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We made it home safe and sound.  We had a wonderful trip to New England (and New York).  We were really lucky to hit New England just at the right time to see the leaves changing color and overall the weather was pretty good.  I was a little surprised when I looked at the trip odometer.  We traveled 3780 total miles.  This was much more than I thought we traveled.

Our next trip in the camper will be to Florida right after Christmas and returning sometime in April 2016.  After that we have some small trips that we hope to take (Niagara Falls and the St Lawrence Seaway; Hot Springs, Arkansas; the beach in Delaware/New Jersey, etc.).  However, the next blog will probably start next August when we plan to go the Banff National Park in Canada, while also seeing the states of North Dakota, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Last Day at Lake Placid

It is getting colder up here in New York. It was in the upper 40's today and tonight it will be in the low 30's.  Saturday has snow in the forecast, so we have decided to head home tomorrow.  It rained most of today and there was a lot of fog.  We took a drive around the countryside and this afternoon I took a hike to a place called Owen Pond.

Saranac Lake

Owen Pond Trail

Owen Pond Trail

Owen Pond Trail

Ausable Chasm

Today we took a ride to see the Ausable Chasm.  It is a sandstone gorge and the Ausable River runs through it, and then empties into Lake Champlain.  You could pay a fee to walk through the gorge, but we decided not to based on the seven tour buses that were in the parking lot.  Instead, we just admired it from the highway.  We then drove toward the City of Essex on Lake Champlain.  There is a ferry that goes between Essex and Charlotte, Vermont across Lake Champlain.  While we were watching the ferry, a bald eagle soared in and landed on the beach about 25 feet from we were standing.  I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of it flying, but was able to take a picture of it on the beach. We continued exploring the countryside the remainder of the day.  Once back at the campground, I went for a hike to the Flume Waterfalls on the back side of the campground.

Ausable Falls

Ausable Falls

Essex Ferry (See mountains of Vermont across the lake)

Bald Eagle

Flume Waterfalls seen during my hike

Flume Waterfalls seen during my hike

Movie Clip of Ausable Chasm

Movie Clip of Flume Waterfalls

Adirondack Mountains

Today we left the White Mountains of New Hampshire, traveled through the Green Mountains of Vermont, and ended up in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.  Technically our New England trip is over, since New York is not part of New England, but it looks very similar.  We are presently staying at the Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA campground.  It was sunny and in the 70's today while we were driving.  We arrived at Lake Placid in the late afternoon, but did take a quick ride the the Olympic Village of Lake Placid and took a few pictures along the way.

Cog Railroad

Today we took the Cog Railroad to the top of Mount Washington.  The Cog Train pushes the coach of people up the mountain using a cog (toothed gear).  There is a cog rail in the center of the tracks that allows the trains to go up steeper grades. The coaches have their own braking system and come down the mountain by themselves (that was a little scary, but the engine is in front just in case the the brakes fail).  Most of the engines are diesel, but we were lucky enough to get a coal powered steam engine.  This is the same technology that was used on the first train that went up the mountain in 1869.  The track is pretty steep.  The average grade is over 25% and it has a maximum grade of 37%. The railway is approximately 3 miles long and ascends Mt. Washington's western slope beginning at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet and ending just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet.  When we arrived at the top it was cold.  The temperature was 28 degrees, but the wind was blowing at 53 mph, making it feel like 10 degrees.  However, that is much warmer than their record of 49 degrees below zero and there other record of 231 mph wind speed. We really were lucky in that it was a perfectly clear day. Our guide said that visibility was close to 200 miles.  You could even see the glow off of the Atlantic Ocean.  

Scenic Driving through New Hampshire

We jumped in the truck this morning and just started driving through the mountains of New Hampshire.

New Hampshire

We arrived in New Hampshire and are staying at the Twin Mountain/Mt. Washington KOA campground. It rained just about all day and it has become very foggy.  We are very close to the White Mountain National Forest. Almost all the trees have changed to colors of various shades of red and yellow, but with the fog you can't see very high up the mountains.  The weather over the weekend is supposed to be much improved.

Up, Up and Away

We had a very exciting trip this morning.  We hopped in a Cessena 172 and our pilot gave RoxAnne and me a very scenic trip 1500 feet above Acadia National Park.  The flight went around the perimeter of Acadia National Park, highlighting Bar Harbor, Cadillac Mountain, Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, then the flight headed off shore to Schoodic Point to the east, Baker Island and the Cranberry Islands to the south and the Blue Hill area to the west.  Along the way we saw seven lighthouses and some pretty expensive houses.  One house that was in the process of being built has an estimated construction cost of 63 million.  Wow.  In the afternoon we drove through the park and stopped at many of the sights we saw by air. Tomorrow we leave Maine and head westward to New Hampshire.

Getting ready to take a trip on the Cessena 172

Guess who is flying the plane (Hint:Not the pilot)

Sand Beach

Otter Point

Stone Barn Farm built in 1820

Unloading lobsters from the ship to the truck

Video Clip of Some Fancy Flying on our Scenic Flight