Jo Day 69 (Oct 8): It was a cloudy overcast morning at Lake Durant Campground, NY. Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 83 mile ride today in the Adirondack Mountains It sprinkled a little. We crossed over the Hudson River (misc info: Mount Marcy is the highest mountain at 5,344 feet and near the summit of Mount Marcy is Lake Tear-of-the-clouds, the source of the Hudson River). We drove by the guys a few times today and we stopped at a park in Newcomb, NY...we had full cell phone coverage at the park, so we parked the van for about 2.5 hours mainly so that Janut could research and contact campsites and motels. Vince caught up to us at the park and we exchanged phone numbers in hopes of meeting up somewhere along the way. The overcast sky produces terrible lighting for picture taking...we were disappointed in our blah looking pictures because the colors are at their peak but the camera and iPhone just couldn't capture all the beauty around us. We saw Kevin and John on the side of the road...Kevin was changing out his flat tire before their 2 mile downhill thrill ride into Ticonderoga. We stopped at the Walmart in Ticonderoga...yeah, yeah, you know the drill by now. Camping at the Rogers Rock Public Campground, NY. 332 sites along a narrow road that goes up and down and winds all over the place. It's crazy, this place is huge and there is only one garbage dump site. Alan went on a 27 minute round trip trek just to dump the trash! He was gone so long in the dark we thought we might have to put his picture on a milk carton! It's really dark here, if you don't have a bright flashlight, you might get lost. Alan took the brighter flashlight and the campground map with him when he took out the trash. So I had the crappy dim flashlight when I went to the bathroom via a side trail up the hill. On the way up I hit my head on a low tree branch because I was looking down at the ground to avoid tripping on tree trunks, roots and rocks. There are many side trails that go up the hill to the bathroom. In the dark abyss, I wasn't sure which side trail took me back to the van (John took the wrong side trail back and ended up at the water spigot on the other side of the creek!). The crappy flashlight was so dim that I couldn't even see how to get to the main road to walk the long way around back to the van, so I just stood there for a moment trying to get my bearings...I lucked out and saw someone with a bright headlamp walking down the main road. I waited until they walked by and lit up the path and then I sprinted towards them and walked behind them! I made it back!
Kevin Days 68 and 69. Boonville, NY to Ticonderoga, NY. Ticonderoga NY to Hancock, Vermont.
Jo Day 68 (Oct 7): Chilly 43* this morning at the Stysh's Brown Barn Campgrounds in Boonville, NY. Misty sunrise = wet towels to hang up and dry in the van. Kevin, Alan and John took off for their colorful 63 mile ride with Vince cheering them on...Vince said "wow, they look really good together...like a synchronized team." Thanks Vince, we wish you a safe and fun adventure and hope to see you again! You must reserve at least two days in advance for the Lake Durant campground, and we were not able to do that. The campground office told Janut to be there at noon if she wanted a camp site. So Janut, Bob and I took off about 20 minutes after the guys. There were a lot of things we would have liked to see and do (walk to the river with Bob at the Brown Barn, eat breakfast at Keye's Pancakes, eat lemon meringue gelato at The Northern Lights Creamery, shop for NY magnets and key chains, hike on the river trails, and take more photos of the fall colors) but we were on a mission to make sure we had a campsite at Lake Durant...so we needed to get there at noon. Janut gave me 15 minutes to run into a bakery in Old Forge...the pressure was on...so I ran across the street and got in line, it was 10:23am and it looked like 12 items were already sold out! There wasn't much left. I lucked out and the old guy in front of me forgot his wallet in the car and had to get out of line (he said the place smelled like his grandma's kitchen). Before he returned they asked me what I wanted...I took the last two cherry brownies, 4 of the 5 berry muffins (the old guy was staring at the berry muffins, so I left him one), the last lemon cornbread cookie, 2 of the 4 lemon ginger scones, and the last 2 monkey breads (the old guy asked what monkey bread was so I explained it to him after I took the last two). They had more monkey bread baking in the in the oven (the old guy will just have to wait). There were two whole quiches in the case so I said I'll take one whole quiche. The sales girl said I can't buy a whole quiche because they are sliced for the daily lunch combo (comes with a salad). Bummer, no quiche . Tick tock, tick tock ... oh, the pressure! I'll take your last bag of homemade granola, and that small round loaf of bread (some sort of Scottish bread). After spending $42 in the bakery, I ran back to the van in under 15 minutes, a new record! We got to the Lake Durant campground at exactly noon, the guy in the office was surprised that Janut made it there by noon, he turned around to the employee behind him, pointed at Janut and said "she's the one that said she'd be here at noon." Janut said "I told you I 'd be here at noon, so here I am!" There were seven spots left, and we got one! I was hungry and Cathy, the campground manager, recommended a restaurant in Indian Lake (about 8 miles away), so we went there, it was mighty tasty. I wanted gelato at the Northern Lights Creamery in Inlet but Janut said "No, I'm not driving back 44 miles just for ice cream and then 36 miles to the campground. You have to find something closer. At that moment I really wished Janut was a "foodie". I found "The Happy Camper Ice Cream", only a mile away. We drove there but it was boarded up and closed for the season or forever, hard to tell. In any case, my quest for ice cream was over...we headed back to Lake Durant where the guys rode in about 30 minutes after we did, good timing. The office guy said we had a lake view...uh, we could see the lake better if they'd cut down some of the trees! Our camp site has a short little trail to the lake where you can see....a rock in the water and the fall colors. Alan kicked the rocks and leaves away to make a soft sandy pad for his tent...sometimes he looked like he was doing a little dance. John thought he heard rain drops, but it was just tiny pine needles falling onto his tent and inside his bike bag. Kevin studied the bike maps. Janut documented the upcoming mileage and campsites and took Bob for a walk to the other side of the campground, but forgot her camera (so no pretty sunset picture tonight). I read my book and watched the campers next to us set up their campsite...they hung up a blue tarp between the trees so we can't see them...or maybe...so they don't have to see us? Kevin made a very tasty dinner, spaghetti with Italian meatballs...complimented by the yummy Scottish bread from the bakery. The fall colors are brilliant, as well as tonight's stars and the crescent moon.
Kevin Days 68 and 69. Boonville, NY to Ticonderoga, NY. Ticonderoga NY to Hancock, Vermont.
Jo Day 67 (Oct 6): Slept in a few extra minutes and missed the sunrise at the Selkirk Shores State Park, Pulaski, NY. Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 57 mile ride today, we saw them on the road later in the day. This morning I met a woman named Mary in the campground...she and her husband have been riding with their two kids since June 24. They also started in Anacortes, WA. Mary said they tent camped next to a cyclist named Vince...too bad we didn't meet all of them last night, it would have been fun to chat with them. We saw Mary and her family a couple of times today on the road (riding the same route as us). And we met Vince at tonight's campground...small world. Janut, Bob and I drove through downtown Pulaski, and came upon quite a scene on a bridge over the Salmon River...it was packed with fishermen...on the bridge, next to the bridge, under the bridge and down the river....fishing for Atlantic salmon. I met a couple guys who caught a 20+ lb salmon, and they took a picture of ME holding their catch after I told them about my brother Mark and his Alaska salmon fishing trips. Fish On! We drove on and saw some nice fall colors. We had no sight-seeing plans so when Janut saw a sign with an arrow that said "Salmon River Falls 3 miles" she said "I don't know if that's a town or an actual water fall, but we're gonna find out." Yay, it was a 110 foot water fall, so we walked on the trail next to the falls and to the top of the falls. Totally worth the detour. Tonight we are camping at the Stysh's Brown Barn Campground in Boonville, NY. Dan, the owner, is so nice and so friendly. His father had a dairy farm for 45 years and thought it was time for a change, so in the 70's his father sold the cows and turned the farm into a campground. The barn is well used for weddings and gatherings, it's really something when Dan turns on the party lights inside the barn. Our camp neighbors came buy and offered us some tasty red jug wine...how nice! Mary and her family didn't make it to this campground (they have been averaging 40 miles a day, so 57 hilly miles was too far, bummer). Vince (the cyclist Mary told me about) rolled in and came over to chat with us, what a nice, funny, down to earth guy. Of course we invited him to join us for dinner...how could he refuse? We made tasty Parmesan/sage/breadcrumb crusted pork chops, microwave baked potatoes, grilled corn bread chunks, and frozen veggies. We had a fun evening sharing stories with Vince...we had such a good time that we forgot to watch the sunset!
Jo Day 66 (Oct 5): Nice sunrise at Mid-Lakes Marina, Macedon, NY. I had to wake up John, he wore ear plugs to drown out the trains...but then he couldn't hear his alarm clock either, LOL! No rain, but the condensation was thick...it was dripping from the metal building, which made it sound like it was raining. John's tent was drenched, it looked like someone threw a bucket of water between his tent and rain fly and it stuck together like a wet plastic shopping bag. Alan had to wring out his towel after he used it to wipe his tent. A small bird flew into the van and Kevin helped it out. FYI: The Choo Choo trains stopped around mid-night and started back up around 5:30am. Update: Alan said when the sheriff shined the flashlight on his tent last night the sheriff ordered Alan to "show your hands!" and then asked Alan the same questions he asked us. Apparently Daniel in the blue boat was only one dry docked boat away from Alan's tent. The sheriff made Daniel leave the marina and was told not to come back. Janut and I just realized that the guy we talked to yesterday was Daniel in the blue boat! He was friendly, but I got bad vibes about him so I walked away. Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 85 mile ride. The plan was to ride to Texas, NY, which is very close to Mexico, NY. No joke! However, they had to ride an additional 5 miles to Selkirk Shores State Park, Pulaski, NY because the Yellow Rose campground in Texas, NY was closed for the season. Janut, Bob and I drove to the Palmyra Aqueduct Park in Macedon and watched the Erie Canal lock 29 fill up (the sidewall height will vary by lock ranging from 28 feet to 61 feet). It was a nice sunny day to walk around the park, which has one of the oldest bow sting iron truss bridges in the nation (it was moved here). In 1858 Squire Whipple designed the bridge with iron because he thought it would endure longer than wood (he was correct). We went to the B. Forman Park and saw the home of Samuel Cuyler, which was used as terminus for the Underground Railroad during the slavery days. The home is on the shore of Lake Ontario, so we watched a couple sailboats glide across the deep blue water...and soaked up the warm sun, it was so relaxing! The beach had smooth red clay colored rocks (we were good and did not add any to our rock collection). We stopped at a roadside farm market and bought a variety of fresh picked apples and pears. Janut took pictures of a lighthouse while Bob and I sat in the van. Bob took over the driver's seat and barked at a golden retriever across the street. The golden retriever picked up a ball then sat down and proceeded to have a staring contest with Bob, which lasted at least 5 minutes. We drove down a side street that had a house with a life size sculpture of a mermaid sitting in a dolphin under a gazebo...all behind two guard lions...stuck out like a sore thumb. As we drove through the village of Wolcott, we saw a huge mural with sites in Wolcott...we saw the apple orchards, and the water fountain, so let's find that big waterfall! We found it about two blocks away in the Wolcott Falls Park...the waterfall looked nothing like the mural! I guess they turn the faucet on low during the "off season". In Oswego we saw a large public bus with a route that said "Walmart via Birch Lane". Oh, I forgot to mention that we shopped at Walmart again to replenish our reserves that we lost during the frig incident yesterday. And yes, we bought another bag of ice. The two campgrounds that we were going to stay at were closed for off season (websites said they were open thru Oct 15). Good karma....It's a good thing the guys rode an extra 5 miles to the Selkirk Shores State Park in Pulaski, NY. We got a campsite with a view of Lake Ontario...another beautiful sunset...except for the nuclear power plant on the horizon!
Kevin Day 66 Macedon to Port Ontario, NY 91 miles. My apologies-only one picture from the road today. Another great weather day, clear to start and warming up to the low 70's in the afternoon. A few miles along the Erie Canalway trail, then we left the trail and headed north towards Lake Ontario. Quiet rural roads led to Sodus Point for lunch. Only one place in town was open, and even then they weren't quite ready for lunch when we arrived so our lunch break was at least an hour and a half long. We had planned for an 80+mile day, so we were concerned that the delay would get us to camp late. We made an afternoon stop in Fairhaven, and made the decision to get on state hwy 4, to cut a few miles for the the day. The road was fine and traffic was light, but it still was highway riding so it was important to pay attention to riding-so no pictures! And we wanted to make time so no stopping. 
Jo Day 65 (Oct 4): At sunrise the mist rose from the Wildwood Lake at the KOA in Medina, NY. Alan found some warm sun. Kevin emptied the port-a-potty and filled up the water tank for us. John was putting on his bike shoes (at least that was his initial intention)...he took off his running shoe but then put it back on..he looked down, paused, tilted his head, then realized that instead of putting on his bike shoe he had put his running shoe back on...a senior moment? It's just one of those days! Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 79 mile ride along the Erie Canal. Janut, Bob and I walked along the Erie Canal and then we walked UNDER the Erie Canal via "The Culvert Road"...the only road that goes under the Erie Canal (built in 1823). The canal has 36 locks, an elevation differential of about 565 feet, is 40 feet across the surface, 18 feet across the bottom, only 4 feet deep, and is about 524 miles long. It opened on Oct 26, 1825 to ship goods across the state of New York. Janut was bummed that the sprinter van (9'6") was too tall for the tunnel (7'6")... It's just one of those days! I must sound like a broken record, but we stopped at Walmart again for groceries and ice. A guy who builds out vans for fun spotted the sprinter van in the parking lot and was really interested in the van so Janut gave him the sprinter van tour. We talked to him for a long time...until he realized that he left his mom in the car! LOL! Before we knew it, it was 3pm, we had to hit the road to get to our camp site before it closed (5pm). We made it on time to the Mid-Lakes Marina in Macedon, NY. They said we could park anywhere, so we chose a parking spot with a view of the boats in the marina. Alan set his tent in the marina area and John set his tent along the Erie Canal. Dinner...well, I was getting ready to make quinoa, Parmesan/sage pork chops and grilled corn bread, but when I opened the frig, everything was cool, not cold. Yikes! The frig had turned off sometime after breakfast. The pork chops were 56* so we had to throw them away, along with some milk, sour cream, and everything in the freezer. Janut moved everything from the frig to the big ice chest. It was getting late so I improvised and made chicken quesadillas for dinner. It's just one of those days! Luckily, handyman Kevin found the corroded wire connection and fixed the frig. Then we were sitting in the van chatting when a flash light was pointed in the window and a very concerned looking young sheriff knocked and said "open up." He asked if we had seen Daniel in the blue boat. Kevin replied "No, we don't know who Daniel is. We only saw a guy on that boat fixing it up, a really old guy with a cane down at the end there, and a guy with a dog." The sheriff looked at us like we were lying or something, and asked again if we knew where Daniel was, then he and his partner proceeded to check out every boat in the marina. He even shined his flashlight on Alan's tent for quite a while (long enough for me to take some pictures), we'll have to ask Alan if he talked to the sheriff. It's just one of those days! Kevin took a shower and Janut noticed that Kevin forgot his towel, so she grabbed his towel and was heading to the showers when Kevin texted "Help! Bring my towel!" He grabbed his orange shirt instead of his orange towel. It's just one of those days! The marina is nice and quiet...except for the thundering trains across the canal going "Choo! Choo!". The canal is only 40 feet across, so the trains are close, very close, you can almost feel them as they go by. The marina was nice and dark until the lights in the marina turned on...we had to drop the curtains. It's 10:38pm...Choo! Choo! a train just went by again. John said he's wearing ear plugs tonight so we might have to wake him up. It's just one of those days! Well, tomorrow is another day!
Jo Day 64 (Oct 3): Happy Birthday, Eddy! It was a nice morning at the Comfort Inn in Fort Erie, Ontario. Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 67 mile ride...they got to ride on the Niagara River Recreation Trail and another trail along the Erie Canal. Janut, Bob and I drove under the Peace Bridge along the Niagara Parkway, there wasn't much traffic. We saw lots of black birds with long necks and grey chests flying over the river, swimming in the river, and sunning in the trees along the river. Oh, and lots of big mansions. We drove by Niagara Falls but could not find a parking space for the van (the lots started at $18 for "autos"), what a madhouse. I hung out the window and took pictures and videos of the falls while Janut maneuvered through the traffic. Tourists were walking all over the place, and tour buses were parked in the bus lots. All the side streets had "no parking" signs. We drove 2.5 miles beyond the falls (by downtown), and I noticed a residential street with a church and no "no parking" signs, so I said "turn here, and then turn there, now we can park." Yay, free parking! I was feeling a little under the weather and not up to a 5 mile round trip walk, so Bob and I hung out by the van (ate lunch, took a walk, read a book, saw tourists pull their heavy luggage down the street, and watched the black squirrels eat the almonds that I tossed out of the van window). Janut dashed to the falls, took pictures, and dashed back within 2.25 hours. We stopped at the "Whirlpool" overlook...wow, big rapids and a really big eddy! Then we headed for the Lewiston Queenston Bridge (border crossing into New York, USA). Not much traffic on the bridge, it only took 15 minutes to cross the border. The border patrol guy was serious and all business (no laughs or smiles like the Canadian border patrol lady). He asked for our ID, what is our citizenship "US", did we purchase anything "no, just groceries", got any alcohol "no", have any vegetables or fruits "apples and bananas", any citrus "no", he walked around the van and looked in the windows but said they were too dark so he opened the side door and looked inside, then asked "is that a cat or dog in there?" Janut replied, "he's a beagle". Well, we passed. Uh, regarding alcohol...we are the support van for Kevin and John...what do you think? We traveled through Lockport, NY and drove over the Erie Canal a few times. Saw a tug boat pushing a small barge. Drove on a small steel bridge over the Erie Canal in Middleport, NY. Tonight we are camping at the Medina/Wildwood Lake KOA. Got a small cabin for John and Alan. Laundry night...Janut was getting ready to load the washer, she looked inside and saw something so she pulled it out...a black lace thong! We asked the woman who used the washer before us if it was hers, and she shook her head and said no, so we left the wet thong on top of the dryer. Well, the laundry is right across from our camp site and that lady was the only other person doing laundry at the same time. When we went back, the wet black thong was gone! Too funny...at least it was clean? The guys made a tasty dinner for us, egg noodles, broccoli and kale, and roasted chicken. I like these KOA's during the off season, there are "no activities" = peace and quiet! Yay!
Jo Day 63 (Oct2): Wow! Amazing sunrise at the Norfolk Conservation Campground, Point Ryerse, Ontario. I made sure everyone came outside to see it (Alan literally rolled out of his tent and John had a zen moment as he glowed in the warmth of the morning sun). When the guys took off for their 84 mile ride today the weather was calm. An hour later it started to pour...and then the lightening and thunder hit (see Kevin's post about lightening and huddling together). The rain was off and on all day...in between, the blue sky and billowy clouds were beautiful. Janut, Bob and I stopped at the Port Dover lighthouse and watched a bird dive into the water and fly away carrying a big fish. Then we drove into the marina to see all the sailboats. We drove by a giant steel plant (Lake Erie Works U.S. Steel Canada) that looked like a tall black sand dune with a giant water slide that ran under the road and all the way into Lake Erie. It was not working, probably closed on Sunday ...it must be quite a sight when it's operating. We could see two giant smoke stacks in the distance. As we got closer the smoke stacks were for the Nanticoke generating station (Ontario Power Generation)...a huge building with wires attached to rows and rows of giant robot looking power poles. Looked kind of cool. We passed by the guys somewhere after the village of Selkirk...it was raining (Kevin said they were dripping so much when they stopped for a break...that the cafe floors had to be mopped!). We continued along the shores of Lake Erie and stopped in Dunnville to see the Grand River diversion and it's scary undertow. We spotted the guys at the Trailside Bar and Grill (they were enjoying asian nachos) in Ridgeway, and I walked Bob on the trail. Tomorrow we might cross over to the U.S. at the Canada side of Niagara Falls, so Janut and I went to a park in Fort Erie to view the Peace Bridge and the skyline of Buffalo, NewYork. We climbed on top of the van with the intention of taking pictures of the guys as they rode by on the trail...we waited and waited in the freezing wind...but no guys. Janut looked on find friends...they got off the trail too soon and missed riding through the park with the view of the peace bridge and the skyline of Buffalo, NY! So we drove them to the park after dinner so they could see what they missed! I did not like my dinner at Chuck's Roadhouse (Fort Erie, Ontario), the toasted bun on my cheeseburger was cold. Yuk! They gave me another bun, but it too had cold spots. We are "camping" in the Comfort Inn parking lot (Fort Erie, Ontario) where John and Alan are sharing a room. It's surprisingly quiet (we are next to a highway), except for the 15 minutes of yelping and snorting we heard outside...we think they were coyotes eating something. Oh, and we saw another stunning sunset.
