July 2, 2022. Bar Harbor, Maine.

Yesterday and the day before we wandered, first day Bar Harbor’s tourist district, and yesterday Acadia National Park.

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When we haven’t been out and about or managing camping “stuff” I have found myself writing content for these posts and struggling against poor connectivity to upload the pictures and content. My “reality check”, Christine, and I talked. More on that in a minute.

Since we learned a few years ago that a part of France is located a short 1 hour ferry ride off the coast of Newfoundland it has been our intention to make a visit to these Miquelon Islands. Somehow the thought of France being located in and just off the coast of North America feels “foreign” (pun intended). However, when one considers that Hawaii, a group of islands thousands of miles from the mainland United States, is part of the USA, then not so strange.

We have been evaluating our Canada itinerary which begins today with a 3 hour ferry crossing to Nova Scotia. We will be 8 days in Nova Scotia, followed by 19 days in Newfoundland. With only two exceptions we are camping in two day increments.

Newfoundland is not small. Our plan included 3-5 hour drive times between each planned camping location, EXCEPT from Gros Morne National Park to the town of Fortune where we would cross to Isle St. Pierre, France, in the Miquelon Islands. That day promised to present at least 10 hours behind the wheel. We paid for the ferry crossing, a tour, and campsite.

Yesterday, we talked more. Decisions followed:

Those who follow my “Thoughts” know that my preference is to post a lot of pictures and to “go deep” into the backstories of places we visit. I want to “bring you along”. What I want, and what I deliver may have to be two different things on this trip.

I am reminded that when Christine and I shop at Christmas for the “grands” there are many things that we want to buy, feeling some sense of disappointment that we can’t buy it all. However, what the grandchildren see with gratitude is what they actually receive, not our “wants” for them. So it will be with you on this journey. Fewer pictures and shorter narrative. That was decision number one for the day.

As much as it pained us, practicality and sanity won out regarding Isle St. Pierre. We have canceled the ferry, tour, and altered the camping location for those 2 days, saving hundreds of miles of driving and not a little stress. That was decision number two for the day.

By the way, while fuel costs are not significant to our planning, a Canadian couple we met at camp last week shared that they smile every time they gas up in the US at “only” $5 a gallon. It seems that the Canadian average for regular gas, converted to gallons and in US dollars, is over $6.50.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. I am typing this post-script aboard the CAT Ferry bound for Yarmouth Nova Scotia, saving about 700 miles of driving. There is conflicting information about what foods we can travel with into Canada. One source says virtually nothing and another indicates not more than a lot (in kilograms).

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Loading for ordinary automobiles is straightforward drive-on. However since I’m towing a trailer I had to back up a 500+ foot dock and loading ramp into the ship. Fortunately, been there, done that. For the uninitiated the ship crew will do it for you.

Conditions are a bit rocky, and definitely not to Christine’s liking.

We lose an hour, making landfall at 7:30 pm local time.

June 27, 2022. My previous post introduced you to the remarkable Shelburne Museum located in Shelburne, Vermont. Let me emphasize that it is truly world class, and remarkable.

For details about its founding, history, scope, and how we happened upon it, please go the the previous post.

The Remarkable Shelburne Museum, Part One

Within the Shelburne’s grounds were two sites that are deserving of separate treatment. The first of these is the Carousel and Circus Building.

The restored vintage Carousel is great fun for young and old alike. The attendant remarked that adults seem to be more excited to ride it than the little ones.

Standing alone it is a pleasant diversion, but it really sets the stage for the entry into the Circus Building.

This 500 foot long, narrow, horseshoe shaped structure houses the life work of two men and artifacts from the glory days of the Circus.

Railroad brakeman Edgar Kirk set to create a special toy for his 4 children, “The Kirk Circus”.

In 1910, using his penknife, he began to carve figures that became the performers, audience, and “Big Top” of his circus. His passion became near obsession. 46 years later “The Kirk Circus” had grown to over 3,500 figures of amazing detail. His children long outgrown toys, Edgar would occasionally “bring the circus” to his backyard to the delight of children and adults alike.

This phenomenal exhibit, located at the start of the Circus Building, was acquired by the Museum in 1981.

As amazing as Edgar Kirk’s work is, it is but a shadow to what one next experiences in the gallery.

As a child, Roy Arnold loved circus parades. His love carried into adulthood so much so that between 1925 and 1955 he, along with the assistance of 5 others, hand carved and recreated the circus parades of his youth.

Rendered in a scale of one-inch equals a foot, his scale model is over 525 feet long, includes nearly 4,000 pieces, and is the equivalent of a parade over two miles long.

The wagons, carriages, and cages are fully functional in every important detail.

On the wall opposite to this singular parade are actual 19th and early 20th Century circus artifacts. These include signboards, wood sculptures, and restored carousel creatures.

The steamship Ticonderoga was launched from the Shelburne shipyards in 1906. She measured 220 feet long with a beam of nearly 60 feet.

This Lake Champlain behemoth had a displacement (weight) of nearly 2 million pounds. She sailed the lake for 48 years. At her retirement this side-wheel “walking beam” steamship of a bygone era was destined for the scrapheap, until she was brought to the attention of and purchased by Electra Havemeyer Webb.

That is only the beginning of the story. How does one move a 200+ foot, 2 million pound ship, more than two miles overland to her final destination for restoration and exhibit? Where there is a will (and a LOT of money) there is a way.

Planning, engineering, and execution took over a year. The actual move, covering over 2 miles of ground, took 3 months.

A huge dry lagoon pit was excavated near where the Ticonderoga was at dock. Only a dike separated the pit from the waters of Lake Champlain. Within the pit two sets of precisely laid railroad tracks were set in parallel. These four rails were supported by a special bed of ties, designed to support the load of the ship and carriage upon which the vessel would travel. Rails and carriage in place, the dike was breached to allow the pit to flood over the tracks and carriage. Ticonderoga was then brought into the lagoon, afloat over the now submerged structures. With extreme care and precision the waters were pumped out after the dike was restored. Any failure to accurately center the ship would have been disastrous. The ship came to rest only a quarter inch off center, at which point her hull was welded to the carriage.

Due to her extreme size and weight the move could only occur over frozen ground. Tracks were set and removed as she moved across farms, forest and fields. Utilities had to be temporarily rerouted as she passed, and at one point a temporary trestle had to be constructed so she could pass over an active rail line. The move and restoration of the Ticonderoga stands as one of the most significant achievements of its kind, certainly on par with the recovery of King Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose. Here is a link to that “tale”:

“The Mary Rose”

Ticonderoga achieved the status in 1960 as a National Historic Site. Virtually the entire ship is open to the public.

From the engine room and crew quarters,

To the Captain’s quarters and Pilot House.

Primarily engaged for day-sailing, there were only 5 staterooms.

The dining room, passenger promenade deck, and grand staircase were all of the highest order and finish.

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Ticonderoga was a “walking beam” side wheel steam driven ship, a 19th Century design. Her two huge boilers, kept fed by two men shoveling from 28 tons of onboard coal, could propel her at a top speed of over 20 mph. Sheconsuming coal at the rate of two tons per hour.

The Shelburne Museum ranks as one of our finest “on-the-fly” finds. We hope to return some day to finish our tour of this remarkable museum.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Our campground for the nights of January 26 and 27 was Vermont’s Allis State Park. Named after Wallace Steele Allis (1859-1935), he donated his farm atop Bear Hill to the State in 1928 to preserve its beauty for the benefit of future generations. Allis State Park was Vermont’s second State Park, and was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.

Prominent in the Park is a 6 story fire tower once used by the US Forest Service to spot forest fires.

It is open for the those daring enough to climb its near open staircase. The reward is an amazing view that in the far distance even includes New Hampshire’s highest peak, 6,288 foot Mount Washington.

Another benefit was cell coverage that helped me to upload some of these images.

Below are manicured picnic grounds, a 1930’s era shelter, and to our surprise and delight a storyboard of pages taken from the cutest of children’s tales.

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We happily shared our campfire each night with one of the Park Rangers, David on the first night and Ashland on the second. I can’t express how satisfying and rewarding it is to share such time in passing with new friends.

June 21-24, 2022. We are camped for 3 nights at New York’s Taconic State Park, located a few miles from the small but charming village of Copake. More important to us is our proximity to Camp Pontiac which for the next 7 weeks will be “home” to our daughter Alexis and her 3 children. We have arrived here with the intention of visiting them as we continue north and east.

The land for Taconic State Park was donated in 1924 to the State by the prominent NY couple, Francis and Ella Masters.

They loved the area and hoped to preserve its beauty from future commercial development.

The Park underwent improvements in the 1930s thanks to the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps, active during the Great Depression. Level tent platforms were constructed in the woods and could be rented for 4 dollars a week, tent included.

Those platforms have been maintained through the years and are still in use today. However, you must bring your own tent.

Stone buildings constructed 90 years ago remain, some of which are cabins available for rent.

A historic iron foundry that operated from 1845 to 1903 is here and undergoing restoration.

Local features include Copake Falls, swimming in the former quarry, rails-to-trails hiking, and a wonderfully modern campground.

The Taconic Mountains stretch north into Vermont and are old mountains that once towered over 20,000 feet above sea level. They were “tamed” by glacial forces and today the highest peak is a mere 2,311 feet.

Camp Pontiac is like no summer camp experienced by us in our youth.

Founded in 1922, and celebrating its centennial, its current owners and operators are twin brother doctors and their wives.

They have been the camp’s caretakers for nearly 30 years.

This from Pontiac’s website: “Camp Pontiac is a 7-week sleepaway camp in NY, located at the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. Only a 2-hour drive from NYC, our sleepaway camp is situated on 150 picturesque acres with a beautiful 65 acre spring-fed lake. Each summer Pontiac welcomes girls and boys aged 7 to 16 from all over the country to their home away from home in a traditional sleepaway camp setting.“

For 2 of the last 4 years (COVID prevented opening in 2020) our daughter has served as the camp’s head nurse, managing two infirmaries and a staff of 15 nurses.

They, in turn, provide health care to the camp population that can number over 700, plus camp counselors and over 80 adult staff members. Of course, the physician owners are also fully involved in camp operations and care.

We knew to expect an extraordinary facility, but what we have seen exceeds all expectations.

Camp Pontiac has more in common with an upscale resort or an Olympic Village than it does with summer camp of my youth.

There are multiple soccer fields.

A driving range.

Miniature golf.

A performing arts theater.

Sand volleyball.

Multiple tennis courts.

A huge gymnasium.

Multiple baseball fields.

Roller hockey.

Scores of pristine cabins.

4 swimming pools.

Outdoor basketball courts.

A lake with kayaking and a man made adventure island.

A gymnastics and martial arts facility that also features spin cycling.

A separate fitness facility with free weights, cardio, and weight machines

If that were not enough, there is also an “American Ninja” training facility and aerial acrobatics training!

There is more, but you get the idea.

It is no wonder that Kane, Phoenix, and Paisley count the days each year to the start of camp…

For Alexis this is 7 days a week, 24 hours a day on-call work… that she loves.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. From here we plan to spend the next 8 nights camping in Vermont and Maine. On June 2nd we board a ferry in Bar Harbor, destination Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

June 18 – 20, 2022. This is the last of 3 nights spent camping on Buck Pond, a peaceful and remote campground in the northern Adirondack Mountains of New York.

Yesterday, June 19th and our 45th wedding anniversary, was spent in part wandering around Lake Placid, 25 miles to the south.

We treated ourselves to a nice upscale dinner, ice cream and later at camp a fire, which staved off the chilly twilight temps.

This morning I performed some Dutch Oven magic, baking a breakfast casserole for 2. Dinner was another Dutch Oven creation, Italian peppers baked with seasoned vegetables. (Sorry, no pictures)

I spent much of the early afternoon hiking an old railroad grade, and then ascending a trail to the top of “Little Haystack”, one of countless Adirondack mountains.

The trail was steep and challenging, but the view proved that the effort was worth it.

Grand vistas may be the goal, but mindful attention to the little things brings its own rewards.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Tomorrow we travel 4 hours south to New York’s Taconic State Park, located near Copake, NY. We will be there for 3 nights. This is especially exciting for us as we will be visiting our daughter, Alexis, and her 3 children/our grandchildren, Kane, Phoenix, and Paisley, as they begin their 7 weeks at Camp Pontiac, a summer camp that was founded in the 1930’s. Alexis is head nurse over a staff of 15 nurses. The camp serves over 700 children, ages 7 to 16. Oh to be young again!!