Lakes to Locks Passage: Part 2

Lake Champlain Bridge

Due to how busy Rogers Rock campground was on the holiday weekend it was inevitable that there would be miscreants. At 3am four drunk kids were stumbling through the loop and talking loudly and waving an American flag. They woke me up and I had to go to the bathroom so I ended up following them and telling them to pipe down because they were being rude. I think they thought I was some ranger because they ran. The nerve of some people!

Crown Point

My first stop of the morning was at Crown Point State Historic Site which has 18th century ruins. The fort is along the edge of Lake Champlain and overlooks the bridge to Vermont and it was a quiet misty morning and I was the only one there. It was a beautiful spot and you can even walk through the ruins. I also stopped at the lighthouse across the street which you can walk up and get a view of the lake.

Crown Point Light

My main destination of the day was Ausable Chasm but that was such an experience that I will save it for a separate post. Across from the Ausable Chasm parking lot is the North Country Underground Railroad museum. Its small but very well laid out and informative. I definitely learned alot and highly recommend it for a quick stop. I continued up the Lakes to Locks passage through Plattsburg and went to the Heart's Delight Farm in Chazy. There is a wayside walk that talks about the farm and its history. The place is absolutely massive. In its heyday it employed 800 workers and has 300 buildings on 15,000 acres. Much of it is still working today. I was blown away by the size of it and it was maintained so beautifully.

Rouse's Point

The Lakes to Locks byway ends in Rouse's Point, NY right at the Canadian border. I stopped to grab a slice of pizza and turned around to make my way back to Rogers Rock. I stopped at the Poke-O-Moonshine trail to hike but its located at an abandoned campground which had a super creepy vibe to it, the trail was pure mud and the only people I saw were hauling climbing gear so I got out of there. My last stop was at the 1812 Homestead and Farm Museum in Willsboro. It seemed to me like a poor mans Genesee Country Museum but I'm a sucker for living history museums. I was the only one there so I wandered around checking out the various buildings and animals. 

Runaway goat

A goat was outside the fence but as soon as he saw me he ran back into his pen through the fence so I wasn't too concerned about his welfare. I walked over to see the chickens and something furry dashed across my foot. I assumed it was a cat but I turned around and saw it was a raccoon!