Double Up Day

The Sunday after school has let out for the summer, plus 90 degree temps and 20 knot south wind, really gave us a challenge as to what to do for the day. We persevered and were pleasantly surprised once again to find the perfect day for the conditions. This time we went to Lake Champlain on the Vermont side and found few people at the Kingsland Bay local beach. This bay, that is next to the state park, is protected from southerly breezes and we had a nice kayak trip to the mouth of the harbor and back. The geology in the area is amazing and we paddled underneath this rock overhang. The lake level is already quite low for this early in the season.

The turtles like the rocks too, and I think they thought there was safety in numbers. They gave us the ole 'stink eye' as they plopped in the water when we passed by on our way back to the beach.

While we were in the area, we decided to visit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. We hadn't been there in several years and were also surprised to find that there are no admission fees this year. Last year they were closed due to the pandemic and this year they still have their inside building exhibits closed, but want to give everyone a chance to visit the outside displays. 

The Philadelphia 2 is now hauled out of the water and on display. This is a replica gunboat of the original Philadelphia, and was built at the Maritime Museum beginning in 1989.

The Lois McClure, which we saw built and launched in Burlington back in 2004, is now at the museum's docks. This is a replica canal schooner, although right now it is not rigged. 

Longboats lined the docks also, with cute names like Beluga and Blue Heron. 

This boat was used in the 1993 film "Where the Rivers Flow North".

Donated yellow submarine that was previously used on the lake...

There was no information on this gigantic four cylinder Clark engine. Dave thought maybe it came out of one of the ferries that crossed the lake. I thought it looked like something we would have found in the Bahamas. 😉

This long handled winch must be a hit with the kids as they participate and experience how it works.

We only saw two other visitors during the time we were on the property, so I hope more people take advantage of this museum and its wealth of  history. We'll be back and perhaps someday take part in one of their programs, of which there are many during a normal summer. It was another fine day and once again when everyone zigged, we zagged!

"Everything Old Is New Again"

Trying to find places to explore while the south wind blows is always a challenge. Yesterday and today we had pleasant surprises when we kayaked two different protected rivers, both of which we have paddled several times before. First was the Schroon River, where we headed downstream, but into the 15 knot south wind. On the way back it was much more fun and we barely had to paddle, letting the wind push us despite the slight current. We noticed a side creek (later I discovered it is called Trout Brook), that we decided to peak our yaks into, and what a treat! We meandered our way up in about 6" of water, skirting around and under fallen trees. 

The current was much more pronounced, but once we got as far as we could go, it was a blast zooming back downstream. 

I even found another smaller side stream, but only I could float over the entranceway, so I turned around.

On our nightly walks on the LaChute trail, we saw that the water over the lower falls was flowing more than it had been, after our recent rain. With today's south wind and lots of current, it was perfect conditions to do a one way trip down the LaChute River to Lake Champlain. Even though there wasn't that much water over the falls this morning (Lake George water level is regulated through a dam), the current was still ideal and we got a "running start" at the base of the falls (I got as close to it as possible without getting soaked). 

We saw ducks, hawks, and turtles, along with a few bass fisherman as we flew down the river, faster than we ever have, ending up in the marshes at the base of Fort Ticonderoga. Then it was downwind with little paddling needed, back to the ferry launch ramp. Dave even found a couple of items in the water, one of which was a large carbon fiber fish net that looked to have been floating in the water for weeks (it took our pressure washer to clean it up). He also found "WILSON!" Or in this case..."SPAULDING!" 😉

We were thrilled to have had more fun than we expected in our old stand-by waterways!

Naming It

What a gorgeous day it was to kayak Bolton Landing on Lake George, before the summer crowds start rolling in. This time we happened to take notice of boat names along our way, some of which were quite funny.

Do you think the last boat belonged to a dentist? 😉

Another 10 day with some humor thrown in to make it even better.

It's Show Time!

This summer and fall will be different than last year since the car, boat, motorcycle, tractor, and antique shows are back on, now that people are getting their Covid vaccinations. Dave attended the much anticipated "Jap Bike Mike's" motorcycle show and swap meet last month (the spring edition of Rice-O-Rama), but he had too much fun and didn't take any photos for me to post. This past Saturday, Dave went with Jim Ryan up to Tupper Lake for the Mohawk Hudson Chapter of the Antique Outboard Motor Club's show and swap meet. Jim was displaying and trying to sell several of his motors, and at the very last minute, sold one. I told them that they should have launched his boat with all the outboards on it and gone for a ride. 😁

Dave on the other hand, almost bought this 1941 Hunter triple cockpit wooden boat. It needed its hull/ bottom resealed and a new engine. The owners, who were from the Thousand Islands, were given an outrageous price for restoration, so before they began the project, they stopped at this meet to try and sell it for only $8K. Dave resisted though, even though Jim told him he had an engine he could put in it. He has other projects to work on already, like the Divco Milk Truck. I told him he would have to build another garage if he had bought it. He replied with, "or a camp right on the lake with a boathouse to put it in." 😲

On Sunday, I went with Dave and Jim Ryan to the Gallupville Gas-Up. It sure was fantastic to see, hear, and even smell so many unusual vehicles and displays. Dave brought his Cushman to check out the show with. 

We found a shade tree to set up our chairs under, so when I got hot from walking around in the field of engines, tractors, cars, and more, I could sit and "watch the world go by." The great thing about this venue is that you can drive around anything you have displayed. 

Here are a few more of my favorites: 

Farmalls lined up almost as far as you can see.

Hit and Miss engines galore:

This is one gigantic snowblower with two engines...one to power the truck and one to power the blower.

Dave has a David Bradley, but this one is different and we could not figure out what its purpose was or what attachments would go on it.

A Homelite snowmobile! This person had about 50 chainsaws on display and said he has about 100 more at home (his wife owned and drove the David Bradley). He sure was knowledgeable about his whole collection. I said, well they take up a lot less space than the motorcycles Dave used to collect. 😉

A 1942 Fairmont model M9 railroad track inspection car, propelled by a 7 HP single cylinder engine...

The owner of this Tucker Sno-Cat put wheels on it in place of the tracks.

There is a motorized bike in the back of this pristine Chevy truck. 

This gorgeous steam engine ran a sawmill that was used for demonstrations during the show. They would cut the wood, then use the outside scraps to fuel the engine. Nothing went to waste. 

Last, but not least, you can lead an ox to water, but you can't make him drink...

Gobble Gobble

This morning we had quite the surprise when two turkeys ventured in our yard, which was the first time ever! They meandered toward the fish pond, but then changed their minds and headed over to our garage. After noticing that I was at the window, they slowly made their way back into the woods.

Hope they are a couple and they bring back their young at some point. What a great way to start the day!

Looks Frozen

Although the weather looked ominous, Dave took the Sea Doo out on Lake George for the first time this season. He lucked out and it was glassy calm, allowing him to go from the Ticonderoga launch ramp down to Silver Bay and back. There was not a soul on the lake and amazingly, the rain held off until he got back.

Footnote: Speaking of frozen...we went swimming off the Ti beach two days ago. Air temp was 92, water temp, somewhere between 65-68. I beat my old record of getting in the water by weeks (and degrees)!

The Egg

We took our first kayak trip on Eagle Lake today and it was quite memorable. It started out interesting when there was a swimming snake at the launch ramp. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a photo to identify it before it swam away though. We paddled under the Rt. 74 bridge with its swallow nests galore, and headed towards the beach at the eastern shore of the lake. As we got closer, we realized there were already people there (pretty much the only other people on the entire lake). Fate was with us and we stopped for lunch at the rocky beach cove on Charles Island. As we approached the shallow water, Dave motioned me over to look at something that he insisted was a big egg. I told him it was a rock, so he got out of the kayak and reached down into three of water to pick it up. Boy, did he prove me wrong! 

Later I looked it up, and just as we thought, it was a loon egg. It was cracked and very waterlogged. Either the bald eagle that we saw soar overhead had grabbed it and then dropped it in the lake, or a boat wake washed it off the nest. Loons make their nests right at the water's edge. I even read that sometimes they accidently knock them into the water when leaving the nest when a predator is near by. We saw how this could happen when we were paddling close to shore on our way back and came upon a loon in a nest (we also saw two others while having our picnic lunch, so the loons are thriving). It crouched way down to try and hide itself so we stayed far away to take some zoomed photos, then moved on so as not to disturb it. This posture is called "hang-over". 

Maybe next time we kayak the lake we will see the loons with their babies on their backs. This certainly was another great day on the water!