Gettin' NY Kicks
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Day 3: September 26, 2015 Gettin' NY Kicks Comment via blog |
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When I left home, I had loose plans to take interstates to near Buffalo,
follow US-20 to somewhere around Syracuse, then angle northeast on an
assortment of roads to Montpelier, Vermont. I hit Twenty early because I
was tired of the expressway. I stayed with it beyond Syracuse because of
Steve Rider. Steve is a top tier memorabilia collector who I know from
several Route 66 events as well as his first Lincoln Highway conference
last year. When he saw I was in New York and might be near his home in
Albany, he invited me to take a look at his garage/museum. I jumped at the
opportunity and benefited from the decision long before I reached Steve's
house. The portion of US-20 that I'd have missed if I'd turned off at
Syracuse is, as I noted yesterday, quite scenic.
Steve's second garage does continue to serve its intended purpose. Its occupants include Steve's 1962 Thunderbird convertible. But it is also a real museum -- and library -- with memorabilia organized and displayed along the walls and on shelves. Route 66 items naturally fill the most space. Behind Steve is his collection of about forty samples of Route 66 pavement from many periods and locations. Many of these samples appeared in the recent Route 66 exhibit at the Autry Museum in California. Car culture is also represented as are other roads such as the Lincoln Highway and the National Old Trails Road. Those are some pretty impressive NOTR signs in the last picture. |
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The "Rider Garage & Museum" is just one turn off of US-20
and I-87 crosses US-20 just a short distance away. Steve suggested that I
take the interstate as far as Saratoga Springs to avoid some highly
commercial parts of US-9 which was what I'd more or less been planning.
I'll confess to initially second guessing the advice when I encountered
construction on I-87 (Those cars may be moving but not much.) but it soon
cleared up and worked out fine. The congestion was easily forgotten once I
hit two-lane, trees, and glimpses of Lake George.
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I didn't realize just how close I would be to
Fort
Ticonderoga until a friend mentioned it over lunch on Wednesday. One
look at the map an it was firmly part of the trip. I moved to US-9 in time
to drive through the pretty and pretty touristy Saratoga Springs then made
my way to the fort on it and its pardner, US-9N. The only thing I could
remember about Ticonderoga was that Ethan Allen had captured it during the
American Revolution and that that was a good thing. Fortunately, I was at
the right place at the right time for Gordy's tour. He explained that the
spot was a prized one because of the portage between Lakes George and
Champlain and that it was swapped between French and British a few times
with the British having control at the start of the revolution. Allen's
capture of the fort was a good thing because it was the American's first
victory and it gained possession of a bunch of cannons that Henry Knox
hauled to Boston to get the British out of there, too.
All cannons currently at the fort are real and from the correct period but almost none were actually at the fort. The one I've pictured is from 1794 and many are older. The only two that were ever at the fort is this pair that were among the 59 that Knox transported to Boston. The fort is a museum, with much of the interior space holding a variety of exhibits, and it is also a living history operation, with all clothing worn by docents and re-enactors being made and repaired on site. |
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I deviated a little more from the "plan" when I discovered there
was a ferry to Vermont right next to the fort. Then, I missed just a
little as I hastily pointed the zoomed-too-far camera at the "Welcome
to Vermont" sign.
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In many states, using a GPS to plot the fastest route to their capital
would put you on a big expressway but not in Vermont. I like it this way.
The stop in the last picture isn't for construction but for a wreck near
the summit of VT-17 through Camel's Hump State Park.
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I snapped a shot of the capitol in the twilight then another of the nearly
full moon over Montpelier as I headed off to try to find a room. There was
little to no phone reception on that scenic road and weekends are VERY
busy around here this time of year. It was quite dark before I found a
bed but I'll spare you the details.
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