August 2nd
We had a leisurely morning, then got cleaned up and headed back to Rome to see Fort Stanwix. It was worth it as it has been rebuild beautifully and really gives you a feel for what it was like in the late 1700’s. Our guide, Willie Scott, did a great job of explaining why it was so strategic. There is a narrow land bridge between two rivers that allowed travel and trade, while everything around it was marshy or water. Right behind the fort is beautiful St. Peters Roman Catholic Church, so we went in for a quick visit. What beautiful architecture and stained glass windows!
Returning to the campground, we hooked up and headed up Rt 46 over to Rt 12, which is a scenic byway along the Black River. Rt. 12 is a beautiful road with little traffic and we could easily hold 60mph and enjoy the scenery. We missed a turn, so we only got a glimpse of the Black River, but it was gorgeous. If we had no itinerary, this would have been a great place to stay and explore the Black River. There is trout and salmon fishing on the river and sounds like a pretty exciting raft trip. I started to turn into Pixley Falls State Park, but Martha said we would probably have to pay to get in, so I drove on. Am I with Kelly or Martha? By the time we got to I81, we were happy to see light traffic and a very good road in contrast to what we saw in Pennsylvania and southern New York, where this major highway is in poor condition with very heavy traffic. New York has some very nice rest areas.
It is a very narrow and high bridge crossing the first half of the St. Lawrence Seaway to Wellesley Island with a 40mph speed limit. The trucks don’t seem to mind, but it seems like you are almost touching side view mirrors when you pass them. The campground is full, so there is a lot of activity, which can be entertaining, but not my kind of place, but we are happy to stay in one place for three nights and rest up a bit. It was 86 degrees, which was plenty hot as we unhooked and put out the awning for the first time. We love our outdoor mat that our neighbor, Leslie, gave us, full of color and we can now wipe our feet before coming into the trailer.
A little exercise will be good tomorrow – maybe a bike ride to explore a bit.
What a great start to a fantastic trip! Keep the photo’s and notes coming, they’re so much fun to view and to read.
Thank you so much Pat. We are looking forward to a sunset cruise in the St. Lawrence this evening and you can bring your own wine!