Leaf Peeping (and more) in New York

 

Checking out Ben's new jeep which he has named "Buster"

We left Smugglers Notch before the sun came up.  We knew it was going to be a fairly long travel day partly because the route we chose wasn't the quickest, but it was the most scenic and adventurous.  It included taking the Charlotte, VT. to Essex NY. ferry across Lake Champlain.  The ferry ride, which is about 30 minutes, was very enjoyable in spite of it being a little windy and chilly.

Ready to go...........

Sunrise as the ferry was departing Charlotte, Vt.

Charlotte-Essex Ferry

Once we were off the ferry, we made our way through the Adirondack Mountains towards Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.  We had visited these areas previously, so our stops were short.  A bite to eat, picked up a few groceries and took a couple of photos and we were off.  Afterall, we had Ben and Allie waiting for us!

A few photos from Saranac Lake

We made it to Ben's area around 2:30 and met him for a late lunch at a local favorite, Spiedie and Rib Pit.  If you're not familiar with a Spiedie, you're not alone.  It's a local sandwich consisting of grilled cubes of marinated meat that is served in an Italian roll or Pita bread.  They're very tasty and if you're in the Southern Tier area of New York, you might want to try one.

Spiedie and Rib Pit 

It was a beautiful day, and we had been in the car for most of it, so Ben and I decided to play nine holes of golf on a local course that we had previously enjoyed.  We had a blast, even though I took a pretty good beating.

Chenango Commons Golf Course is a nine-hole course (Par 30) alongside the Chenango River

When we got to Ben's apartment Allie was thrilled to see us.  We were thrilled to see Allie and to also see Ben's newly decorated place, which looks great.  It's very "Ben like" with lots of sports memorabilia, travel pictures and plenty of bears!

Building shelves under Allie's close supervision

We had a great week staying with Ben. He lives in the Endwell/Binghampton/Endicott area.  From his place there are numerous "day trip" adventures within an hour or two in all directions. In spite of his busy work schedule during the "season", we had several great adventures with him.  We also had a few more on our own during his workdays.

The town of Skaneateles (skinny-atlas) is located on the north end of Lake Skaneateles, which is one of New York's "Finger Lakes".  It is about an hour and a half drive from Ben's, making it a very easy day trip.   We took advantage of one of Ben's days off to drive over for a visit.  Beth and I had been there before, but it was Ben's first visit.  In addition to looking around the city center, and lunch at Doug's Fish Fry we enjoyed the fifty-minute narrated lake tour on the Judge Ben Wiles.

On board the Judge Ben Wiles.  

Back on land.  Thanks to the excellent narration, we know a lot more about the history of the area!

Doug's Fish Fry, a Skaneateles favorite!

Mid-Lakes Navigation (Tour Boat Operator)

Doug's Fish Fry

The Roba Family Farm started as a family-owned Christmas Tree Farm in 1990.  Over the years it has grown and expanded into a Fall Family experience that attracts visitors from all over.  The farm is actually located in Pennsylvania, but only about an hours drive from Ben's.  We visited the farm one afternoon/evening after Ben got off work.  He had been there the previous year and knew we would like it, and of course he was right.  

The huge farm has so many family friendly activities for kids of all ages.  We had a blast checking out the variety of animals, the corn maze (we had to have some help to find our way out), the glowing pumpkin trail, food, games and so much more.  

Along the "Glowing Pumpkin Trail"

The farm is near Scranton, Pa.  Home of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company!

Roba Family Farms

Fresh Apple Cider, Apple Cider Donuts and a whole lot more!

The Cider Mill-Endicott, NY

While Ben was working away over the weekend Beth and I did a bit more exploring on our own.  On Saturday we drove to Ithaca, which is about an hour away.  Ithaca is located on the southern end of Cayuga Lake, which is also one of the New York Finger Lakes.  There are two colleges in Ithaca, Cornell University and Ithaca College. making it a vibrant and diverse city.

The Ithaca Farmers Market was doing a bustling business on a Saturday morning.

There are numerous state parks, gorges and waterfalls in the Ithaca area.  This is Taughannock Falls, at 215 feet it is the tallest free-falling waterfall east of the Mississippi River (33 feet taller than Niagara Falls).

There are numerous wineries in the Finger Lakes region.  We enjoyed live music and relaxing at Lucas Vineyards while enjoying one of their white wines.

On our way to Ithaca on Saturday we passed through the small community of Newark Valley.  They were celebrating their annual Apple Festival at the Bement-Billings Farmstead Museum.  We didn't stop since we already had plans for the day.  However, we did go back on Sunday.  It was a nice, small-town celebration with lots of historical displays, food and music.

Gospel Bluegrass at the Newark Valley Apple Festival!  

As the saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun".  Our week at Ben's flew by!  It was time to pack it up and head on down the road.  However, we only had to say goodbye to Allie.  Ben had two days off, so Ben and I lead the way in Buster the Jeep and Beth followed in our rental car to our next stop in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania for a few more adventures.

Leaf Peeping in Vermont

 

Like our other drives on this leaf peeping adventure, the route between North Conway and Smugglers Notch, Vermont was on small, scenic back roads.  It wasn't because of brilliant planning, but we were very pleased that with the exception of a few miles we had avoided interstate driving.

According to Google Maps the drive between North Conway by way of "the Kanc" and Franconia Notch State Park to where we were staying at Smugglers Notch was about five hours.  We hit the road early and turned it into a full day adventure.

Smugglers Notch Resort is located in Jeffersonville, which is just a short, very winding 13-mile drive from Stowe.  The large resort has numerous outdoor activities ranging from hiking, mountain biking, tennis, swimming in the summer, and skiing and snowboarding in the winter.  The summer crowds were gone, and the winter crowds weren't there yet.  Even though there were plenty of fellow "leaf peepers", it was fairly quiet.

Smugglers Notch Resort

We enjoyed spending one of our two full days in Stowe.  With a population of just over 5,000, Stowe is fairly small in size.  Amazingly, it plays host to over 1 million visitors annually who come to enjoy the variety of outdoor activities, craft beers and ciders, restaurants and shopping.  We visited on a Sunday and businesses along Main Street and popular places such as the Cold Hollow Cider Mill and Ben and Jerry's Original Ice Cream Factory were doing a very brisk business.

Pedestrian Covered Bridge over the Little River

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Free Samples at the end of the tour (all tours were sold out so we couldn't participate) and plenty to choose from for purchasing!!

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory

After a good night's sleep with visions of Ben and Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream (Cookie Dough and Brownies) dancing in our heads we were ready to do a bit more exploring.  Just a short 10 minute drive north of Smugglers Notch is the small village of Jeffersonville.  There is a nice, covered bridge (Grist Mill Covered Bridge) that spans the Brewster River.  The bridge was built in 1872 and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The Grist Mill Historic Covered Bridge

The Brewster River from the Grist Mill Covered Bridge

Near the bridge was a trailhead for the Brewster River Gorge Trail.  To be honest, there were a number of trails in the area and we were never sure of the name of the trail we were walking.  It could have been the Brewster River Gorge Trail, or it could have been another trail.  Whatever trail we were on was a nice, fairly flat trail that ran beside the river.  We enjoyed it for a couple of miles before turning around and hiking back along the same trail.

We weren't sure if we were on the trail we wanted to be on, but it was a nice one!

We rewarded our efforts at a really good burger shack called the Burger Barn.  They had a huge selection of cooked to order burgers on their menu.  While we can't remember what we picked, we do remember them being very tasty!  Check it out if you're close by, you'll be glad you did (note: the Burger Barn is "cash only").

Burger Barn

Next up............on to New York for more leaf peeping and special time with Ben and his sweet Allie!

Allie!

Leaf Peeping in New Hampshire

It was an easy and short (less than two hours) drive from Freeport, Maine to our next destination, North Conway, New Hampshire.  The drive was made even better by the fact that it was all on two lane country roads.  This gave us time to relax and enjoy the scenery.

North Conway is a village in Carroll County, New Hampshire.  It is a year-round resort area.  The White Mountain Forrest is to the west and north.  There are lakes, rivers, trails, golf courses, ski areas and plenty more to keep you busy for a long time.  We had two nights booked for North Conway and thanks to Beth's expert planning and a very helpful front desk employee at our hotel, I think we made very good use of our time.

North Conway, New Hampshire

Within minutes of checking into the hotel, we were back in the car, heading out to explore the area.  There are numerous covered bridges in the North Conway area.  Our friend from the hotel suggested heading for the small village of Jackson, which was about 15 miles away.  There was a really nice, covered bridge spanning the Ellis River.  As an added bonus, just a couple of miles upriver from the bridge was Jackson Falls, which is definitely worth checking out.  We finished the day with a really nice meal at the Red Fox Bar and Grille.

The Jackson covered bridge was built in 1876.  It is also known as "Honeymoon Bridge".

Perpetual Honeymooner on the Honeymoon Bridge

The Ellis River

Ellis Falls

Red Fox Bar and Grille

Our second day in North Conway started with a very adventurous drive into the clouds.  The 36-mile drive from North Conway to the entrance of the Mount Washington Auto Road was peaceful and incredibly beautiful.  The 7.6 mile journey from the entrance of the auto road to the summit of the mountain was a little more harrowing.  The narrow, winding road climbs over 4,000 feet.  The average grade of the road is 12%, with some extended sections around 18% and finishes with the last 50 yards at a 22% grade.  Oh yeah, and there are no guardrails!  

Into the clouds!  Beth did the drive up and I did the drive down.

We made it! So did the fog and clouds.

It wasn't quite this breezy during our visit.  There are weather monitors in the visitor's center.  The winds were blowing around 30 mph during our visit.  This made the "feels like" temperature around 30 degrees.  The road does close often due to weather.  You can check the website for current conditions.

Mount Washington-Drive Yourself

If you don't feel like driving up the mountain there is another option.  There is a cog railroad that operates from the base to the summit.  Beth, her mom and two sisters did the cog railroad some years back and enjoyed it.

After safely making it back down from the summit we enjoyed a very colorful afternoon.

This was a trailhead between Mount Washington and North Conway that was actually part of the Appalachian Trail

We finished our day with a round of miniature golf at the course adjacent to our hotel...........a little more laid back than the morning adventure up Mount Washington! 

After our second night in North Conway, we loaded up the rental car and pointed it towards Smugglers Notch which is near Stowe, Vermont.  However, we had one more New Hampshire adventure planned before we sang our way across the state line (we always sing when crossing from one state to another) into Vermont.

Our routing first took us on the 34.5 mile Kancamagus Scenic Byway (commonly known as "The Kanc".  It was a Saturday morning, but it seemed as if most of the leaf peepers were getting a late start, so it wasn't too crowded, and we enjoyed several stops along the way.

A few shots from along "The Kanc"

We stopped at Franconia Notch State Park for a gondola ride on the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway.  The tramway to the 4,080 summit of Cannon Mountain has been in operation since 1938.  Unlike the clouds and fog we had at the top of Mount Washington we had a beautiful clear day, which made for great views on the way up, at the summit and on the way down.

It was about a ten-minute ride up and down

Going up.....

at the top or on the way down, the views were great!

Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway