Campsite by the St. Lawrence seaway near Massena NY Leaving Rochester on the first of August, we headed even further upstate into NY’s north country along the St. Lawrence River. We could tell just how far north when our cell phones were mostly tuned to Canadian cell towers. This circuit gave us a chance to spend time with our grandson living in Massena and enjoy some of summer’s bounty.
View from Cedar Point State Park Cedar Point State Park
Cedar Point State Park sits on the St. Lawrence River as it approaches Lake Ontario. With a beach, a dock and a boat launch, its appeal is all about the water. The campground sites were pretty tight, but we managed to get into our full hook-up site without too much difficulty. (Of course anything would be easier than the last one at Hamlin Beach.)
Cedar Point State Park sits on the St. Lawrence River as it approaches Lake Ontario. With a beach, a dock and a boat launch, its appeal is all about the water. The campground sites were pretty tight, but we managed to get into our full hook-up site without too much difficulty. (Of course anything would be easier than the last one at Hamlin Beach.)
With only a day to explore the area, we drove into nearby Clayton and walked the historic downtown streets. Next, we drove down the road to the Thousand Islands Winery, a Harvest Host location, to check it out as a possible stop and to sample their wines. We opted for a wine slushie flight, which was a pleasant change from the typical tasting.
Jayden with Grandma and Grandpa Robert Moses State Park
It has been almost six years since we last pulled into Robert Moses State Park on the St. Lawrence near Massena NY. At that time, we were on our way back from Alaska. Our reason for staying here were the same now as then – to visit our grandson Jayden living nearby. While we had visited with him many times in the intervening years while he was in Virginia, this year was our turn to travel north to see him.
It has been almost six years since we last pulled into Robert Moses State Park on the St. Lawrence near Massena NY. At that time, we were on our way back from Alaska. Our reason for staying here were the same now as then – to visit our grandson Jayden living nearby. While we had visited with him many times in the intervening years while he was in Virginia, this year was our turn to travel north to see him.
Must be my electric personality Robert Moses State Park was a “by-product” of the creation of 2 massive infrastructure projects. One was the St. Lawrence – FDR Power project, a hydro-power plant first proposed by Governor Roosevelt in the 30’s, that feeds electricity to a power-hungry state. The 2nd was an enhancement to the St. Lawrence Seaway, creating a series of locks to enable commercial ship traffic from the midwest and Canadian cities to pass more easily and reliably around the St. Lawrence rapids.
Passing under the Eisenhower lock The park is built on the land that surrounds these 2 projects, offering camping, nature trails, and water access for boating and swimming. Entering the park, the road passes under the lock entrance via a tunnel. On more than 1 occasion, we passed under as a ship was moving over us. Cool. There is a visitor center for the power plant, but much more interesting to us was the lock. We spent an afternoon at the observation platform right on the edge of the lock, watching ships maneuver in and out of the locks with precision requiring inches of accuracy.
Jayden lights the fire while Grandpa "supervises" While there, despite record high temperatures, we enjoyed the time together with our grandson doing some camping favorites, mostly involving food. As the evening temperatures cooled, we lit a campfire, pulled out the marshmallows and chocolate and made our first s’mores this year. There were campfire pies and hobo packs. And we even tried out a new shade-mounted screen to watch a movie – until a thunderstorm made us scramble to put it all a way. Luckily, the rain mostly held off for the weekend, so Jayden’s tent stayed dry. And to escape the heat, we did some birthday shopping and explored the nature center in the park. It was a great weekend, and well worth the trip.
Salmon River - by Babbling Brook RV Park Babbling Brook RV Park – Fort Covington NY
Leaving Massena on a Monday, we headed a short distance east to a private campground, still within 6 miles of the Canadian border. The park was aptly named for the sound coming from the nearby Salmon River, which provided a soothing background noise as it rushed over the rocks nearby. The heat had finally subsided, so we were treated to a week of fall-like weather that made our explorations all the more enjoyable. While we didn’t know exactly what we would find in this remote northeast corner of NY, our week-long stay found enough to make our visit interesting – a visit to Almanzo Wilder’s farm, a relaxing horse-ride, and a rousing dance band and BBQ on Friday night. Oh, and Dave got to exchange internet installation ideas with some contractors on site.
Leaving Massena on a Monday, we headed a short distance east to a private campground, still within 6 miles of the Canadian border. The park was aptly named for the sound coming from the nearby Salmon River, which provided a soothing background noise as it rushed over the rocks nearby. The heat had finally subsided, so we were treated to a week of fall-like weather that made our explorations all the more enjoyable. While we didn’t know exactly what we would find in this remote northeast corner of NY, our week-long stay found enough to make our visit interesting – a visit to Almanzo Wilder’s farm, a relaxing horse-ride, and a rousing dance band and BBQ on Friday night. Oh, and Dave got to exchange internet installation ideas with some contractors on site.
Babe and Star were calves that Almanzo trained using a small yoke such as this one. Almanzo Wilder was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the Little House series of books. Her 2nd book, Farmer Boy, was about Almanzo’s childhood on his family’s farm near Malone NY. The Wilders left the farm when Almanzo was 18. It is now open for tours. We had an amazingly knowledgeable young man on what turned out to be a private tour. Throughout the farm, illustrations from the book were used to relate the Wilders' life on the farm to the buildings and items we were seeing.
Cathy rides Laura at the end of our trail ride. On Saturday, we took a trail ride at a local stable that took in rescue animals, including many Amish horses that were no able to work as they had been trained to do. The stable owner was our guide, leading us through the woods, along the creek and back. It was a beautiful day for the ride, and with only the three of us on the ride, we had time to get to know her and the history of the stables. The pandemic and some serious health setbacks had taken their toll, but the generosity and compassion of the nearby Amish community had transformed the difficulties into a blessing. It was a wonderful story of grace.
Dave on his horse Don along the trail
We tried some local eateries, sampling ice cream nachos, a Michigan hot dog and Maple ice cream made with local maple syrup, just to name a few delicacies. The nearby farm stand was a source of fresh corn that tasted great just off the grill.
When we were back at the campground, Dave had some long conversations with a team installing a series of WiFi antenna towers that were going to dramatically improve the campground’s service. He was able to compare notes about some newer technology that might help with some on-going problems at Faith, such as a grounded ethernet cable (Cat8) that might withstand lightning strikes and wifi antennas that could extend the signal without cables. All food for thought, given our almost daily phone calls with Pastor Barry and Nelson from Faith diagnosing the fall-out from the mid-July lightning strike.
Tug Hill Estate Winery
After a week at Babbling Brook, it was time to move on, and our travels turned south for the first time since leaving FL in May. Our stop was a Harvest Host site called Tug Hill, just east of the tiny town of Lowville. The winery was indeed on a hill, with a commanding view of the farms and windmills that stretched out in all directions. The winery buildings sat amidst large fields of blueberries and grapes and smaller sections of apple orchards and flowers.
After a week at Babbling Brook, it was time to move on, and our travels turned south for the first time since leaving FL in May. Our stop was a Harvest Host site called Tug Hill, just east of the tiny town of Lowville. The winery was indeed on a hill, with a commanding view of the farms and windmills that stretched out in all directions. The winery buildings sat amidst large fields of blueberries and grapes and smaller sections of apple orchards and flowers.
In our spot at Tug Hill Estate This would be our first time truly boondocking (i.e. no shore power) in over a year. But the cool nights made that less of a concern. What became a concern upon our arrival was the designated parking spots, which were all on grass. When we tried to find a spot that would be comfortably level and still allow us room to maneuver to the exit, we were sinking too much into the soft ground. This wasn’t going to work. After some discussion with the staff, we were allowed to park in the gravel parking lot, since no events were planned that night.
It didn’t take us long to get to the blueberry fields. What started as 2 quarts eventually grew to 4, as we went back out in the evening and again the next morning before leaving. We cooled off from our picking by enjoying one “flight” of wine slushies (actually one of them was a blackberry brandy slushie) and another flight of 2 brandies and 2 wines. Relaxing on the deck overlooking the valley was a beautiful end to the day. The next morning we would be heading further south, making our way very slowly back to Virginia.
Parting Shot
This face was carved into a tree at the Nature Center within Robert Moses State Park.
This face was carved into a tree at the Nature Center within Robert Moses State Park.
