Trip Stats (7/07):
Counties visited:
12
Best county:
Essex Co.
Last visited:
7/2007
Places
slept: Cranberry Lake (tent)
Town visited most:
Buffalo
Most impressive town:
Lake Placid
Least impressive town:
Niagara Falls
Biggest town:
New York
Most scenic area:
Au Sable valley in the Adirondacks
Road Trips:
Niagara-Toronto Loop (3/2004), new England (7/2007)
Neighboring States: PA,
NJ, CT, ON,
QC,
VT
Major passes:
In late March, 2004, I closely hugged the entire shore
of Lake Erie along NY-5 and US-20.
Future Plans:
I have no interest in NYC right now. It seems like a place that
might strangle me literally and metaphorically. I do like New Yorkers I
have met (mostly from Staten Island), but I would much prefer the
Adirondacks and Finger Lakes to the Big Apple. |
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First Contact:
I came close to entering New York while sitting in Union Station in
Philadelphia in July of 2000 looking for a place to go on a day
trip. I chose Atlantic City, instead. Atlantic City is filled with
New Yorkers cussing at everything with their New York accents so I
felt like I was there. My first time actually in the state was much
more subdued and Midwestern in feel, skirting the shores of Lake
Erie. The area is reminiscent of any Great Lakes region, covered
with forests, rusting industrial cities, and vineyards and fruit
farms. Many I told about before my trip told me the area was an East
Coast place, but that was not the culture I found upon my arrival. |
Chautauga
Co. (2004)
On way to Niagara, passed through quickly along
NY-5 along Lake Erie, vineyards, and hilly forests. Some of the
most beautiful country in the U.S. Van Buren Pt.
Dunkirk. Silver
Creek.
Erie
Co. (2004)
Irving.
The cheapest gas in the state of New York. This is a small
native town in the Chautauga Reservation comprised of gas
stations. Angola.
Buffalo. This medium-sized, blue-collar city sits atop the
Niagara River. It was once the busiest manufacturing center in
the country, but when I visited it was quiet and desolate.
Stopped downtown at a large reproduction of a nickel. It has the
look and feel like that of many Great Lake cities, that once
were buzzing and now seem to be searching for their souls.
Grand Island. A gritty suburb filled with working class
houses.
Niagara
Co. (2004)
Niagara Falls.
Passed right
through this tough working class town in favor its Canadian
sister city and their many attractions. The American Falls that
wrap around Goat Island is uglied by the pier built right beside
it, but who can blame Niagara, NY, for trying to make some cash
off their falls, which are next to impossible to see from New
York. Fort Niagara SP. While I was not there, its white
walls proved a most impressive and patriotism-inducing sight
from the Canadian side of the Niagara River.
Jefferson
Co. (7/2007)
Wellesly Island SP. Alexandria Bay. Watertown. Fort Drum. Black
River. Deferiet.
Saint Lawrence
Co. (7/2007)
Hammond. Alexandria Bay. Star Lake. Cranberry Lake.
Lewis
Co. (7/2007)
Harrisville.
Franklin
Co. (7/2007)
Tupper Lake.
Saranac Lake.
Essex
Co. (7/2007)
Lake Placid. North
Elba. Keene. Jay. Au Sable..
Clinton
Co. (7/2007)
Plattsburgh. Chazy.
Champlain.
Westchester
Co. (7/2007)
Rye.
Bronx
Co. (7/2007)
New York (Bronx).
New York
Co. (7/2007)
New York
(Manhattan). New York (Harlem).
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John Brown's farmhouse near Lake Placid.
(2007)
The vineyards along the
east shore of Lake Erie. The foot
of the Alleghenies rise up in the background. (2004)
The American Falls are capped by the city of
Niagara Falls, birthplace to electricity in the U.S. (2004)
Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks. (2007) |
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