Continuing on the marked path, we came to a fork. We could take the easier, stairless Rim Walk on the left…
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Or the harder, your bad knee will be screaming and make you pay, Inner Sanctum trail to the right.
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You knew there was only one right answer.
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Stairs? Oh yeah. Hundreds of them.
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But the views were totally worth it.
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The farther down you go, the louder the roar of the water.
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And once again I was glad the adventure trail was closed. I love to climb on rocks… but generally need a little more than string when it comes to a bridge.
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Me. Loving the rocks.
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The Inner Sanctum is the only way to see this chasm up close and personal.
Our day trip destination in New York was the little town of Keeseville, home to the Grand Canyon of the East.
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We’d driven by this place on a previous vacation and vowed if we were ever back in the area we’d stop and explore.
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In case you can’t zoom in, one of the best tourist attractions of the Adirondacks is under the C in Lake Champlain. Au Sable directly translates to “of the sand” which makes sense since the chasm is a giant sandstone gorge.
Looking forward to taking some good pictures, I was extremely glad cameras are smaller and lighter than they used to be.
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After buying tickets and taking a quick look at the little history museum, we headed out over the bridge which was impressive in and of itself.
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Entering the site, it felt like they knew I was coming.
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There are multiple paths and trails but they all start here.
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And like good tourists, we followed the yellow brick road.
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Okay, we followed the yellow wooden squares… so sue me.
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The first open outcropping looked back toward the bridge. And after that?
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I knew my knee would not be happy.
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It’s a shame they even have to post warnings like that, but you know some bozo bonked someone on the head down below at one time or another.
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This was our first look at the chasm.
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And I have to say I was hooked.
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I was also glad it was off season and the “adventure trail” was closed.
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Because that’s a bridge I had no interest in crossing.
On our second day in Vermont we headed for New York. Seems crazy, but stick with me … it was worth it.
Of course we didn’t make it very far before my husband had to turn around and check out an old Ford truck.
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It looked just like his… same year, same color except this was a 250 instead of a 150. Price tag, for a truck made in 1994? $22,000. That is beyond insane (and made me want to list his for sale as soon as we got home).
Back on the road, we pointed the car towards the Champlain Islands.
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If you’re unfamiliar with this area, Lake Champlain is large. 107 miles long, 64 foot deep. There’s often talk about adding it to the Great Lakes but nothing ever comes of it.
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There are a few ferries that cross it from the Vermont side, but the ride is pretty and we weren’t in any rush.
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South Hero, North Hero….
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And Grand Isle.
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Miles and miles of nothing but farms, mountains and lake. (spellcheck changed lake to kale. No one wants miles of that!)
I know I just got through blogging about our trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but guess what? In the time it took me to do that… we took another trip to Vermont. And knowing the kind of detail I like to post about our trips, this series will probably last until Christmas.
So here we go, back to Northwestern Vermont…. where I found this helpful information shortly after crossing the border.
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COW!
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I’ve never swum with a cow, but now I kind of want to.
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Back in Jeffersonville, these wonderful silos greeted us.
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In Stowe? It was a truckload full of cuteness.
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Heading through Smugglers Notch in late October after all the foliage had fallen wasn’t as pretty…
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But following this truck and trailer around the tight bends was interesting.
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Vermont, where red barns….
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Windmills…
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And corn are plentiful.
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But mummified Halloween bears are a little harder to find.
When you take scenic drives around the White Mountains of New Hampshire you’re going to pass through a lot of notches. Roads that are cut straight through the hills make for some fantastic photos.
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Unless you’re riding with my husband who hates having anyone in front of him and is constantly jostling for position.
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I can’t tell you how many great shots I’ve lined up just to whizz past them in a blur.
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My husband may be well into the senior citizen age range but you’d never know it by the way he drives.
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Ever come up behind an elderly driver and have to slow to a turtle’s crawl?
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I can guarantee that’s not my spouse. He’s the one coming up in your rear view mirror who makes you move into the next lane to avoid him riding in your back seat.
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It may not look like it, but he was doing about 90 here, passing from the right, next to a big rock. Good times.
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After we exited Crawford Notch and I drew a deep breath?
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We finally visited a place that’s been on my bucket list for years….
To be continued.
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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 