July 14 , 2021 /

ROAD REPORT #4

Heading to the northeast corner of Ohio, close to Lake Erie, we stopped for two nights at Pymantuning KOA near Andover, Ohio.  Lots of rain. Features along the road included numerous Amish buggies and horses and one three horse hitch which we do not remember seeing on roads in the past.  We have seen as many as five mules hitched in the field but usually not more than two horse hitch on a highway.  It looked like many of the Amish farmers were taking their products to market or to their buyers.  The farms are easy to spot as there are usually no electric wires going into the buildings and the colorful laundry is often hanging outside to dry. Young boys driving buggies or riding bicycles were quick to wave a friendly hello as we passed by.

As we skirted along Lake Erie in Ohio we saw many vineyards, then crossed the small northwest corner of Pennsylvania, around Erie, PA, and then east to miss Buffalo and Niagara Falls traffic, stopping overnight at Cheery Valley Campground near Phelps, N,Y.  Our objective the next day was to go along Lake Ontario and head for 1000 Islands.  We’ve visited all five of the Great Lakes as well as a couple of the largest fresh-water lakes outside of those, Great Salt Lake and Lake Champlain, which borders NY and VT.

We landed at Swan Cove RV Resort near Alexandria Bay, NY, near where Lake Ontario empties into the St. Lawrence River. For 50 miles, starting in Kingston, Ontario, and going downstream there are some 1800 islands in the river.  That area has been a summer playground since the late 1800’s and many of the islands have homes or cabins.  To be considered one of the thousand islands, there must be a least a foot of land above the high water mark and some of the islands are simply a small piece of ground with no buildings at all.  We watched numerous , large, ships that travel on the Great Lakes going up and down river as we were camped along the shoreline for three nights.  Lots of red-winged blackbirds among the cattails and loons and mergansers on the water, along with fishing and pleasure boats. Here is an interesting history for those interested in learning more about this place, worth a visit for sure:

http://boatingtales.com/history-and-facts-of-the-thousand-islands/

We had hoped to be able to cross into Canada, saw the ArriveCAN application online and since we are both vaccinated and had our passports, we filled out all the information and at the end of our Swan Cove stay headed for the 1000 Islands Bridge crossing.  We knew there was a less than 50/50 chance they would let us in as we are considered tourists and non-essential travel.  That turned out to be the case and they looked at all our documentation, filled out some papers and turned us around to go back to the U.S.  So instead of going to Maine through Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick with a side trip to Nova Scotia, we are headed to Maine through New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

We crossed the northern edge of Lake Champlain, stopped at the Alberg Vermont Welcome Center, got a list of campgrounds, both state and private, and picked Mill Pond CG near Franklin, Vermont. We’re on the lookout for a place to get an oil change on the Mercedes diesel and haven’t heard back from the dealer in Bangor, Maine.  It will be our next major stop and if we can’t get an appointment within a couple of days, we’ll adapt and find another, reliable source for the service.  Maintenance of all systems in an RV is important and the engine is among the most important for obvious reasons.  We watch the fluid levels in all the tanks, oil, fuel, coolant, fresh, gray and black water, as well as LPG and battery levels.   July 14, 2021

Comments (1)

  1. Wow. Sounds like a very good adventure for two woke tourists. Thanks for taking me along. You are our only tickets at this point,
    Keep us posted.
    Frances and Ray

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