Up one side (of Lake Champlain) and down the other: A road trip photo essay

Now we're back in PA, and I'm ready to go again!

I whined until he packed the car, and then we were off! Our destination was Rouse Point, NY–which is at the northern-most tip of Lake Champlain and as far north as you can go without getting quarantined at the Canadian border.

Leaving from Northcentral PA, the first thing we did was head north on Route 13 and stop at Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, NY. This set of waterfalls greets you on your way into town from the south. It’s easy to drive by the first of many sets in Ithaca, so go slow on your way into town! The falls are right by the parking area, and you won’t regret the little walk to the top of the falls (unless you are a human and have to pee because the bathrooms are closed in the winter).

At a pitstop in the Adirondacks, at the edge of a noisy frozen lake

We drove through the Adirondacks and stopped at a frozen lake that was making a very weird noise. I did not like the noise, but I did like the deviled egg that my master dropped. Shortly after we left, I scarfed down a half-dozen cookies before my master could catch me.

That night, we stayed near Turning Stone casino. My master left me in the hotel room after I fell asleep. I barely remember him coming in and telling me he won $400. The next morning he said, “No, Ada, that wasn’t a dream. It really happened!” He paid for our entire trip with the cash and still had some left over.

The next day, we finished the Adirondacks, and we stopped at Ausable Chasm, which is probably quite a chasm. Unfortunately, the way to get to what looked like the coolest view was all boarded-up and gated, and there were very ominous signs posted that threatened involving law enforcement if their warnings were not heeded. What a nice way to share nature, I muttered. Why board-off such a sight to see?

At Ausable Chasm, NY — It’s a hole in the ground.

But, then again, us dogs aren’t afraid of getting sued by another dog who slips and displaces a hip on an icy set of steps. Ugh. Why can’t all you humans just get along? My master said he bets that’s why we couldn’t go down to see the cool stuff.

So, we drove around to the less-traveled part of the chasm. In addition to the waterfalls that are wider than my master’s camera will allow, there is a place just behind me where the water ate away the road! Behold, the power of water!

The "Bridge to Vermont" (So say all the signs... not a terribly inventive name...)

From here, we drove up the scenic byway along the western edge of Champlain. I  got out several times to look around, but, honestly, there just isn’t that much public land on the shore for dogs to enjoy. It’s one of those “we’re humans and we have it all” situations that I know about from when my master took me on our 14,000-mile road trip our first summer together. This time, we only went to just past Plattsburg, NY, and on to Rouse Point at the Canadian border.

For the 15 miles or so prior to Rouse Point, we kept seeing a sign that said “Bridge to Vermont.” Evidently, that’s the name of the bridge. I’m still unclear on this one. We stayed at a hotel called Anchorage, which allowed us to walk near the edge of Lake Champlain and get a good view of the bridge. By now, the Vermont mountains were too far south to see, but we had fun keeping track of them while looking across the lake all afternoon.

My owner couldn’t resist the opportunity to drive on water…

The next morning, my master did something crazy. He drove right out onto Lake Champlain! I thought he was totally nuts, and yet if he is nuts, then so are a lot of other humans because there were dozens of them scattered across the ice with complete set-ups that included their trucks and and these buildings that looked like huge outhouses .

I was told they were “fishing.” Whatever.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to run on the water...

Personally, I didn’t like the ice too much because it is SO slippery, but my master enjoyed it quite a bit for the same reason. He decided that the best way back down through Vermont was to go through Lake Champlain’s Hero Islands on tiny Route 2. This was a good call. The islands were part of the most scenic stretch during our 820-mile trip.

I really liked this barn. See Vermont's mountains in the background?

I enjoyed seeing such a nicely maintained barn shortly after we left the islands. The mountains had come back into view, and they made a clean backdrop for this classic Vermont barn. Your eyes could shift back and forth between close up and far away, and both sets of scenery were pristine. (Now there’s a word we haven’t used in PA in quite some time… we used to have a lot of beautiful old barns, but more and more of them cave in each year from lack of basic, routine maintenance.)

Falls Park has... falls... oh, and my master must have bumped the camera a bit.

It was time to come home, so we followed Champlain until it was no more, then drove a little bit farther south and stopped at Falls Park in Vergennes, VT before we crossed over back into Upstate New York at Chimney Point, VT. This park was in a little town and was the most dog-friendly place we’d been all day. There was a lot of room for me to run around, and there was a set of waterfalls, which seems to have been a theme for this road trip. (Maybe next time, we will go to Niagara Falls.)

The night was setting in, so my master got on the highway and got us back to PA in short order. It was a great trip for only having three days, and I highly recommend it. If you go, then stay in one of the hotels in VT on the islands rather than in Rouse Point like we did. Also, remember that driving on the ice is at your own risk!

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(c) 2012. All photos belong to adamaecompton.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Map below from google.com

from google.com