Another day, another pond, another paddle, or so we thought. The last few posts ended with us leaving the Moose Mountain Lodge and traveling on to Emerald Pond. We are currently ensconced at the beautiful farm belonging to Jim and Sally Cochrane. Uncle Jim & Aunt Sally are family friends of Trox' and have made us more than welcome in their home. They found a scenic place for us to park Merlin but have insisted that we come stay in the house. We have both enjoyed having a big bed to spread out in and a nice shower. On the way to here from Moose Mountain we had some adventures.
At Gale Meadows we simply stayed at the boat dock since it was not marked as no camping. We arrived late in the afternoon and Trox got a paddle in. I of course went the next morning. From the pond we had views of two ski areas, Stratton & Bromley.
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| A bird taken from the shore of Gale Meadows Probably a warbler |
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| Stratton ski area during Trox' evening paddle |
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| Stratton ski area during my morning paddle |
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| Not much color change yet, but some |
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| Bromley ski area from the boat launch |
From Gale Meadows we headed up to Stratton ski area where Trox was able to get in a ride. Unfortunately the top was rather foggy and there wasn't much view.
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| At the top of Stratton ski area |
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| Self-portrait |
The next few days we investigated and prepared for Trox to paddle the Battenkill River. Peter had highly recommended the river as a great place to paddle and Trox wanted to try it. We found some information on a 22 mile stretch that would let him paddle from Manchester VT area to Jackson NY. He did a short paddle the day before the full trip just to try his hand at some class II rapids.
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| Heading upstream on the Battenkill River |
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| This little guy kept coming out to sun himself while I was waiting at the bridge for Trox to return |
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| Coming into the shore after his initial run |
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| Left one is a flycatcher One on right is some kind of finch | |
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| What a pretty river |
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| Cedar Wax wing | |
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| Snapping Turtle He would NOT turn around! | |
While we were preparing for the river run we stayed at Woodford State park with a pretty pond so I did get some paddling in also. The pond at Woodford State Park was very high but still shallow in places. There is a rocky outcrop in the middle of the lake which is probably much more exposed in a normal rainfall year. It is a very nice paddle.
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| Someone had built this cairn on the rocky outcrop |
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| A closeup of the cairn The water was crystal clear |
I will do a post of Trox' 22 mile paddle of the Battenkill later. After Trox completed his paddle we were in New York and our first stop was at Moreau State Park which of course had a wonderful pond. There are actually two ponds which are connected by a causeway that the beavers attempt to dam closed almost every night. I made my paddle right after the park ranger had broken the dam and so my trip through the causeway was a challenge. Because of the dam, the upper pond is higher than the lower pond and there is quite a current under the bridge while the ponds level out.
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| A beaver lodge in the middle of the pond is a resting spot for the Canada Geese | |
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| The causeway and its current! Took me 4 tries to get through it |
And then on to Green Lakes State Park in the Syracuse area. We picked this park because it was close to Syracuse and Michael, Pea, and young Troxell. We also picked it because the ponds looked really fun to paddle. They are glacier lakes and VERY deep (near 200 feet each) but small enough to easily paddle the perimeter. WELL! That is where our "another day, another pond, another paddle" fell apart. Ends up that private boats are not allowed on these lakes because they are such a delicate ecosystem and the concession that rents "allowed boats" is closed for the season. Let me tell you, I was not a very happy camper! Oh, well, we did get to see the kids and had lots of fun with them.
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| The shallow end of Green Lake This area allows swimmers during the season | |
Our next state park was Taughannock Falls State Park which is on the Cayuga Finger Lake and I was hoping to get to paddle a BIG lake but once again it didn't work out. Oh, well, onward.
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| One of the falls at Taughannock | |
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| Reading the information |
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| Cayuga Lake see why I didn't paddle? |
So finally we arrived in Pennsylvania and we found a state park - Ricketts Glen which is on a pretty little lake named Jane. It was also close to Williamsport. We spent a day exploring the cemetery at Williamsport which is where Trox' father's father and grandparents are buried. What a beautiful cemetery. It is 400 plus acres on a heavily wooded series of hills. Some of it is very steep and there are over 20 miles of road. Luckily we had a good map and were able to locate the graves I wanted.
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| And into Pennsylvania |
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| The Jane Lake |
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| The colors are finally starting to really pop We will miss the peak but at least we are seeing some! |
From Rickets we traveled to the Cochranes where we are now. We made a trip yesterday to Valley Forge - once again to collect pictures of headstones for Trox' family. This time it was for his mother's father's family.
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| Our parking spot at the Cochranes | |
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| One of our neighbors |
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