Tupper Lake

Day: 37
Destination: Tupper Lake, upstate New York
Route: Highway 89, south on Highway 7, Essex Ferry, Highway 9N, Highway 86, Highway 3
Miles Ridden:138   Total Miles: 8,144

Points of Interest:

• Valleys and farmland of Vermont
• Essex Ferry to upstate New York
• Downtown Lake Placid, New York

Our day began with heavy rain. Not the best way to start the day, but at least the temperature was 72 degrees, and the rain was warm. Rain is still rain, heavy at times, and we knew we were going to have an interesting day. It was unfortunate, since we intended to take some photos of downtown Montpelier, Vermont. Many of the buildings and Inns in Montpelier date back to the 1820's. We opted not to do so, and instead we hopped on the bikes and began our ride west. When you are dealing with heavy rain, it is difficult to enjoy the scenery. We tried, and our route was beautiful, but we spent most of our time watching the road and looking out for that elusive swamp donkey. We got to the Essex Ferry and alas, the sun was breaking. Off came the rain gear, and we enjoyed the ride to upstate New York. The trip was very nice, since the water was calm and blue, the sky was blue, and fog had settled on the water on the New York side. It cleared as we got to the shore, and we disembarked onto a small, two lane highway south. The rain had recently passed over the area, and the heat from the sun caused steam to rise from the pavement. The road meandered along the coast, with small homes on both sides of the streets. Many of the homes had small docks on the water.

We began to head up into the mountains to the west. We stopped at a local restaurant in Elizabethtown, NY, and then made our way to Lake Placid. Downtown Lake Placid was very nice, and we enjoyed our brief stay. As we began to leave, however, the rain returned, this time constant and heavy. On again went the rain gear, and we continued west. By 4:00 p.m., the ride was getting too hairy. We gave up the ghost and stopped at Tupper Lake for the night.