Camping upstate NY
7/2/2023-7/15/2023
The drive
This is the first big, long stay camping trip in our new Camper. The concern for me was whether the truck would haul the weight for an extended period. I had intentionally made reservations at a couple camp grounds along the way so we could give the truck a break. We also had no idea when we left the house exactly how much the truck and camper weighed in total. So, we stopped along the way to weight it and get an idea. The Combined gross vehicle weight was surprisingly under the max weight we could tow safely. According to the charts provided by Ram the CGVWR (combined gross vehicle weight rating) for the 2015 Ram 1500 eco diesel is 13750 lbs., we were sitting at 13250lbs. That realization made me more relaxed.
BLACK BEAR CAMPGROUND
FLORIDA, NY
This Campground is listed at the number 1 campground in New York, of course it is listed that way on the campground’s web site, so I took it with a grain of salt when I booked it. It was a full hook up pull thru site and we were only d\staying a night so expectations were low. My expectations were met. Not a shaded spot in the campground and the store hours were basically whenever the owner decide d to show up which was a little less than never. Wi-Fi was decent enough to stream a movie so that was nice. We arrived at about 4 pm and were gone by 9 am the next morning. Off to Vermont for another overnight stop.
PINE HOLLOW CAMPGROUND
POWNAL, VT
This park was a shorter drive for day two of the trip and it was nice to arrive earlier. Much to enjoy here. The campground had a pond for fishing and swimming as the center point of the park. Campers situated around the pond and then others backed into spots facing the pond. We had a full hook up back in spot near the entrance which was perfect. Chris backed me in like a professional. We really are getting this down to a science. The park staff was very friendly and accommodating. The fellow campers were very nice and didn’t seem to mind the occasional barking basset hound we brought with us. We enjoyed this park a lot. There was a couple who started to argue loudly. The gentleman was a vet I had met earlier when I spotted his disabled Vet license plate. He obviously had some PTSD issues he was dealing with, and it was showing through in flying colors. I believe one of the other campers made a complaint. It all calmed down and by the time we left the next morning we neither heard nor saw the couple. We left a little later than I wanted but we are on vacation so what the hurry.
NATURAL BRIDGE/WATERTOWN KOA
NATURAL BRIDGE, NY
We arrived earlier than expected at the campground we would be basing out of for the next 11 days. This is a beautiful campground with shaded pull through, full hook up sites that I yearn for. Took no time to set up camp in a more permanent way than the last two one-night stays. Pull thru sites set up much easier than back ins do. I think I will look for these wherever I go. When I booked this place, I had no idea we were as close to Fort Drum. Which in the end was a good thing because it meant a larger town close by. I needed a dodge dealer as I received a code saying something to the effect that I needed a new manifold cover. Did not come to pass but did get diagnosed with a rear pinion seal leak, transfer case leak and a damaged drive shaft. All repairs were taken care of and two were covered under the warranty. The drive shaft had to be rebuilt but that was way cheaper than replacing it. So, we had a loaner for a few days which meant we stayed close because we could not take the dogs in the loaner.
We did get out to see Boldt Castle which was cool. The castle is located on Heart Island about a mile from Canada. The castle was built in 1900 at a cost of 2.5 million dollars which would easily be a couple hundred million today. 5 stories tall with its own powerhouse and manicured gardens.
We have camped in the area before some 13 years ago when we were tent campers. We had the three boys with us. We stayed outside Old Forge New York. That was a memorable trip for a couple reasons, one reason was I had injured myself pretty good and needed a doctor. Chris drove us to the nearest hospital which was located 20 miles away but took 2 hours to get there. It was in Lowville, New York. Funny thing is we passed the hospital multiple times before realizing that it was the one, I had been brought to 13 years ago. We took a drive over to old forge to visit. We remember it being a cool place to visit and it still is. We took the dogs and did a wine and whiskey tasting which was nice. It brought back some memories to include the second noted memory a place called the Donut shop. The best darn donuts anywhere on the planet. So, we drove out to it. Bought a donut as I am cutting back on fat things lol.
We have been visiting local farmers markets that are okay not much more than a few craft things and some local farmers selling their goods. We would have bought some vegetable, but we brought our food with us. We did pick up some soaps and Christmas gifts for the kids. We have had more soft serve ice cream in the last week than we have in the last two years. We tried to go to a lavender festival, but we missed it by a day.
We had gone swimming the day before the Lavender festival and Chris was positive she had swimmers ear so when the festival was a bust we headed over to the local hospital. She was correct she had swimmers’ ear, so they gave her a prescription that we paid a pretty penny for being that they didn’t take Tricare. Chris was bummed out about the lavender festival, so I decided to bring her to a winery for brunch and wine tasting. Tug hill winery was about a 20-minute drive but worth it. The food was good the wine was also good, so we left with a few bottles of wine and some whiskey.
After we got the truck back and we could bring the dogs out we decided to do a multi-town excursion. We headed up to Cape Vincent, Clayton, and Alexandria bay. Hit a distillery in Clayton and a light house in Cape Vincent. We always forget to bring our lighthouse passport to get the stamps at the nation’s lighthouses. I guess we will have to come back. Also went to Sackets Bay. Battle ground during the war of 1812.
All in all, it has been a great adventure. I think we will be doing more of this Glamping. We leave in a few days and drive straight back home to unload the camper and then bring it over to the storage facility on Fort Meade.
Headed to deep creek in September. See you then
anoldmansview 