Niagra and NY Mountains

Chautauqua/Niagra Falls/Lake Placid


June 29th through July 5th


The last leg of our journey through the Northeast was upon us. We were heading to Niagra Falls to meet up with our friends Trish and Scott from Phoenix who were on a motorcycle ride from Indiana to upstate NY. Enroute to the Falls we made a detour to a small quaint little town called Chatauqua which had a famous educational institute dated back to the early 1900’s. The institute itself is a little village perfectly designed and planned with Victorian style homes with big verandas and porches all positioned with a view of the Lake. Nestled amongst the homes were the open air amphitheaters, concert halls, lecture halls and restaurants and shops. The purpose of the Institute is to immerse the residents in the arts, and culture of the community. Many families spend the summer and the kids attend camps right in the village. It is a scene right out of Pleasantville. Everyone rides bicycles or walks no cars are really permitted in the village. Many artists, writers and performers attend the summer sessions and partake in the educational classes or seminars. As Roby and I were walking through the town, we turned and looked at each and said almost at the same time; “this would be a perfect place for our friend Nicole.” We wished we had had more time to just kick back and watch time pass sitting in a white wooden rocking chair on a spacious porch sipping lemonade with a cool breeze while reading a book. Ahhhhh! Unfortunately we only had a few hours to tour the village but made a mental note we would be back. Now we know why my sister Ami who spent many of summers up here fell in love with this place. Her home on Green Lake is a good consolation.

We had another two hours before we reached Niagra Falls so we high-tailed it the border. As we headed north the ominous cloud was following us and unfortunately did not leave us for almost 10 days. We planned on meeting Trish and Scott on the Canadian side of the Falls so we had to endure another round of questioning at the border. Each time the guards become more inquisitive and now they wanted to know what kind of jobs we had. It is a good thing we are cool under pressure and have concocted a good story. Within minutes of our arrival at our friends’ hotel, the motorcycle gang arrived. Six Harleys pulled up and the clerk’s face went pale white. Little did he know they were suburban professionals. They settled into their rooms, popped a beer and we set up the makeshift party in the parking lot of the high class two star hotel. The motorcycles were parked under cover on the sidewalk and all the neighbors immediately ran into their rooms and locked their doors. The Hells Angels were in town. We spent the next two days wondering around town and took the 2.5 mile stroll down to the Falls each day to marvel at the power and size of the park and of course enjoy an ice cream cone. I have found on the East Coast -ice cream is synonymous with summer. Everywhere we went the ice cream shops were packed and regardless of the time of day everyone was eating an ice cream cone. So when in Rome.

We decided to play the sag wagon for the motorcycles on the excursion up to Niagra on the Lake. Fortunately the weather cooperated and we only had a few sprinkles. We stopped at a winery and local fruit stand. The area is known for their ice wine and cherries. Both had to be tested.

The real adventure began as we headed toward Lake Placid. Drizzle became downpour and did not let up until for four days. The motorcycle gang was decked out in full on rain gear with some ingenious protective wear- latex surgical gloves and booties to cover their leather outerwear and boots. Unfortunately, Trish experienced a “blowout” in her rain gear pants which we helped duct tape back together. Even with all the protection, the rain still found its way in, dripping from the helmets, seeping through their jackets in every nook and cranny. Roby and I felt a bit guilty for being dry and comfortable in the car but they would get their revenge because they were at least staying in a hotel and we were camping the three nights.


We were a bit disappointed because we chose to take a different route to Lake Placid through the Finger Lakes region of New York but really only had a brief half hour without rain to enjoy a quick snack at the park near the “middle finger” lake. Thankfully we were “smart” and stopped at a local hardware store on our way into Lake Placid and purchased an extra tarp to protect our tent from the rain. It was a godsend. As we entered Lake Placid we coordinated a meeting spot with our friends and took a stroll through town. They headed to their hotel rather quickly to change into some dry clothes and we met up with them later for dinner. Plans were always made hoping to out-smart the rain. Fortunately, each morning we would get a little reprieve from the rain so we could do our morning business but we did not have the nifty screen shelters around our picnic table to enjoy our meals or relax and enjoy our surroundings. We were basically car to tent to bathroom back to tent or car. Each maneuver was carefully planned to limit our exposure to the rain. Unfortunately, this practice did not bode well while on our mountain bike excursions. We woke the first morning after 10 hours of tarp flapping, pitter patter of the rain and sticking to our sleeping bags to a glimmer of sunshine. We loaded up the bikes and headed to WhiteFace Mountain to find some trails. They had converted some of the maintenance routes on the ski hill into mountain bike trails. After talking with owner of the trail company we headed out to the car to have a quick bite to eat and grab our bikes. We could take the bus to the start of the trail and ride downhill as often as we wanted for $20 or do the cross-country trail for $10. Unfortunately our glorious day fizzled. As we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwich the wind kicked up and the downpour was back. Even though the owner did his best sales job to ensure us that the trails were not saturated and completely impassable due to mud, we chose to bag the mountain ride and found a free ride on the Flume Trails which were nearby. We figured if we were going to get soaked we did not want to pay for it. We hopped on our bikes and headed through the labyrinth but ended up on a “black” run trail and I completed my first “endo” with precision and a perfect deep thigh bruise from the handlebars as I went over. Thankfully the ground was soft but I was covered in mud. No worries though because the storm rolled in again and it cleaned me off. Although we were shielded from the rain by the thick forest cover for most of the ride, once we hit the main trail back to the car it opened up and we were drenched. No need for a shower that night. Our predicament was however, we had no place to go and dry out. Once we reached the car, we just stripped, no time for modesty , and threw our bike gear in the back of the truck laid out strategically on the cooler, boxes and bags in an attempt to get them to dry out. We headed over to Trish and Scott’s hotel to get some shelter from the rain. The second night in the tent proved to be an even better “thunderstorm” show. Some how I always got lucky for my 3:00 am bathroom break the rain would temporarily stop.

July 4th arrived and we decided to be patriotic and took a ride out to Fort Ticonderoga following the motorcycles. The morning turned out to be beautiful and had a nice scenic ride. After visiting the Fort we broke off from the gang and went looking for another trail to ride. With the sun being out we wanted to take advantage. We chose the most gorgeous route down a curvy road along a lake and through several little towns. They were all getting ready for their 4th of July parades. It reminded you of Mayberry. Hopefully the rain would hold off. I found this trail called Santanoni which was really a road through a family estate called a “grand camp”. It was built in the 1800’s by a family from New York city as their summer retreat. It was on 10,0000 acres and had a farm, master house, boat house, and guest quarters and now is a historical preservation site for hiking and biking. What a find!! As expected our glorious day did not go without rain. As we were halfway to the master house the clouds opened up and blessed us with another shower. We took refuge for about 20 minutes inside the boathouse but knew we had a 5 mile ride back to the car so we reluctantly got back on our bikes and bombed it all the way home. Another strip-down in the parking lot and another set of soaking wet clothes. Our car was beginning to smell. We were in desperate need of finding a laundrymat. We stopped at an awesome BBQ restaurant called the Tail ol’ Pup and had an all American dinner-BBQ chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, and coleslaw with a cold refreshing beer. The clouds parted and we enjoyed some excellent fireworks sitting on the hill overlooking Mirror Lake in Lake Placid. A memorable Independence Day!