Ticonderoga

September 27

When I was in school, we bought yellow #2 pencils by the dozen. They were usually in a green box with a Revolutionary soldier depicted on the front. The pencils’ brand name was “Ticonderoga”. The soldier was Ethan Allen.

We left Cooperstown and headed for the Hudson River Valley. We missed much of its beauty as West Point and the giant mansions of the “Robber Barons” lie to the south, closer to New York City. We headed north and soon came upon Lake George. Color is just emerging here. As we travel north, we find it more pronounced. However, it appears that the “peak color” is a week or so away. We pulled into a NY State Park campground and parked the RV on a site on the lake. Then we hopped into the Jeep and headed for Fort Ticonderoga.

We drove just a few miles and found it sitting on a hill overlooking Lake Champlain. It fell to ruins several years ago but the Pell family bought it and it is virtually restored to its former condition. I mention the Pell family because it is their foundation that also sponsors the Pell Grants, that make parents of college students so happy. The fort had been built by the French, taken over by the British, and later taken over by the upstart Americans via Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. We walked the paths walked by Washington, Franklin, Ethan Allen, and others.

Then we traveled north to Crown Point where the fort has fallen in ruins. Only a few walls and the foundations are visible. But here we enjoyed riding our bikes around the extensive grounds bordering Lake Champlain. Gray billowing clouds were looming in the sky so we cut our ride short.

During our day we had traveled through apple orchards and many farm stands. On the way back we stopped at one that I had noted on the first time through. It was an innovative stand with farm fresh apples, maple syrup, and it had a bakery. We bought a half of peck of apples and an apple pie.

Tonight we retire by the lake. It has been unseasonable warm (mid 80’s today, breaking records all week) and very humid. It is now 7:30, it is 70 degrees and there is lightening and rain. I sit in my warm, dry RV and eat my pie ala mode while watching the lightening streak across the lake.

Sept 28, a.m. It rained much of the night and the lightening and thunder lasted until around 3. The thunder was particular impressive as it rolled down these long valleys in waves of noise. Don’t know how much I slept but I feel refreshed. It was a memorable night on Lake George.

Today is supposed to be nice, cooler with sun. We will cross over into Vermont and travel about 200 miles and hope to find an RV camp in the middle of the color.