9/1/08 Riding the Gondola up Little Whiteface Mt.

9/1/08 Riding the Gondola up Little Whiteface Mt.
The gondola at Little Whiteface Mt. climbed steeply above the rocks and trees to a viewpoint where you could see most of Lake Placid to the south. It looked much the same as other chairlift and gondola rides we have taken on our travels to Banff, Ferny, and other spots in the northwest. A mountain is a mountain and at this time of year if the ski slope is on a mountain it really doesn’t matter how tall the mountain is, it is still a great sight. In this case, Whiteface Mt. isn’t quite 5,300 feet high, but the ski runs look very daunting and spectacular which is why this was such a great place for the Olympic ski races in 1980 and other World Cup events since then.

Wilmington Notch State Park was pretty and we had our first warning of bears in the campground since leaving Montana. Lots of “Watch for Moose” signs along the road, but so far we’ve seen none. Our slogan is “cue the moose” but none have appeared.
At Port Kent we paid $37.50 for the ferry ride to Burlington Vermont over Lake Champlain. The brilliant blue lake was calm and many sai boats were among the variety of boats on the water. Not nearly as many boats as one would see on Coeur d’ Alene or Priest on such a fine day, but then the population density is much lower here also. Many bicycle and motorcycle riders were taking advantage of this holiday to be in the sun. The ride across the lake is about an hour and the ferry was a single story, flat barge-like vessel and they put our motor home in the middle lane of three lanes of cars and in the middle of the boat for balance.

The lady at the ferry had given Terry the name of Pete’s RV Center in Burlington where we could maybe get the oil changed tomorrow and we found it easily enough. As we pulled in the owner was leaving for the day and offered to let us camp in their parking lot. He even offered us electricity and cable TV. What a deal! Of course we don’t know how much the oil change will cost tomorrow.

My bobsled bruise is my badge of honor from our bobsled ride. Each day it has new colors so I decided to have Terry take a picture. Vanity or pride---not sure which!