Harry and Louise's Adirondack Travel Day to Harryville

We are way behind in getting travel posts published this summer because we're having too much fun traveling! So we won't be confused about when each "wandering" happened, we'll start each blog with its actual date.

September 19, 2022

We have been enjoying our time in the Adirondack Park! This is a public park that contains six million acres in northeast New York. It's the largest public protected area in the lower 48 states. Half of that area is owned by the state of New York and is guaranteed to be "forever wild." We have been packing our days full because we won't be here very long. Today is another moving day, with another long (by our standards) trip in the motor home. We'll be driving for over two hours, through the high peaks and beside mountain lakes in Adirondack Park. At the higher elevations we are seeing some beautiful fall foliage. Denisa is exclaiming statements like, "Wow!" and "There's another tree!" and "Beautiful leaves!" over and over. We left our camp site early because we are supposed to get more rain later today, and we would really like to arrive at our next campground before the rain hits.

Yesterday, our new friend Carl told us that we should stop in at Hoss's on the way. They have a big muddy parking lot behind this store that has been in business for over 50 years along this lonesome highway. We are in Long Lake, New York, and this is the Walmart Superstore of the Adirondacks. We noticed the large display of bug spray, bug nets to wear over your face, bug hats, neck protectors, and even a bug jacket. It makes us think that these beautiful mountains might be full of bugs during the summer. We feel very fortunate that we are here when bugs aren't a problem. In fact, we have been very lucky all summer to avoid the mosquitoes and biting bugs that get vile reports here in New England.

Another interesting item for sale is a map of the peaks in Adirondack Park. They range all the way up to Marcy Mountain at 5,344 feet. On the map, each one of the mountain tops is a scratch-off that can be removed when you complete that climb. We'd like to stick around to make a few more of those.

It was an interesting drive, with signs like "Road Warriors Wanted." We found out that a road warrior is the one that runs a snow plow all winter. Raised in the south, that's not a career path we ever knew about. We have noticed lots of help wanted signs this summer, so it looks like there is no excuse for not having a job--unless you are retired wanderers like us.

We are a little sad to be traveling so far in a southerly direction today. We would really prefer to just sit right here in the middle of the Adirondack mountains and wait for the peak fall color. But we are seeing night-time temperatures in the 30s and 40s, reminding us that we need to be heading to warmer weather. 

Six miles away from our next camping spot, we drove into heavy rain. So we had a soggy entrance to our next Boondocker Welcome site. Owned by a most hospitable couple, they have given up on remembering all the names of the guests that camp here. So everyone (including themselves) are renamed Harry and Louise as soon as they arrive to this place they call Harryville. For these two days, Denisa and Mark have become Louise and Harry. We had planned on 30-amp hook-ups, but that spot was already taken by a bus conversion RV filled with two parents and their five young children. We're thinking that they needed the electricity more than us anyway. They are homeschooling their children, and have been on the road for four years. According to our estimates, that means that the last two children were born since they've been living in that bus. Another family arrived, and we spent time with them under the pavilion in the middle of the campground. They are trying to see all 48 states with their two sons. They are 5 months into their ten-month adventure. We took a picture of that family, along with our hosts. All of us Harrys and Louises were wearing hats and hair from the Harry and Louise collection.

We meet some wonderful people on the road that have really made our summer so special. Even though Harry and Louise now live in the mountains of New York, they were both raised in New Jersey. They brought us a generous amount of Taylor Ham (also known as pork roll) and salt potatoes to have for dinner. We (aka Harry and Louise) are feeling so blessed in our travels in the Adirondacks with this stop at Harryville!