Adirondack Park

We departed Algonquin Provincial Park on Thursday relatively early, shortly after 9:00.  I intended to stop at the first truck repair shop we came to and wanted to allow plenty of time in case they could do anything with our exhaust pipe separation problem.  I also wanted to allow plenty of time for stops to inspect my handiwork and make additional repairs if necessary. In Whitney ON we came to Brown's Auto and Truck Repairs. I stopped and explained my problem to the mechanic on duty. He immediately said he couldn't fix it, even before looking at it.  I asked him to at least look at it anyway and offer any advice he could.  He determined that it could not be repaired by simply welding a new pipe back to the old muffler, that the muffler would need to be replaced.  The muffler is not a standard muffler, it is unlike a straight muffler used on semi-trucks, and would indeed need to be special ordered.  He located a manufacturer and part number on the muffler.  So, I guess the best we can do is hope my jury-rigged repair holds together and try to limp on home.  In the meantime I will contact the two shops I sometimes use at home and get them to quote the cost and delivery time for the part.  Maybe we can have the part delivered and get repairs made soon after we get home.

I mentioned in the previous post that I wanted to buy some steel wire to replace the coat hangers I had used to support the pipe. The first opportunity was at the Canadian Tire store in Renfrew ON, 110 miles after leaving camp. Canadian Tire stores are like a cross between Walmart, Western Auto and Home Depot; they have a little bit of everything.

I found a 50m roll of 14 gauge galvanized steel wire, perfect for reinforcing or replacing the wire coat hangers. I also perused the sporting goods aisle, which displayed goods not often found in the Deep South.

Sticks, pucks and tape for all your hockey needs

I think we're on the right road

We elected to bypass the Duty Free store where we could have scored some cheap liquor.

No cheap liquor today

Bridge over the St Lawrence River

Myron driving across the St Lawrence River

US border crossing

While it is good to be back in the USA, there are some things I will miss about being in Canada. First the Canadian people are so friendly and polite. Second the roads and highways are extremely well signed and marked.   Passing zones are frequent, and there is always a sign telling how far it is to the next passing lane.  Intersections are consistently well marked with arrows and directions, and the names of side streets are shown well in advance.  We carried exactly $37.25 of Canadian currency into Canada (left over from our trip to Alaska in 2017).  We crossed into the US with exactly $37.25 of Canadian currency.  By using credit cards that charge no foreign transaction fees exclusively, we didn't have to get local currency and insured we got the best rate of exchange.

Our camp at Wally World in Ogdensburg NY

We parked with the Triumphant gospel quartet, but no free concert

Matilda has rules, and Matilda knows the rules. Rule No. 1 is that she shall not get on the furniture or the bed.  But there is an exception to Rule No. 1, mainly that she can get on the bed if two paws are on the floor. Matilda often exercises this exception at bedtime and early in the morning.

But Daddy, I have two feet on the floor!

We left Ogdensburg Friday morning, our destination being the Adirondack Park. we entered the park in the northwest corner shortly after leaving Ogdensburg.

From the website for the Adirondack Park Agency:

The Adirondack Park was created in 1892 by the State of New York amid concerns for the water and timber resources of the region. Today the Park is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States, greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Park combined. The boundary of the Park encompasses approximately 6 million acres, nearly half of which belongs to all the people of New York State and is constitutionally protected to remain “forever wild” forest preserve. The remaining half of the Park is private land which includes settlements, farms, timber lands, businesses, homes, and camps.

The Adirondack region boasts over 3,000 lakes, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, and a wide variety of habitats, including globally unique wetland types and old growth forests. The heart of the Adirondack Park is the Forest Preserve, which was created by an act of the Legislature in 1885 which stated, “The lands now or hereafter constituting the Forest Preserve shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be sold, nor shall they be leased or taken by any person or corporation, public or private.” The state of New York owns approximately 43 percent, or roughly 2.6 million acres of land within the Park’s boundaries. The remaining private lands are devoted principally to forestry, agriculture, and open space recreation. The Adirondack Park is unique in its intricate mixture of public and private lands. About 130,000 people live here year round in its 101 towns and villages. The harmonious blend of private and public lands give the Adirondacks a diversity found nowhere else – a diversity of open space and recreational lands, of wildlife and flora, of mountains and meadows, and people of all walks of life.

There are 52 state campgrounds in the Adirondacks, and we didn't have a reservation for a single one of them. That is always a little scary on a Friday afternoon on a fine fall day.  Dorcas had looked at availability of several campgrounds, and it looked like Lewey Lake had a few available sites that would fit us, so we headed that way.

When we got to Lewey Lake and told the ranger we wanted a site for a 34' motor home for the weekend, he frowned and looked discouraging.  Finally he directed us to site 91, which was plenty big and a fine site.  The only thing wrong with site 91 was that it was fairly difficult to back into, because the narrow road was lined with trees close to the road.  Of particular concern was this one 5" pine that was leaning at a high angle into the road, hindering access to the site.  We finally got parked, and I told Dorcas that I was going to cut that obtrusive tree down before we left. She screamed bloody murder and declared that I would not cut the tree.  However, when we were leaving on Sunday morning, I beat our rubber door mat against that tree to get the debris off the mat.  Low and behold the friggin' tree just fell over into the road.  It plainly committed suicide (arborcide?)  When I told Dorcas about the tree falling over, she didn't believe that it was an accident and blamed me for the tree's demise.

Site 91 at Lewey Lake campground

I took a couple of nice photos of Lewey Lake and couldn't decide which one to post.  Shucks, I'll just show them both.

Morning fog and foliage on Lewey Lake

Morning fog on still Lewey Lake

We met a couple who live in the Adirondacks and often spend a few days in the state parks to “get away”.  Odin, their 150 lb. Newfie, fits “nicely” in their small retro camper.

After some initial intimidation Matilda and Odin bonded

Since leaving Algonquin I have stopped frequently to inspect my exhaust pipe hack. When we arrived at Lewey Lake the fix was still stable.  I had lost 2 of my 7 wedgies, but the tail pipe was still secure on the body. I still have plenty of wedgies on board.

Thankfully the black from is engine soot and not charred or scorched wood

There is mandatory recycling at all Adirondack state campgrounds. Go NY state!!!

At the waste and recycling center there are about 1/2 dozen signs that say no black garbage bags. Each morning a staff member comes to sort the waste and recyclables, and I asked him "Why no black bags?"  He said the Hamilton County landfill had banned black bags.  But why?  It turns out state waste management inspectors had conducted an inspection at the landfill and found a large concentration of recyclables in black bags. They therefor banned black bags from the landfill.  Apparently black bags are opaque, and the recyclable materials can not be seen through them, so people will use black bags to avoid separating their recyclables from their trash.  It's a sad world.

We could stay only two nights at Lewey Lake before our next scheduled shop. That left Saturday to explore. We made a loop of the central and western sections of the park and drove to Lake Placid. 

Sacandaga River. No good for paddling today

Camelback steel truss bridge over the Hudson River

Driving through Keene Valley

Mirror Lake, not Lake Placid is the lake that fronts the main drag in the Village of Lake Placid. Most tourists probably don't know that and never see the Lake Placid. We knew better but still didn't make it to Lake Placid the lake. 

It was probably a mistake to visit Lake Placid on a fine fall Saturday afternoon.  The traffic was horrendous, there was no place to park and no place to walk on the sidewalk. We visited Lake Placid the same time of the year in 2007, and it was not like that then.  Apparently our prior visit was not on a weekend. 

"Damn this traffic jam"  Lyrics by James Taylor.  Link to the song

Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980.  The village is especially remembered as the site of the 1980 USA–USSR hockey game. Dubbed the "Miracle on Ice". A group of American college students and amateurs upset the heavily favored Soviet national hockey team 4–3 and two days later won the gold medal.

Herb Brooks, coach of the gold medal 1980 Men's Olympic hockey team, was known for his colorful quotes, much like Yogi Berra.

"You're playing worse and worse every day and right now you're playing like it's next month."

"You know, Willie Wonka said it best: we are the makers of dreams, the dreamers of dreams."

Nordic ski jump towers

We were pressed for time and regret that we did not get to visit the Great Adirondack Brewing Company to enjoy a cool one.

Great Adirondack Brewing Company

Mirror Lake Inn

Lounging on the lawn at Mirror Lake

Paddlers on Mirror Lake

Racquette Lake

Racquette Lake Outfitters

Traditional and non-traditional Adirondack canoe baskets at Racquette Lake Outfitters

Building a traditional Adirondack guide boat at Racquette Lake Outfitters

They have some more modern boats too: Swifts, North Stars, Wenonahs and others

I would hate to be behind this guy pulling his travel trailer

On Sunday morning we left the Adirondacks, heading south and east, to the Boston area, where we will attend a rally by Country Coach International.

Algonquin Provincial Park ... and More Bad Luck

As we left Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday the skies magically cleared, and the temperatures rose into the pleasant 70s, or above 22 degrees for those of you that speak in Celsius.  The terrain also changed and it became more pastoral and less rocky and mountainous.

Hay fields and pastures east of Sault Ste. Marie

I have previously mentioned the Group of Seven.  The Group of Seven, also sometimes known as the Algonquin School, was a group of Canadian landscape painters active from 1920 to 1933. Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature, the Group of Seven is best known for its paintings inspired by the Canadian landscape, and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement.  Throughout most of our route on the Superior north shore we have been on the so-called "Group of Seven Route".

The Group of Seven

I'm not really a connoisseur of fine art, but I am fascinated by the art of this school of artists.  Following is a sampling of the work of the Group of Seven.

This was a leisurely day and the weather was great. We stopped at most rest areas.  Each was along the bank of a pretty river. Canada has nice waysides.

Rest stop #1

Rest stop #2 and lunch

Rest stop #3. Matilda says "Where did everyone go?"

After a drive of 332 miles we stopped for the night at the Walmart Supercentre in Huntsville ON.  There we pumped 101 gallons of diesel at $3.18/gal USD, by far the cheapest diesel we have seen in Canada. This fill-up will get us well into the US where we hope to find much lower diesel prices.

Camp Walmart Huntsville ON 

These were boats from the Canada Outward Bound School

Shortly after departing Huntsville we entered Algonquin Provincial Park.

Algonquin is a canoe Mecca, much like the Boundary Waters in Minnesota.

We were a little anxious about getting a camp site in Algonquin.  Many campgrounds in the park had closed for the season. When we reviewed the on-line reservation system, it was not clear if or how many sites were available without reservations.  At the West Gate entrance station the ranger said no problem and recommended we stop at Mew Lake, however, when we arrived at Mew Lake CG, there were no sites suitable for our rig. DANG!  That ranger called to Lake of Two Rivers CG, just a few miles down the road and reported they had plenty of sites. Right.  We've heard that before.  However, it turns out they did have plenty of sites at Lake of Two Rivers. We took a ride through the loops and chose site 105 with 30/15 amp "hydro" (Canada-speak for electrical service).

Site 105 at Lake of Two Rivers

Lake of Two Rivers is a really nice campground.  The sites are HUGE!  Their web site showed many sites to be 30 meters wide and 40 meters long.  We are used to sites being characterized by the length of the driveway, usually something on the order of 30-50 feet, not the dimensions of the whole site.  However, on these sites there was no driveway per se.  You could park anywhere on the site you wished, the one restriction being not to park on a picnic table or any of the numerous 3' wide jack pine trees on the site.  All the sites were very open and covered by a nice carpet of pine needle duff.  Three years ago we visited Algonquin and stayed at Canisbay Lake CG, but I believe Lake of Two Rivers is much nicer.

Ferns behind our campsite

Faithful readers will remember that we have had a series of misadventures on this trip, and I am sorry to report that our bad luck is not over yet  When we arrived at our camp site I found that the tailpipe had separated from the muffler on the coach. OUCH!  I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but we didn't notice it when we left Huntsville 47 miles back.  Thankfully, between the clamp on the pipe and the flared end on the tip of the exhaust pipe, the tailpipe was not lost. As breakdowns go, this may not be the worst thing that could happen. The engine still runs, and we could move if necessary, but I would be concerned about the hot exhaust gasses scorching the paint on the side of the coach.  I'm not really sure what to do.  Can a truck repair shop weld it back together, or do I need a new muffler?  If I need a new muffler, I'm sure it's a special order item, and we are many miles from a qualified service shop and many days from receiving the part.  I did locate D&H Heavy Equipment Repair about 25 miles away, just outside the park. I called, but the guy was not encouraging. He said he would be away from his shop for the next 3 days, but that he would be driving through the park that evening and would stop by our camp and take a look.  COOL!  However, when I called him back later in the afternoon he said he was running behind and may not make it after all.  In the end he never showed.  DANG!

Tail pipe says goodbye to muffler

So here we are not sure what step to take next. So we'll sleep on it and figure something out. We always do.  In the meantime we will explore the park and try not to let this new problem ruin our stay.

We visited the Algonquin Outfitters store which has a Swift Canoe and Kayak factory store.  In Algonquin Swift Canoes are everywhere. We once owned a Swift Yukon, a 17 1/2 foot Royalex behemoth that we used for river camping trips.  Swift Canoes are not common in the South, and there are no dealers anywhere near home.  In 2001 I called the factory and spoke with Bill Swift Jr. directly, and he shipped the Yukon to my home in Winston Salem.

A tribute to Bill Swift Sr 

I want a USB port on my next Swiss army knife

A gaggle of Swifts

The Swift Keewaydin 16 Carbon Fusion Innegra is the most high tech canoe I have ever seen

In addition to a carbon fiber hull, it has a carbon fiber portage yoke

And carbon fiber seats

The boat weighs 33 pounds and costs $5500.  We liked it so much we each bought one.

Following is a photo of our Swift Yukon while camping on the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas in 2004.

A blast from the past: Dorcas and Izaak by our old Yukon

Some boats have seen better days. This one looks a lot like our old Yukon

I don't know who makes this trailer, but it was way cool. It had a highly polished aluminum exterior and the entry door was on the front over the hitch.  Very unusual.

An alternate mode of transport

On Tuesday we paddled on the Lake of Two Rivers and its tributaries

Uh oh. Beaver dam ahead

Where there is a beaver dam, there is likely a beaver lodge

After sleeping on the tail pipe problem, or rather not sleeping and fretting all night, I decided to make the best temporary repair that I could with whatever materials I had on board.  I cut down a steel soup can and made a cradle for the tail pipe. I pop riveted the can to the muffler to support the inboard end of the pipe.  Then I took two wire coat hangers (the only 2 we had on board, thanks to a recent shopping spree at Goodwill; Dorcas likes fancy hangers) and wrapped the hangers around the pipe and a frame member just above the pipe to support the assembly.  The hangers were very difficult to work with. They were hard to bend, and were brittle and tended to break when I tried to twist the ends together.

Let this not be a judgment on my engineering skills

Then I several used 3" pieces of 1" x 1/4" wood furring strips around the body opening on the coach to stabilize the outer part of the pipe.  Don't ask me why I am carrying lumber all over the country in the motor home; I frankly could not explain it. However, they fit just right; it was a miracle.

It looks silly, but it seems to be stable 

This is far from an ideal solution.  There is not a complete seal between the muffler and the tailpipe, but it should pass most of the exhaust.   The wire hangers are brittle and may break.  The wood strips may scorch or even catch on fire. I tried to find out the temperature of diesel exhaust gasses. I learned that at the exhaust manifold it ranges from 800-1000 degrees F, but could find no data on the typical temperature at the exhaust tip.  The muffler and the tailpipe should get good airflow when the coach is underway, so I'll hope for the best and stop often to make sure we aren't scorching the coach paint or the Honda. At the first hardware store we come to I will buy some 16 gauge steel wire to replace the hangers.  Our goal is to limp home and make permanent repairs there.  Between the upcoming rally in Boston that starts in 3 days and the plethora of doctors appointments I have the following week when we get home, we really can't afford to stop for any length of time to make repairs. This is a developing story; more to follow.

Fall foliage

Today we leave Algonquin headed east. At Ottawa we will turn right and hopefully cross the border back into the US this afternoon.  We have our fingers crossed and are holding our breath.

The saga continues ....