Friday, July 2, 2021

From VA to NY: Schodack Island

Tuesday June 15-Wednesday June 30, 2021                      Most Recent Posts
On the road and                                                                            It’s Celia’s Turn
Schodack Island State Park                                                          It’s June Finally
Castleton-on-Hudson, New York



In my last days at the farm, I picked blueberries and found a shedded snake skin under the new and smaller grape arbor that was put up this early spring to save at least 2 of the original 40+ year old grapes.  We’ll see how they do.  The arbor needs to be painted the dark green of the house and shed trim.  But that’s hopefully for Shannon while I’m gone.




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Always happy to see snake skins assuming they are from black snakes and not copperheads.  Black Snakes keep down the mice.  Wish they could eat groundhogs.  Think about the idea of wiggling out of your skin as you grow.  WOW!


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I also repaired the washing machine which hadn’t been working since I got back. I’d been avoiding dealing with it but now I was out of procrastination time. 

David probably could not have put the stackable washer and dryer in a cuter and more difficult place to get to.  It’s behind what looks like a wall with a washboard on it.  But the top is a dutch door and to access the washer at the bottom I had to lift the heavy wooden bottom section up and out of the way.  No small task for me. 

But thankfully I was able to get it fixed with a new fuse since if the washer had to be replaced, the claw foot tub would have to be moved in order to remove the washer.  Not sure the maytag repairman would be prepared for that.

The picture below is how it usually looks when I use it.  That’s the dryer on top and the washer is behind the wooden bottom which I had to remove to fix it.

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Ms Fix-it at work with the washer bottom to her right and the wooden bottom in front of the shower. 

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Tuesday June 20 it’s finally time for me to leave Virginia,  head north and hopefully get out of this mid 90’s weather.

That doesn’t turn out to be the case but for right now,  I’m on the road going up the spine of the Appalachians under cloudy skies and light rain.  First stop, Walmart parking lot. Nothing memorable there but thanks to Walmart for saving me at least $30 when all I wanted to do was sleep.





Second night stop Mohigan Sun Pocono Casino parking lot in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania.  I’ve never stayed in a casino parking lot before and really didn’t know how it worked.   

This picture is zoomed to what I assume is the hotel and the full moon on the right and the spire from the casino on the left.  It was quite a long distance from where I was parked.  Love my camera.

Some folks pulled in after me and of course even with an entire empty parking lot, they pulled up right next to me and turned their generator on.  They had a diesel pusher with not many windows for cross ventilation so I suppose it was on for the air conditioning.   But then a shuttle bus pulled up out of no where and they got on.  I’m assuming they went to the casino.  I considered trying to figure this out but I was too tired from driving and wasn’t sure I wanted to do it alone.  I’ve found there are a lot of things I would be more  likely to do if David were with me and this is one of them.  “Maybe” next time.  But how did they call the shuttle??

I also love that the Native American Tribe is using some of its profits for the wind turbines.  I wonder if the casino and hotel are all powered by alternative energy. Super zooming this time.


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On the other side of Winnona there was a nice sunset over the hills.  Full moon on one side, sunset on the other.  Pretty nice for a parking lot site.

 

I spent the evening looking into directions to Schodack Island State Park.  I didn’t like either what RV Trip Wizard or Google had cooked up for me.  Drilling down, they both looked very sketchy for a big rig.   I wasn’t able to find anything that looked doable so I waited until morning to call the park.  From then on, it was like a Laurel and Hardy movie soundtrack.

“Where are you coming from”? 
me: “Coming north on I 87 from I 84”. 
“No but what town so I can google it for you”. 
Me:  I’ve already done that and it tells me . . . . .    and on and on and on.    She had no clue, the website had nothing but a link to google maps.  She did give me the park manager’s phone number and I called but had to leave a message.  SIGH

I drove on and stopped at nearly every rest stop on the interstates getting closer and closer with no good directions.  If the park manager didn’t call me back, I had no idea what I was going to do.  At THE very last minute someone who knew what he was talking about returned my call and  told me I’d have to go past the park on the interstate and come in from the north near Albany and Rensselaer since there was no good way to get there from the south.  Why did I choose this park???  Why don’t they have detailed directions to the park from all 4 directions on their website?  Why do the people who answer the phone not have directions they can read to you or email to you?  Who is running this park anyway?  


IMG_5928With his directions I finally made it to the park and to my nice pull through site.  $30 for electricity, dump station and water spigots you use to fill your tank.

Most state parks in New England do not have water hook ups at each site.  Maybe because it’s too much trouble to handle them all in the freezing winters? 



I’ve been on the road long enough to know that you have to flush the water spigots before you hook the water to your site or fill your tank.  So I let the water run a couple of minutes and put some, as I always do, into a clear plastic jug to take a look and a smell.  Usually, no problem, this time  - NOT GOOD.  The water stinks and is yellow.  No way I’m putting that in my tank or drinking it.  That means jugs of it for flushing and a trip to the grocery for bottled water to drink for a week.




The day I arrived it was lovely out and from then on for the entire week the temperature was between 92 and 98.  It was cooler in Virginia than here.  This did not make for great hiking or kayaking.  

Despite my harrowing day, I had enough energy to go for a hike to investigate the park.  I knew today was the last day of nice temperatures so I wanted to take advantage of that.




IMG_5930One of the things I love about National and State parks is that unlike private campgrounds they often have a hiking trail right off the campground.  That was the case here, a short connector  trail was very close to my site and led to the main park trail that went 4.3 miles although it proved to be nearly impossible to follow.


The main trail and two others I was able to find were very nice but they didn’t agree with the map or maybe it was me.  But I don’t think so.  Given how much help the office had been with how to get here, I didn’t bother to ask them about the trails and the map.  I kind of wonder if they’ve ever even hiked these trails.

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I hiked down to the kayak put in on Schodack Creek and this was what I found.

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The floating dock definitely was not floating and neither would a kayak.  Had there been a drought?

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With that disappointment and after a trying day of directions problems I was ready to call it quits and head back.

I’ll continue with the rest of my week and hot times at Schodack Island in the next post which is already partially written so it won’t take so much time to get published. 

32 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, Sherry! Not fun trying to navigate that kind of stuff, and the water level? and the not so smart people who run the park? gak. At least WalMart was decent. We have a Camco blue filter that we use between any park faucet and our rig hose for water. Not sure it would clean up water this bad. Do you have one of these filters that you use on a regular basis? Guess we won't think about this park when we head to New York in the fall of 2022 for our next cross country trip to New York City. I am impressed that you fixed that washer/dryer thingie! I am pretty good with lots of things and lived alone long enough to know how to do "stuff", but I leave all that up to Mo now. I know I am lucky that way. Just another way to miss your sweet David I am sure. Except I'll bet you had a couple of conversations with his angel spirit about the placement of the cute little washer/dryer. Looking forward to the next story.

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    1. I have two outside filters and use a Pur inside but no way was I gumming up any of them with that water. Do the parks in the Finger Lakes Sue. We did them one summer and they were wonderful. There are quite a few of them and you can do 2 weeks at each one. We had a great time. So glad to have you following along with me.

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  2. Hope you get this....looks like you are having a new great adventure. Wish I had the time to create a blog. I can relate to the water smell. Many times it is so bleachy (is that a word?) smelling.
    Was the Wal Mart weather tolerable?
    We like Cracker Barrel for boon docking, but we also can't tolerate sleeping in the heat.
    Where are you landing in Fla....

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    1. Now I'm trying to figure out who this comment is from. Thanks so much for it but I'd love it if you would sign it next time. I don't use cracker barrel as often as Walmart mostly because their parking lots aren't reliably as large for me at 57 feet when towing. The weather didn't get totally completely miserable again until I got to New York. Lucky for me there were two days of decent evening weather and I can run a fan with my solar. Back in Florida in early November at Fort Clinch. Are you nearby?

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  3. Your washer/dryer compartment/closet looks great... love that wood....

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    1. I'm guessing this is an add-on from the unknown comment above. I've always loved the rough barn board David used to surround the shower and hide the washer dryer. It's just in such a difficult place if it needs any serious repair.

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  4. Wouldn't you know in a whole parking lot that the person with the RV and the generator would park right next to you?!??! I hope the weather/temperatures are better in Vermont! Safe travels! xxxooo

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    1. It turned out fine since they didn't need to run their air conditioner at night but it was funny with a giant parking lot available.

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  5. I hope you have adjusted to disappointment by now, and have a Happy 4th of July.

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    1. Adjusted to disappointment" made me laugh. Lest you worry, let me tell you how happy I am to be with Winnona on the road again.

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  6. You made me a bit homesick with the Casino picture. We lived 4 miles from it. Went there for horse races quite a bit. Glad you're making the way north. Hopefully weather is getting better, I know it's been hot, humid, and rainy in parts.

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    1. Glad I could show you a picture of your home area Laurie. I didn't know they had horse races.

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  7. We often would stop at casinos while traveling not to overnight but hit their buffets. Never gambled, but enjoyed the food. That was enough money spent there for us.

    That water looked terrible! Good heavens and to think some people actually drink it. Great catch on your part for checking it out first.

    After all the fun you had so far with the grands and Carrie, it must be with mixed emotions as you hit the road for summer travels. I know you'll have a great time with plenty of hiking trails and trees to hug!

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    1. I guess if I am at a casino again I should try the buffet but I don't each much so it might not be worth it. Now David was another story with his hollow leg.

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  8. Sometimes life is a struggle, but we are able to do what we enjoy. We are very lucky.

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    1. Yes Lynne. I consider myself very lucky. Hope your back is healing well. It was so good to see you.

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  9. I am impressed with your repair skills. I'll bet you were dealing with volunteers at the State Park, who often don't know nothing due to lack of training. Sad. Price was good but that water looks terrible. Here's hoping it gets better.

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  10. I was pretty shocked at the water. But I managed for a week and didn't get whatever it was that smelled and looked so bad in my fresh water tank.

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  11. Happy 4th of July from the other side of the Atlantic! That water looked terrible, so glad that it didn't get into your tanks!

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    1. I've learned to always test the water Michele. How are things over there this July?

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  12. Oh me. What a start. I got all excited about your nice pull-through space until I read the rest of it. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the next installment!

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    1. What a good friend you are Pam to stick with me all this time and still be on "pins and needles". What a compliment. Thank you.

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  13. That looks like a beautiful state park campsite—but that water! Yikes! We always travel with filtered water for drinking and cooking (we fill 5 gallon jugs at grocery stores) because I don't trust water at campgrounds. Yes, it's kind of a pain, but I'm picky about the taste of water. Anyway, I'm glad to see you're on the road, and I can't wait to hear about your summer in Vermont! It's heating up here in Florida and I'm already envious of your summer plans.

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    1. So glad to see you here Laurel. Not sure what happened but whatever it was I'm glad your comment posted. It was a very nice campsite and very terrible water. I have 3 filters but resort to bottled when things don't look OK.

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  14. Sherry, hope the week goes well and the northeast cools off. We are headed out late this week to Midwest.

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    1. Oh my Patty the midwest. Having grown up in Ohio I remember their summers as miserably hot and humid. Hope you are going some where that won't be the case.

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  15. Things are ok here, thank you. I've had my double jab and feel invincible! You seem to have all the heat though - its cold here.

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  16. Sherry! You are quite the warrior. Very impressed with the washer mechanics. Will you be passing back through PA soon?

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  17. Well done with the washing machine and figuring out how to access that campground! So glad you tested the water! Hopefully, the heat has broken. It did for a few days here, but now it's back up in the mid-90s. Too hot!

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