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Date:         Tue, 9 Sep 2014 10:11:04 -0700
Reply-To:     Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Adirondacks  Jaunt
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

After two years without a camping trip we finally took the opportunity with this vacation to get away in the Westy again. We bought a new house last winter and moved in the spring with lots of home repair and resettling afterward, so it had been since September ’12 that the camper was parked, with only the occasional commute to keep it limber. As you might guess, we had lost our camping chops in that amount of time. In addition, much of the camping gear had migrated to the house or garage and we weren’t sure we’d be able to find everything we needed or even remember what everything was we did need. And I finished rebuilding the power steering rack hours before departure. No stress at all on this trip. Our second trip in the Westy back in ’06 was to the Thousand Islands and we decided at that time we needed to come back and do the Adirondacks but it took until now to accomplish that. Drove up to the C&O Canal for the first night, the site of our very first Westy trip way back when, and camped near Fort Frederick SP. Then on to the Binghamton NY area and a stay at the Chenango SP. Next full day of driving got us into the Adirondack Park itself. We’d been stopping at dog parks along the way to exercise the Anniedog and Karen wanted us to camp at the KOA north of Lake Placid for its dog park, an idea that was not at all appealing to me. I told her I’d do any amount of dog walking in order to NOT have to stay at a KOA, no matter how nice. Turned out that facility was not worth the stay so we moved on to the preferred state parks. Stayed at Fish Pond Lake SP and then at a terrific spot, Ausable Point SP on Lake Champlain just south of Plattsburgh. Great views of my old stomping grounds in Burlington, Vermont across the lake, and we had absolutely gorgeous weather to be camping lakeside. We did encounter a couple of closures that were not expected. The NY camping guide does not mention seasonal dates that are definitely in effect after Labor Day at many of the parks. The website does post these closure days but Web access is not always available so camping on the fly could be risky. One night we hit a closed park that, fortunately, was near another one still open. Next day we found another we had planned to stay at that was also closed and torn up for dam construction at its lake. PA and NY pricing in the state parks were right at the $30 mark for a non-electric site, but PA gives you 4.50 senior discount off that total, while NY includes a 5.00 out-of-state surcharge and no senior discount. The C&O Canal camping sites (actually in National Historical Park territory near the fort that is itself a state park) were primitive and 15.00 each, but the senior discount dropped that to 8.00. Overall, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable trip. More driving than we had wanted to do but that happens sometimes, about 1900 miles this trip. The van did well and the A/C with its annual recharge kept us cool at the crucial times. I would have liked more power for the hills. I don’t need to drive 75 MPH but would like to maintain 55 when I need to and the hills always slow us way down. I spent a lot of time driving on the wide paved shoulders and waving other drivers past us. We saw several Vanagons, a surprise after other trips when we saw none. Even saw a splitty camper on the road, along with a couple of bays, a few Eurovans and three Rialtas. One curious Vanagon rig was piloted by two Montreal ladies and it had the big streamlined locking fiberglass enclosure above the Westy luggage rack area. I’d seen photos of these but never one in person. Can’t recall the name or the maker right now but I’m sure one of you will remind me. I’ll be posting pix of the Vanagons we saw on this trip in the Samba thread “Have you seen one lately?” We averaged about 19 MPG and saw gas prices from 3.09 at home to about 3.80 in NY. With retirement looming ahead we should plan lots more of these trips. Time to get the Golden Eagle pass and hit the road! The dog seems to agree that this is the way to spend our time. After we arrived home, the first time we went out again she went to the Westy. Stephen


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