Jayden, Grandpa and Grandma at the Albany train station Arriving in Massena on July 1st, we spent the next 2 weeks visiting with our grandson Jayden, helping him start his college search and setting him on his way for a long train ride to Missouri to see his dad.
At Robert Moses State Park Robert Moses State Park
As our plans developed to visit our grandson in Massena, we knew we needed to make reservations at the nearby Robert Moses State Park. Given that it would be July 4th week, we were a little late to get one reservation to cover the entire 2 weeks. So, we ended up having to move 2 times while we were there. Situated on the St. Lawrence River, the park is close enough to Canada that our cell phones kept telling us we were in Canada. That also put us closest to the Canadian wildfires, so the smoky haze covered us for several days while we were there.
As our plans developed to visit our grandson in Massena, we knew we needed to make reservations at the nearby Robert Moses State Park. Given that it would be July 4th week, we were a little late to get one reservation to cover the entire 2 weeks. So, we ended up having to move 2 times while we were there. Situated on the St. Lawrence River, the park is close enough to Canada that our cell phones kept telling us we were in Canada. That also put us closest to the Canadian wildfires, so the smoky haze covered us for several days while we were there.
Jayden (behind those sunglasses) at SUNY-Canton Jayden joined us for several days at the campground. We also hit the road with him to Potsdam and Canton to visit colleges that were on his list of possibilities. His mom and siblings joined us for a picnic one Saturday, and we even managed to get him to an eye exam, which was much harder to arrange in this small town than we ever thought it would be.
Heading south on I-87 Changing Plans
We had been working for several weeks on making travel plans that would connect several events – a birthday party, a train trip and a campground within reach of both. With some coordination between family members in 4 states, we had a plan. We would move from Massena to a Boondocker’s Welcome host near Utica on Friday, the 14th. On Saturday, we would drive 2+ hours to Lake Peekskill on the Hudson River for the birthday party. On Sunday, we would drive north to Albany, where Dave and Jayden would board the Lakeshore Limited headed west. While Jayden would travel its length to Chicago and then on the Southwest Chief to Missouri, Dave would get off in Utica. Cathy meanwhile would drive the truck to meet him and we would complete the circuit back to the RV. It looked like it would all work.
Until things changed.
First, one of the birthday girls (Dave’s mom), couldn’t make the trip to Lake Peekskill. While the birthday party would continue, we decided that it didn’t make sense for us to travel so many hours over the weekend, when we would be able to spend more time with Dave’s mom and sister in August. We decided to change our campsite from Utica to one nearer Albany. We found one about 45 minutes away. It should work well.
We had been working for several weeks on making travel plans that would connect several events – a birthday party, a train trip and a campground within reach of both. With some coordination between family members in 4 states, we had a plan. We would move from Massena to a Boondocker’s Welcome host near Utica on Friday, the 14th. On Saturday, we would drive 2+ hours to Lake Peekskill on the Hudson River for the birthday party. On Sunday, we would drive north to Albany, where Dave and Jayden would board the Lakeshore Limited headed west. While Jayden would travel its length to Chicago and then on the Southwest Chief to Missouri, Dave would get off in Utica. Cathy meanwhile would drive the truck to meet him and we would complete the circuit back to the RV. It looked like it would all work.
Until things changed.
First, one of the birthday girls (Dave’s mom), couldn’t make the trip to Lake Peekskill. While the birthday party would continue, we decided that it didn’t make sense for us to travel so many hours over the weekend, when we would be able to spend more time with Dave’s mom and sister in August. We decided to change our campsite from Utica to one nearer Albany. We found one about 45 minutes away. It should work well.
At a rest area on I87 near Lake George Next, it rained. A LOT. As we studied the route options from Massena to Albany to Lake Peekskill, some of them were skirting road closures due to washouts. The deluge was making the national news with forecasts of more coming as we moved south. Also the tracks from NYC to Albany had been flooded, impacting one half of the Lakeshore Limited, which was actually cancelled for a few days while the tracks were repaired. We decided to take a longer route south to go around the Adirondacks, so we wouldn’t risk encountering a sudden road closure with the trailer in tow, and we would watch the weather, hoping it caused no more problems for the train.
But all that rain would create one more problem.
Since we had chosen a longer route around the Adirondacks, Dave had a long drive from Massena to the tiny town of Galway near Schenectady NY. Arriving after 2pm, we tried to set up on the grassy site, which was slick from the recent rain. As the tires started to spin, we had visions of getting stuck again as we had 2 years ago in similar circumstances. We managed to make adjustments and decided we could make this work. We completed our set up and all was well.
Until the power shut down.
Our Power Watchdog was detecting low voltage and kept turning off the power. Since our site had no shade and the outside temperatures were rising, leaving the AC off was not going to fly. The campground came to analyze the problem, but concluded the only solution was for us to move sites. While it was a short hop to the new campsite, the site was muddier than the one we were in. We were going to try it anyway, but our attempt to hookup the truck did not go well. The wheels spun as Dave had to maneuver over a large lip at the forward edge of the site and align perfectly to hitch up. When we were finally hooked up and off the site, we decided to keep going, leaving this campground for the next one on our itinerary. It was 90 minutes away, but we could pull into our site 5 days early and stay put.
Our site at Adirondack Gateway Campground, next to the soybean field We pulled into the Adirondack Gateway Campground north of Utica at 7pm. Thanks to the long summer days, we had enough daylight to set up, and the pull-through site was easy to enter. This was a grass site, but the gravel underneath meant it was solid. We were finally set after a very long day.
Jayden's train arriving at Utica All Aboard
With our unexpected move, we were now 2 hours from Jayden’s departure point at the Albany Amtrak station. Although his train didn’t depart until 7pm on Sunday evening, we left around noon to make the trip, with a few stops along the way. We picked up a few last-minute travel items and got some dinner before arriving at the station late afternoon.
Grandpa had given Jayden a lot of advice on packing for the train, but most of that fell apart when we discovered he couldn’t check his bag, since his destination had no baggage service. So, Cathy left Grandpa and Jayden with his bags at the station and headed to Utica, a little over 2 hours up the highway.
With our unexpected move, we were now 2 hours from Jayden’s departure point at the Albany Amtrak station. Although his train didn’t depart until 7pm on Sunday evening, we left around noon to make the trip, with a few stops along the way. We picked up a few last-minute travel items and got some dinner before arriving at the station late afternoon.
Grandpa had given Jayden a lot of advice on packing for the train, but most of that fell apart when we discovered he couldn’t check his bag, since his destination had no baggage service. So, Cathy left Grandpa and Jayden with his bags at the station and headed to Utica, a little over 2 hours up the highway.
Lakeshore Limited cars combining in Albany The Lakeshore Limited has 2 origin points – Boston and NYC. The 2 trains combine in Albany. Due to a fortuitous stroke of luck, Dave and Jayden got to board the train early before the trains were joined. They got to watch as the 2 sections were coupled together. Heading out about a half hour late, the Lakeshore Limited had a few stops before reaching Utica, but never made up the time. The NYC half of the train was missing the cafe car, so as soon as it opened, there was a bit of mad rush. By the time the train arrived in Utica, Jayden had just made it up to the counter, but Grandpa missed out. We waved goodbye to Jayden and drove back to the RV, grateful all had started out well for Jayden’s trip west, but glad to be at the end of another long day. We uploaded a video of Dave’s portion of the trip here.
Monitoring the train’s progress, we ensured all went well with Jayden’s transfer in Chicago and on to Missouri the next day.
Monitoring the train’s progress, we ensured all went well with Jayden’s transfer in Chicago and on to Missouri the next day.
Parting Shot
Although the sites at Robert Moses State Park had no water at the site, the third of our 3 sites sat next to one of the water fills. The campers in the site the week before us had used that to advantage, running a slip ‘n’ slide and having lots of water balloon fights. While they did a good job cleaning up early in the week, they didn’t do such a good job later. This is the pile of balloon remnants Cathy collected over our stay.
Although the sites at Robert Moses State Park had no water at the site, the third of our 3 sites sat next to one of the water fills. The campers in the site the week before us had used that to advantage, running a slip ‘n’ slide and having lots of water balloon fights. While they did a good job cleaning up early in the week, they didn’t do such a good job later. This is the pile of balloon remnants Cathy collected over our stay.
