After trekking up to Niagara Falls we nabbed a great campsite at Four Mile Creek State Park.
As we continue to drive East and the Fall is in full swing, campsites are becoming very empty and many are not open, so we were happy to find this place.
The Four Mile Creek State Park campground was awesome! It had really nice hot showers and even laundry on site! We spent two nights here, and would do it again.
We worked from the van a bit before heading into town to do Laundry at a laundromat (we didn’t have any quarters for the park machines).
Laundromats can be cool or super sketchy. This one was super sketchy! But we made it out with clean clothes and didn’t get shot. #win
Niagara Falls
The following day we drove to the US side of Niagara Falls (around 3:30pm). And a perk of camping in the state parks near the Falls is you get free parking at the Falls!
At Niagara Falls we walked around the US side for a bit and decided it would be fun to walk across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada (instead of driving).
The view of the falls was spectacular from the bridge and even better from the Canada side. They definitely have the better side for sightseeing.
Once on the Canada side we met up with Joe and Maraea and walked along just taking in the views.
Side note: at this point we were three days into a five day fast (Joe’s idea), and Joe and Maraea couldn’t have been better friends in our fragile food-less state.
If you decide to walk across the boarder… you need passports AND a dollar each to re-enter the US. And they don’t accept credit cards.
The Niagara Falls viewing was windy and very cold, so there was a lot of mist. But it was a beautiful blue sky day, which made for some amazing rainbows (and photos)!
After we walked around for an hour or so… Joe and I headed back to camp, (like I said) we were on day three of our five day fast and we were pretty tired (and grumpy).
During the drive back to camp we were treated to an amazing sunset!
Overall, seeing the Niagara Falls was a fun experience and I’m glad we decided to take this extended route. I’m not sure I ever would have made it out to see it if we hadn’t (this was Joe’s second time to the Falls).
On the road again
From there we headed out across New York (it’s a HUGE state!).
We stayed in a county park one night and a Wal-Mart the next. Then in Utica for two nights to finish our five day fast up in the comfort of a hotel and in close proximity to a lab so we could have our blood drawn the day after.
If you’d like to read about why we did the five day fast, and our results, click here.
Adirondacks
The last day of the fast we headed up into the Adirondacks and did a short hike to a fire tower which led to great views of the surrounding lakes.
Unfortunately, the locals told us we were about a week late for the fall colors, so it was mostly just bare trees at this point.
The next day (after our blood draw) per a recommendation from a friend, we went to the Bagel Grove for our first post fast meal.
Joe had a bagel breakfast sandwich and I had the most delicious French toast bagel with honey walnut cream cheese. It was phenomenal and we were so happy to be eating again!
After refueling our bodies we drove for a few hours, winding through the Adirondacks. It was a beautiful drive and so nice to not be on a main highway.
When you can… you should ALWAYS avoid highways. Experience over time, every time!
We made it just to the southern end of Lake Champlain, where we found some forest service land to camp on by a creek just outside Lake Placid. And in the morning we woke up to a tiny bit of snow!
Another day and another beautiful drive, where we made it into Vermont and stayed at the Shelburne Camping area just outside of Burlington.
In Burlington worked at a Starbucks the first day and the next two days at Village Coffee and Wine. Village Coffee and Wine was a perfect coffee shop for working (and had an amazingly great maple latte).
Back to CrossFit
On our way out of town we dropped in for an evening class at Champlain Valley CrossFit, which was super fun and the first time we had worked out in almost a week and a half (because of our inactivity due to the fast).
Working out felt super great, and we were lucky enough to be coached by Dani Horan, a perennial CrossFit Games athlete and great human!
But because we spent so much time at the CrossFit gym… we left Burlington a bit later than expected. So, we decided to just drive two hours to get into New Hampshire and stay at a Wal-Mart.
The next day we worked from a public library in New Hampshire before dropping into another CrossFit box for a quick afternoon work out. We both lost five+ pounds during the fast and wanted to put that weight back on ASAP.
Maine
After the workout, it was time for a long drive (this time most of it was not in the dark) through New Hampshire and into Maine.
This part of the drive was amazing! It was through mountains and the fall colors were bursting all around us. We even drove through areas that had a few inches of snow on the ground!
Arriving in Bangor Maine relatively late, we posted up at another Wal-Mart. The next morning we were picking up our friend Ali from the airport before heading to Acadia.
In the morning we found a great local coffee shop for working in downtown Bangor before grabbing Ali from the airport. Their nitro cold brew was off the hook!
The drive to Acadia was nice and short, and once again fall colors were popping everywhere!
We pulled into our campsite at Blackwoods Campground around 5pm and set up camp for the next few days of Acadia Exploration!
Stay tuned for Acadia National Park adventures.