Days 87 & 88: Eaton Lake Campground, NY

We skipped our morning coffee on Monday (Day 86), in the hope that we would reach Long Lake, NY before Peter hit the road.  It took a little over an hour to pedal the 18 miles, and fortunately he was still at the post office, so we had a chance to go there and say our goodbyes.  Hopefully our paths will cross again a bit farther down the road...

We finally are back in an area of decent cell reception, so we at least have some internet access without having to drive closer to a tower.  We are taking advantage of that and trying to get caught back up on so many things that we've swept aside over the past week or so.

We opted to spend two nights at Eaton Lake Campground ($25, primitive, free showers) which is 2.5 miles north of Long Lake, NY.  Partly that was to get the timing right on a planned rendezvous this Friday, but also partly to give Lana a little mini-vacation from life on the road (it's hard riding shotgun every day!).  

The lakes here are shallow and mostly sandy-bottomed, which is perfect for Lana's favorite activity - chasing a ball in the water.  Our campsite abuts the lake shore, so we let her play a lot while we were here.  She had a blast, and her fur is much softer as a result of all of the water play.

(That is Lana behind me, somewhat in the shadows.)

On Monday night (Day 87) were joined by Kyle, who is cycling from Oshkosh, WI to Bar Harbor, ME.  He had camped the night before at a private campground in Old Forge, NY, where this morning at 4 am a bear had tried to make off with one of his panniers, with the bike still attached.  The bear eventually managed to get the pannier off the bike (without damaging the bike), where it ripped open the pannier to get at some instant mashed potatoes and instant coffee.  The campground owner claimed that some tourists (likely in a hard sided RV) had been baiting the bear in order to get some pictures, with the result being that the bear was losing its fear of people.  Why in the world a campground owner with that knowledge did not warn Kyle before letting him set up his tent on the property is a bit unfathomable.

So we had dinner with Kyle and he pitched his tent on our site, and we were treated to some more of his travel adventures and mis-adventures.  He also showed us his own solution for a lightweight pillow for on the road: an old mylar wine bladder - just hold in the push button tap and blow.

It wasn't long after we turned in for the night that a storm passed through.  It had been forecast to include possible heavy hail, but if there was any hail it wasn't heavy enough to wake us up or do any damage to the van or camper.

Kyle pushed off mid-morning, hoping to reach Ticonderoga by day's end, while we spent the day doing a few chores and playing in the water with Lana (it's a tough life).