. Sat out by the lake in the morning and
then took a walk down to the bridge by the beach. Had lunch at the
Long Lake Diner - really good. Sandy left about 3pm and got home
at 10:30pm. I had a ride for an hour or so to Sabattis, which is
mainly on dirt roads. Watched "The Green Mile" movie in the evening.
Wednesday
Went for a long drive in the truck - headed out past Old Forge (stopped
at McD for Double Mac Onion Meal Deal - $2.99) towards Ithaca. Left the
Adirondaks Park for a while and then headed back in towards Speculator
and the over to North Creek and Indian Lake.
Thursday
Final bike ride in the Adirondaks! Went along my favourite bit through
Newcomb to North Hudson, then off onto dirt roads to Crown Point on Lake
Champlain. Checked out the bridge to Vermont to ensure we could take
the trailer over there on Friday and then headed up the lake to Port Henry
and then through Moriah and Mineville to Elizabethtown and on to Lake Placid
- this was one of the best scenic roads I'd been on - really good mountain
views on the way to Keene. After lunch at McD - really like that Steak
Special they have here! - went around the back of Whiteface Mtn and rode
mainly dirt roads over to Route 30 (Paul Smiths) and then south to Tupper
Lake and Long Lake - almost 400 Km. The stretch through Gabriels
had very scenic mountain views.
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North Hudson
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Back roads
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Lake Placid
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Olympic Ski Jump
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Back at the camp, a newcomer on site 11 had managed to park his trailer
almost entirely on our site 12 - if we hadn't been leaving the next day
I would have made him move it. Found out that the local library had an
Internet connection so we went over to send Fiona some e-mail - I had 159
new e-mails in my inbox! One last campfire and we were done at Long Lake.
Friday Sept 7, 2001
Fiona's 60th birthday today. Packed to leave and headed for Stowe,
Vermont at 11:30 am - stopped off at the hardware store to buy a toilet
auger as insurance (think the toilet is OK but not sure)! Drove via
Indian Lake and North Creek and then along Route 8 to Hague. This was our
first time on Route 8 and it turned out to be a very scenic drive, especially
along Brant Lake. In fact, the entire trip from Long Lake to Stowe was
scenic, the NY part being quite wooded with only occasional glimpses of
mountains and lakes, whereas VT was open farmland with almost continuous
mountain views. VT Route 17 was perfect for bikes and will need revisiting
soon, especially the twisty section over the Appalachian Gap! Arrived
around 4pm, set up camp and had a drive around Stowe before supper.
Watched "American Pie" on the TV.
Saturday
We only have electric and water hook-ups so we all had a trip to the public
showers this morning. After breakfast, went for a bike ride around
the back roads to Waterbury - lots of dirt roads dead-ending up the mountainside.
Went with Mam & Dad to the Von Trapp Lodge before lunch - looked around
the lodge and gardens - lots of butterflies (and moths?) on the flowers
- long horned cattle in the woods - and then took a dip in the pool before
a late lunch at 3pm.
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The Von Trapp (remember Sound
of Music) Lodge
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Butterflies in the Lodge gardens
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Goldbrook Campground, Stowe
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Off again on the bike for a trip around the Green Mountains - crossed
back and forth via the Appalachian, Lincoln and Middlebury Gaps.
Lincoln was mainly dirt and quite steep - there's a little 1/4 mile hike
to a lookout at the top that needs exploring on a clear day - it was too
hazy today as it was in the 80's and humid. After this 200 Km trip
I needed re-fuelling at McD's - another Steak & Cheese meal deal !!!
Stowe village is pretty at night as all the hotels and restaurants are
so well lit - not much else open, though, as the stores all seem
to close quite early.
Sunday
Had an early bike ride along the dirt roads NE of Stowe - ended up on some
that I'd been MTBing on previously. Worked north to Morrisville and
then took 15 across to Jeffersonville where you head south on 108, climb
up through Smugglers Notch and drop down into Stowe. After lunch, and a
dip in the icy cold pool, we headed out in the truck for a roundabout trip
to Burlington and back. Went south on 100 to Warren, stopping at the Glass
Blowers and the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, then over the Lincoln Gap and up
116 to Burlington and a sundae at McDonalds. Didn't stay long in Burlington
- walked out on the new fishing pier and watched a Laser sailor being rescued
by the Harbourmaster as he couldn't right his capsized boat in the brisk
wind. Headed NE on Route 15 to Jeffersonville and Smugglers Notch.
Dinner at the trailer and read books in the evening.
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Stowe Glass Blowers Studio
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Monday
Looked like rain today so didn't plan on doing much. Did a bit maintenance
on the bike and it still hadn't rained by noon - although there were many
black clouds - so went for a bike ride after dropping Mam off in Stowe
to look around and then walk back to the trailer. I headed over to Montpelier
to see the gold-domed town hall then down Route 12 to Northfield and then
headed into the hills on dirt roads. Crossed over the mountains into
Warren and the turned south on Route 100 for Killington, but the rain got
too heavy and I turned back. Before Waitsfield the rain stopped so
I went over the Appalachian Gap again and rode up the west side of the
Green Mountains to Jonesville - very nice mountain views on the little
back road - see map. A few minutes from the trailer the rain started
again but I just made it back before it started pouring down.
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Goldbrook covered bridge
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Montpelier Town Hall
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Lincoln Gap Stagecoach Stop
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The Green Mountains
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Tuesday September 11, 2001
Heard the terrible news at 11 am that the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon
had been attacked by hijacked planes at 9 am. Could only get fuzzy
TV pictures so we listened on the radio as the extent of the attacked was
described. Totally stunned by the news that both WTC towers were
down - this was just not comprehendible. We were about to go out
sight-seeing when we got the news and I just sat listening to the radio
for the next 3 hours in total shock. Tried to phone Sandy but couldn't
get a line. Eventually we decide to go for a short drive and headed up
Mt. Mansfield on the Toll Road. The top was at about 4500' and much
colder than we'd planned for i.e. only had shorts and T-shirt instead of
winter woollies! A nice brisk hike to the radio tower peak warmed
us up and gave some nice views of Lake Champlain and Quebec - although
the haze looks much worse in the pictures. Managed to get a call through
on the cell phone, probably as I was standing right next to the radio tower
on top of the mountain! Drove back the long route via Smugglers Notch,
over the narrow twisty pass, and then along 15 to Morrisville and south
on 100 to Stowe, stopping off at the grocery store. Decided I couldn't
continue on holiday after the tragic events in NY and planned to head back
via Long Lake. Spent most of the night hearing more about the attack
on the US.
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Mt Mansfield, Stowe, VT
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Wednesday
We packed and set out for home at 11 am. Nice drive along Route 2
over the Champlain Islands - stopped for lunch by the lake at North Hero
and then crossed the border at Cornwall. No waiting but the trailer
was searched by the US and Canadian officials. Uneventful trip down
401, except for the 3 mile backup of trucks waiting on the 401 to exit
for the US bridge at Ivy Lea. Must have been about a 7 mile backup
in total - later heard on the news of 10 mile backups at other border crossings
and waits from 4 hours to all day - guess we got really lucky going over
at Cornwall, as there are no major routes near that crossing. Stopped
at Wimpy's in Pickering for supper and got home at 10:30pm. Surprised
that I hadn't got tired and drove all the way myself, although I'd expected
to have had to get Dad to drive on the 401. Stayed up really
late watching all the events in the US again on the TV - this was first
clear pictures we saw. An unfortunately sad ending to our US trip.
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Time
for Sandy to go home today. Sat out by the lake in the morning and
then took a walk down to the bridge by the beach. Had lunch at the
Long Lake Diner - really good. Sandy left about 3pm and got home
at 10:30pm. I had a ride for an hour or so to Sabattis, which is
mainly on dirt roads. Watched "The Green Mile" movie in the evening.
