September 24, 2006 (Sunday) Crown Point, NY to Hague (29 miles today/1571 total) - We were up at 7:00. Our priority for the day was finding a laundromat which we did in Ticonderoga, NY. We were happy to find that our phone worked fine there, but finding a WiFi connection (actually there were 5 to choose from!) was a real bonus. While Joy sat guard over the washer and drier, Mark sat in Q and downloaded our email, our personal financial data and a firewall update. He also took the opportunity to clean up the server holding our large email files and spam.
We pulled into Roger's Rock State Park at about 12:30 and set up camp in the same site we were in back in 1997. Our big picture window in the living room looks out on a small beach and several miles down the length of Lake George. Beautiful!
September 25, 2006 (Mon) Hague, NY - This is a huge park - second largest in the state according to the gatekeeper. It allowed us to give our slowly atrophying leg muscles a real workout this morning as we tried to walk past all 315 sites. We covered 4 1/4 miles (and we didn't do all the loops) of hills - mostly up! There were maybe 7 other camping units in the whole park - discounting the few that left this morning. In the heavily wooded far reaches at the other end of the park we passed a couple of fellows who could have passed for residents of the back woods or mountains. One was heavy set with long white hair and beard, the other thin, clean shaven and wearing knitted hats. Both wore flannel shirts and jeans with suspenders. They asked if we'd like to hike up Roger's Rock (the "mountain" in the park) with them. We said thank you, but not today.
When we took our chairs out to the beach, the sun was warm but the wind was too chilly. So we came back to our yard where the trees gave some shelter from the wind. By 4:00 pm only one car and three people on foot (the two "mountain men" and a fellow from Highlands, NJ that we'd met) came by on the road and only 4 or 5 people walked the beach. At 4:30 an older man, stoop shouldered with a big belly, parked nearby, stripped to a bathing suit, and took his mask and snorkel tube out into the water. 10 minutes later he came back, got into his car and drove away (soaking wet). Other than that, it's been a peaceful day in a beautiful setting.
Q033352 Roger's Rock State Park #1 dry $18.00 (+2.75) (x2)
September 26, 2006 (Tue) Hague, NY to South Londonderry, VT (161/1832 miles) - Up at 7:00 (52°), and after showers, breakfast, and dumping (Joy woke a raccoon who had taken up residence in the dumpster) we got on the road at 8:45. The foliage in the mountains down along Lake George is showing more color making for a beautiful ride. In Lake George Village we downloaded our email (no WiFi this time) then set out for Glens Falls where we were going to do some food shopping. The shortest and fastest route would have been down I-87 but the entrance ramp was closed for construction. Rather than turning around so that we could get on the interstate from the other direction, as Hildene was insisting we do, we stayed on 9N thinking it ran parallel to I-87. It didn't! We didn't need to add the extra 15 miles when we were trying to stretch our gas to make it into Vermont where we could save $.20 to $.25 a gallon.
The address we had for Winhall Brook Campground turned out to be the ranger's office. A sign there said the campground was 7 miles back. We'd passed it?! We drove back paying closer attention this time. 10 miles later - no signs of a campground. Long story short, it was on another road. It would have been helpful for the Army Corps of Engineers, the campground manager, to have posted an appropriate sign at the turn!
September 27, 2006 (Wed) South Londonderry, VT - It got cold last night - down to 38°. Needless to say we eagerly looked forward to the sun making its way up over the trees. It finally did and it did warm up - to a relatively comfortable 66°. There are several trails in the park. We chose the "wilderness" trail that works its way through the woods to the other end of the campground. There we picked up a well graded trail that may have been an old railroad right of way. This afternoon we concentrated on enjoying the warmth of the sun in our own yard.
September 28, 2006 (Thu) South Londonderry, VT - Our exercise for today was to walk up to the registration office - twice. By up I mean truly up. It was about a half mile walk most of which was a very steep hill. It got the lungs working and the old heart pumping. The first time was to find out that it didn't open for another hour, the second was to re-up for another day here. We were reluctant to sign up for three days all at once without knowing if we really wanted to stay here that long. It really is a nice campground, peaceful and quiet. So another day would be a pleasure.
We have been pretty much alone here - no close neighbors - until mid afternoon. A pickup camper with a dog has set up next door and a friend of theirs is visiting, also with a dog. So far they and their dogs have been good neighbors.
Q033542 Winhall Brook Campground #26 w/e $8.00g + $4.00 A (x3)
