Roaming Free In An RV

One of the many reasons we started this trip was to see more of our family and friends. In Michigan, we saw friends we hadn’t t seen in three years and in New York, we had lunch with another friend and his family we hadn’t seen in ten years. It’s scary that the older we get, the quicker time passes. At the same time, it’s amazing how even though we do not see friends for years, we just pick up where we left off as if no time has passed. As we were leaving lunch, our friend teased us about having issues setting up at our next campsite and how that would be in the blog. He couldn’t have been more right!

As we drove to Lake George, the hills became larger, the trees taller and skinnier, the smell of the forest was in the air, and mountains were seen in the distance. It was so wonderful to be surround by the mountains and forests again! I first fell in love with the mountains when Brad and I took a road trip out West a few years ago. I can still remember the first time seeing the Grand Tetons and being in awe of the beauty and strength. After that trip, I knew I wanted to live in an area where mountains could be seen every day. We haven’t seen mountains since we left Montana in July and it’s a great feeling seeing those peaks and valleys in the sky.

We pulled into the King Phillips Campground around dinnertime and discovered the main office was closed so we had to use the map that had been left for us and  deceiver on our own where our campsite was. Driving on the small gravel road, we almost passed the post with our campsite number. We stopped, got out of the truck, and looked around. We saw the hookups for the 5th wheel so our site was indeed on a gravel road and this was confirmed by our campsite neighbor. It was drizzling on and off so we set up shop quickly and went inside our home.  Once inside, we realized that the floor was crooked. We could feel the 5th wheel leaning to the right. I was not very thrilled that we had to put in the slides, move up the stabilizers, move the wheel chocks and stabilizing locks, and reattach the 5th wheel to the truck to fix the leaning issue. It was the first time that has ever happened to us and God, I hope it’s the last. It’s not a fun way to spend the evening, especially when hungry for dinner, tired from driving, and needing 8,000 more step for the day!

Lake George is in heart of the Adirondack Mountain range and we took advantage of being in the mountains by hiking to Bald Peak. We hiked four miles through forest, dry rock, and on to ledges to see 360 degree panoramic views of the mountain range and Lake Champlain. The peak was marked with a large cairn due to the trail continuing on to Rocky Peak Ridge though we were content to end our 2,500-foot assent at Bald Peak.

We happened to be in Lake George the weekend of their famous hot air balloon festive and decided to check it out since neither of us had been to a balloon fest. We got up at 4:30 on Saturday and headed down to see the hot air balloons being put together and to watch them take flight. The sun was rising as we got to the small airport where vendors were setting up for breakfast and souvenirs. The baskets for the hot air balloons were not as big as we thought. The top of the basket came to my waist. We saw many crew members getting their hot air balloons ready and at one time counted eighty balloons in the sky!

When I stood in the truck bed to take pictures, we noticed our ladder was gone. We think the ladder was stolen during our hike the previous day, but we are grateful that the truck was not broken into and that we’d put new locks on the tool box in the bed of the truck. We since have gotten a new ladder and a lock to keep it safe.

We head off to New Hampshire next as the last stop before we go to Acadia National Park. We have heard from so many other campers about the beauty of Acadia and are feeling more excited about going.

Till then!