Visit to
Quebec and New England
Summer 2001 |
_____________________________________________________
Pennsylvania
to Quebec - Page 2 |
Now after more than one week
in Pittsburgh we had done enough of planning our trip. And as always it turned out
anyway that we changed our route many times underway. You can click here below to get a
map of what turned out to be our actual trip.
Early Saturday morning we
headed north out of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River. On the Internet and on
Television we had been warned that traffic would be heavy because the following Monday was
Memorial Day. This is traditionally the start of the summer tourist season and many motels
take this opportunity to raise prices sky high. It also seemed on the internet that
accommodation was fully booked in many popular places.
We reached Interstate I-80 which we followed until just before Williamsport. Traffic was
intense as warned and many highway patrols were hiding along to check speed. We then went
up into the state of New York via smaller highways through nice landscapes. We had decided
that we would visit the large Adirondack State Park the next day, so via Binghamton we
headed for the Western entrance. Via highway 12 we went up to Utica. Here it turned out
that the warnings about high accommodation prices were real. We found a Motel 6 which
normally charge fair prices. But here they wanted 72 USD for a room for 3 people. It was
late and we worried if any accommodation would be available in the park so we booked this
room which totally ruined our budget of 35-45 USD pr night. Fortunately this turned out to
be far the most expensive accommodation on the whole trip.
| The next morning we entered Adirondack State
Park. This covers a huge area with mostly hilly forests and lakes. Probably the largest
state park in the entire USA. Some higher mountains are found in the eastern parts of the
park. Mt. Marcy (5344 ft) is the highest peak in the State of New York. Already on our
first part of the drive here we found out that accommodation was plentiful and cheap. The
season had not really started so instead of our lousy Motel 6 room we could have had a
nice room in wonderful surroundings for half the price. Within the park boundaries are
many small towns with tourist activities. In winter its a popular skiing area. Surely
there must be vast wilderness areas not accessible by car. But we enjoyed very much the
drive along the more commercial but scenic highways. |
Lake Placid
|
Lonely by Mirror Lake
Lake Placid
|
Yes we even found a McDonald restaurant for
lunch in Saranac Lake. 10 miles further to the East we made stop in Lake Placid. This is a
famous resort and recreation center mainly based on winter sport activities. It is set in
the heart of mountains and lakes. Lakes Placid and Mirror stretch out from the city. We
parked in a parking lot in the town center (no fees on Sundays) and we walked down to the
beautiful |
lake Mirror beneath the
famous Whiteface Mountain. The area was quite deserted. Certainly not in the high tourist
season.
Lake Placid has hosted the winter Olympics twice: 1932 (in the depths of the Great
Depression) and 1980 (5 gold medals to American speed skater Eric Heiden) with more
facilities left in the town center. An old building from the 1932 Olympics stand beside
the new impressive glass building from 1980 and constitute the Olympic Center. In front of
the new building is the Olympic Speedskating Oval. There is a winter olympics museum in
these buildings. The real playground is the Whiteface |
1980 Winter Olympics Building
Lake Placid
|
High Falls Gorge
Adirondack
|
Mountain Ski Area. This Olympic
mountain has some of the best ski trails with vertical drops up to 3350 ft. Cross country ski trails and ski
jumping complexes are also found within the area. Lake Placid is one of the American
training centers for winter olympics. In fact most of the preserved olympic facilities are
available to the public today.After Lake Placid on our way to Interstate I-87 we made stop
at the High Falls Gorge which is in fact a pseudo attraction. We had to pay 3 x 6 USD.
Fees are always high in the US but mostly you get value for your money but in some places
they charge you for nothing. Places like this which ought to be open area to the public.
Compared to the 10$ fees you pay in the large national parks pr vehicle this was horrible.
Our fee allowed us for a short walk on groomed paths and steel bridges around an explosion
of the river Ausable cascading in a fall of 700 feet. The small area is so fenced that you
cannot see anything from the highway. Before leaving the well equipped souvenir shop
through the pay booth you have no idea what you get for your money. To be fair this was
actually the only waterfall of many where we had to pay on this trip.
|
| The final drive up to Canada
was not really exciting. Just before the border Michael had a full tank of gasoline as
prices are considerably higher in Canada. At the border we tried to get some Canadian $ on
our credit card. It turned out to be impossible so we had to change some of our US $.
Later in Quebec City we easily got cash from a cash machine. Around Montreal traffic was
intense. Luckily the interstate lead us across the broad St. Lawrence River in a loop east
of the city towards Quebec City. At that time it started raining. The rain which we
encountered so many times in Canada. The drive along the north shore of the St. Lawrence
River is not really exciting. The landscapes were mainly farmland and industry with a
dense population. |
|
