East Coast Trip - Vermont, New Hampshire,

We left the Adirondacks on Monday September 15th and headed East. We drove across the bridge in Chimney Point into Vermont. Vermont didn’t have any signs including welcome and speed. We had to check the Rand McNally to see if we entered the state. GPS gave us the speed limit. We stopped for lunch in Bristol and camped in St Johnsbury at the Moose River campground. Nice little campground on the river which was kinda dry due to lack of rain.

Tuesday, Lora’s birthday, I got up early and took the Jeep in for a squeaky brake. Of course they found a couple of ball joints that needed to be replaced. After I returned, we headed on into New Hampshire. We stopped in Lancaster for lunch and an ATM withdrawal. From there we drove to Rangeley Maine and camped at Cupsuptic Lake campground.

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East Coast Trip - New York

Friday September 12 we found a campground in the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake. We walked our campground checking out the lake and a couple of raccoons then headed Southwest into the USA. No problems on the border crossing. We stopped for lunch in Canton and drove on to Little Wolf Campground which is a city park on Little Wolf Pond. We enjoyed an evening relaxing lakeside and reading.

Saturday was hiking day. We hiked Mt. Arab and climbed the fire tower. Saw a few folks on this hike. The views were wonderful. From there we drove to Tooley Pond Road and hiked to the following waterfalls: Basford, Sinclair, Twin, Rainbow, and Copper Rock. All were beautiful and we only saw one other couple. From there we drove back through Tupper Lake and hiked Panther Mountain for some more views. Tired from that we came home and had dinner. Total of about 5.8 miles but mountain climbing in this area is straight up.

Sunday we climbed Haystack Mountain. 6.6 miles round trip and the first 2.2 weren't bad. The rest was straight up. Beautiful views from the top, but kicked our butts. After that hike we checked out the Lake Placid area and looked for moose. We headed back at dark to the camper. Another great day. We saw deer and grouse. 

Monday we headed out for Vermont. We stopped in Port Henry for a break. What a wonderful little town to walk around. Lot's of old buildings and a view of the bridge going to Vermont.

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East Coast Trip - Canada

Tuesday September 9th we left my Brother's in Lowell MI and headed to Canada. No problem crossing the border and we camped at Lake Whittaker Conservation Area in Harrietsville. We walked the campground and some trails while we were there. Even caught a sunset over the lake. We got up the next morning, walked the campground and then headed East. Awful traffic in Tronto which made for an all day drive to Charleston Lake Provincial Park.

Thursday we got up and drove to Mallorytown Landing of the Thousand Islands National Park. There weren't any trails there so we drove to Landons Bay and hiked the Donevan trail with the overlook trails. It made a nice morning hike with lots to see. After that we drove West on Hwy 2 and into Kingston. We found a place to park and then hit the streets. We walked to the St. Mary's Cathedral which of course was under renovation, we walked to the waterfront to take in the sights, then we drove down to see Murney Tower and the Penitentiary. On the way back to camp we stopped at Grass Creek Beach for a little relaxation. Then we headed back to camp and dinner.

Friday we found a campground in the Adirondack's and headed to New York.

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East Coast Trip - Michigan

Plan A was Virginia and then up the East Coast to Maine. Plan B was Virginia, Southern Michigan, Northern Michigan and on to Maine. Actual plan was straight up to Northern Michigan. My Uncles health was failing fast and we needed to be with my Aunt as he passed on into heaven. Mission accomplished!

We left on August 20 and drove up to Kiser Lake SP in St Paris, OH for the night. Nice little campground on the lake. Clean and the camphost were very friendly. We only walked the campground so didn't see the rest of the park. The next morning we headed North to Elk Lake to stay with my Aunt and Uncle. My Uncle passed on the 28th and we stayed on getting my Aunt ready for life on her own. 

On September 4th, we headed South to my brothers in Lowell Michigan stopping at Newaygo SP for a hike along the lake in between. Pretty park with a couple of campgrounds. Arrived at my brothers for a good visit. 

Friday we headed to P.J. Hoffmaster SP and North Ottawa Dunes for some hiking. We hiked the dunes and along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day with some high winds. Big waves on the lake made for some beautiful scenery. We might have had some ice cream afterwards to rebuild our strength.

Saturday we visited Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. 158 acres of art and gardens. Amazing place to visit and have lunch. 

Sunday we headed to Fallasburg Park in Lowell Michigan. We hiked the trails, crossed the bridges, and saw the wildlife. It was a beautiful day and we covered around four and half miles of trail. Luckily Kathy had brownie's and ice-cream waiting for us so that we could recover.

Monday we hiked at Muskegon SP. We hiked five miles through the dunes and seeing all the things that the park offered. Another great day.

Tuesday morning we were off to Canada.

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McGill Creek on the Cumberland Trail

We took advantage of the weather and hiked in August in the high 60's to McGill Falls on the Cumberland Trail. It was still hot due to humidity so we took a swim at the falls to cool down.

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Cumberland Trail Hall Road Trailhead

Jennifer and I met at the trailhead on Hall Road. The parking lot is good but the dirt road getting to it, not so good. There is no sign anywhere on the main road or this dirt road about the CT. We took our time, me nursing a sore back. But that helped us enjoy all the blooms and fungi.  Flame azalea, Mountain laurel, and Rhododendren were all blooming along with Magnolias. There was a magnolia that had fallen in the forest and we got a close up look at the blooms. These trees grow so tall that you usually don't see the blooms unless you are looking up.

This is from the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy: In the upper watershed, the hike from the Hall Road access point to Barker Camp Road consists of 10 miles of trail that runs along North Chickamauga Creek above the Cain Creek Confluence. This section passes the legendary Helican Blue Hole.

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Savage Gulf

Today Lora and I hiked at Savage Gulf. We hiked the Day Loop trail and three miles on the South Rim trail. Yesterday when we were at my parents home in Maryville we heard the Cicada's and today the woods were full of them. Made for a loud hike. We saw lots of flowers and the water was up for the waterfall. When we left you could see the Cicada's in the road that had been hit.

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Lexington Virginia

Day 20

We drove to Natural Bridge SP and hiked the Natural Bridge trail including cascades, cave, and waterfall. We saw a couple of water snakes on the rock walls. Then we drove to the visitor center in Historic Lexington. From there we walked the town seeing the historic buildings, Washington Lee University, and Virginia Military Institute. We walked to the cemetery where Stonewall Jackson was buried. When we got back we did a little river time and later enjoyed a campfire. 

Day 21

We drove back to Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol VA for our last night of camping. 

Day 22 

We arrived back at our house after a wonderful trip!

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New Market Virginia

Day 19

With time on our hands we took the scenic drive across the mountains between West Virginia and Virginia. We ended up at the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. They were having an reinactment which was really cool. We visited with Surgen, cooks, blacksmith, fired cannons, troops shooting, and the museum. We made it to the Swedish Lilac campground in Vesuvius for the night. It's a really beautiful campground along the river. After visiting with the owners we went down to the river for a swim. 

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Winchester Virginia

Day 17

Drove to Winchester Virginia and camped at Candy Hill campground. Relaxed at the pool, walked campground, and read at campground. Nice to relax

Day 18

Drove to Luray to find Lora's history. We found the house, the monument, and the old meeting house that her great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was involved in. The rock house is now a B@B thats on the James River. After that we went downtown to the visitor center, Singing tower, Little white house, and the Shenandoah Heritage Village. Then we drove back to Winchester. We saw Confederate Statue, Blues Brothers at the Historic Taylor Hotel, Fort Louden where we just missed an reinactment event but a guy showed us all the stuff he found in a dig on the fort property. We saw Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters, Library and had icecream at Red fox Creamery. 

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