Intending to get to one place and reaching another, I was lucky to find myself on top of the amazing Cathedral Ledge, seeing a magnificent vista. Also a highly interesting social encounter with a female rock climber and a night drive on a desolate road.
Last sortie into the White Mountains at the magical Lost River Gorge and Caves easy access reserve. Roots make impossible overground journeys to provide trees with grounding and nutrients, water cascades down tunnels to erupt in beautiful waterfalls, boulders conceal caves, crevasses.
Experiencing a change in climate, landscape, way of life and mode of travel, I crisscrossed the corn fields of Vermont to end up in the aptly called Lazy LIons Campground in the midst of nowhere, met some great guys there, learned to eat S’mores and found out where custom granite tombstones are made in a place aptly called “Forever”.
Lake Champlain Islands, VT. I reconnected with my water element on this set of beautiful islands, replete with history, geology, nature and atmsophere. I settled into Grand Isle State Park Campground, met some great people and trees on the beach, and at night, communed with the spirit of a magical tree.
Isle La Motte – Extraordinary beauty and wildlife. The oldest fossilized reef in the world at Goodsell Ridge Preserve. Site is also features: WTT – Walk Through Time: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? Another site of interest: St. Anne’s shrine, a religious historical monument.
As an “authentic” Vermont experience, I picked Macintosh apples at Hacket Farm, South Hero, Highly recommended – fresh, fun and inexpensive. Also: Driving to Burlington to take care of my car insurance claim, then rewarding myself with a great Japanese meal at Hana’s.
Transferring into my first leanto and studying the variety of habitats on the Ironwood Trail, I spent another charming day on Lake Chmaplain.
Fisk Quarry Preserve, La Motte VT. An extraordinary chain of events led me from a quarry turned nature preserve, featuring the oldest fossilized reef, to the house of the people who fought to ascertain this is protected and safeguarded for future generations. Also an art barn and a pizza dinner in a home atmosphere.
New York State welcomed me with colorful fruit stands and pristine glacial lakes, The Keene furniture stores featured a rich and authentic mountain culture, clearly not for vegetarians, though. Far from the lights of the Big Apple, my new campsite at Drape’s Acres was a picth dark, desolate post-season affair.
Climbing two sections of Mount Whiteface, I saw how Nature takes after the Olympic human enterprise, how sunrays reflect back from mountain valleys into space and how a cloud collector in the Adirondacks measures pollution blowing over from Shanghai.
Sweet and sour. An out-of-season Olympic village that knew better days. As natural vegetation growth outpaces athletic speeds, new generations keep practicing on the ice arenas. Nice historical museums, great Asian buffet. Also, a nice walk in Henry Woods private nature preserve. Thank goodness for landowners like that.
Leaving the Adirondacks, I took a farewell, breath-taking plunge into the astounding Cascade Lake, then relocated to the Thousand Islands Campground, where Johnny Depp welcomed me in the bathroom and a seamstress prayer. A beautiful sunset hung over one of the 1000 islands in the nearby state park. .
Beauty and more beauty. Wellesley Island Nature Center / State Park is full of water, life and geology. Paths are easy to walk / rewarding to the nature lover. The Eel Trail leads along the coast to the awesome Narrows. Pond loop peaceful, biologically rich. Encounter with a jolly Canadian girl adds a social dimension.
Clayton Jazz Festival: Kimberly Hawkey, the 10th Mountain Division Jazz band and Studio G from Nashville, all sounded their music over the St Lawrence, as barges were going downstream, then played and sang at night in Clayton’s hangouts. Also brief visit to Lake Onatario and an October Fest in Cape Vincent.
Uncle Sam Boat Tours, 1000 Islands. Playing the tourist, I oohd and aahd about the cuteness of the islands and the general magnificence of the area, shot pictures obsessively, visited the must-see Boldt’s love castle, but also a memorial for “Operation Iraqi Freedom” and learned about bootlegging.
Intending to get to one place and reaching another, I was lucky to find myself on top of the amazing Cathedral Ledge, seeing a magnificent vista. Also a highly interesting social encounter with a female rock climber and a night drive on a desolate road.
Last sortie into the White Mountains at the magical Lost River Gorge and Caves easy access reserve. Roots make impossible overground journeys to provide trees with grounding and nutrients, water cascades down tunnels to erupt in beautiful waterfalls, boulders conceal caves, crevasses.
Experiencing a change in climate, landscape, way of life and mode of travel, I crisscrossed the corn fields of Vermont to end up in the aptly called Lazy LIons Campground in the midst of nowhere, met some great guys there, learned to eat S’mores and found out where custom granite tombstones are made in a place aptly called “Forever”.
Lake Champlain Islands, VT. I reconnected with my water element on this set of beautiful islands, replete with history, geology, nature and atmsophere. I settled into Grand Isle State Park Campground, met some great people and trees on the beach, and at night, communed with the spirit of a magical tree.
Isle La Motte – Extraordinary beauty and wildlife. The oldest fossilized reef in the world at Goodsell Ridge Preserve. Site is also features: WTT – Walk Through Time: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? Another site of interest: St. Anne’s shrine, a religious historical monument.
As an “authentic” Vermont experience, I picked Macintosh apples at Hacket Farm, South Hero, Highly recommended – fresh, fun and inexpensive. Also: Driving to Burlington to take care of my car insurance claim, then rewarding myself with a great Japanese meal at Hana’s.
Transferring into my first leanto and studying the variety of habitats on the Ironwood Trail, I spent another charming day on Lake Chmaplain.
Fisk Quarry Preserve, La Motte VT. An extraordinary chain of events led me from a quarry turned nature preserve, featuring the oldest fossilized reef, to the house of the people who fought to ascertain this is protected and safeguarded for future generations. Also an art barn and a pizza dinner in a home atmosphere.
New York State welcomed me with colorful fruit stands and pristine glacial lakes, The Keene furniture stores featured a rich and authentic mountain culture, clearly not for vegetarians, though. Far from the lights of the Big Apple, my new campsite at Drape’s Acres was a picth dark, desolate post-season affair.
Climbing two sections of Mount Whiteface, I saw how Nature takes after the Olympic human enterprise, how sunrays reflect back from mountain valleys into space and how a cloud collector in the Adirondacks measures pollution blowing over from Shanghai.
Sweet and sour. An out-of-season Olympic village that knew better days. As natural vegetation growth outpaces athletic speeds, new generations keep practicing on the ice arenas. Nice historical museums, great Asian buffet. Also, a nice walk in Henry Woods private nature preserve. Thank goodness for landowners like that.
Leaving the Adirondacks, I took a farewell, breath-taking plunge into the astounding Cascade Lake, then relocated to the Thousand Islands Campground, where Johnny Depp welcomed me in the bathroom and a seamstress prayer. A beautiful sunset hung over one of the 1000 islands in the nearby state park. .
Beauty and more beauty. Wellesley Island Nature Center / State Park is full of water, life and geology. Paths are easy to walk / rewarding to the nature lover. The Eel Trail leads along the coast to the awesome Narrows. Pond loop peaceful, biologically rich. Encounter with a jolly Canadian girl adds a social dimension.
Clayton Jazz Festival: Kimberly Hawkey, the 10th Mountain Division Jazz band and Studio G from Nashville, all sounded their music over the St Lawrence, as barges were going downstream, then played and sang at night in Clayton’s hangouts. Also brief visit to Lake Onatario and an October Fest in Cape Vincent.
Uncle Sam Boat Tours, 1000 Islands. Playing the tourist, I oohd and aahd about the cuteness of the islands and the general magnificence of the area, shot pictures obsessively, visited the must-see Boldt’s love castle, but also a memorial for “Operation Iraqi Freedom” and learned about bootlegging.