Wellesley Island State Park was the location of our next stop. We had a beautiful travel day. Crossing the 1000 Island bridge, I had a wee case of height issues and did not look out the window at the scenery. I had my head tucked down looking at the floorboard of the truck. I am sure that our friend Bill totally understands!
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| Bridge to Wellesley Island |
We have been on the road about 3 ½ years and have been extremely lucky when it comes to campsites. When I booked our site at Wellesley Island State Park, it showed that it could accommodate a 50 foot rig. Since we are 38 ft, I assumed we would have no problem. When we were checking in at the office, I noticed that they had a map of the campsites and that our site, #5 in the Heron Loop, was listed as a 30 ft site. Ut-oh. I questioned this and the worker asked us to at least try as most of their sites in the Heron Loop could accommodate a rig our size. So, off we went. We got to site 5 and quickly realized we would not fit. We drove back to the office with Gin and Syl following us as someone was still on their site. Double ut-oh. Long story short, a few hours after we arrived, we both got settled onto sites. Gin and Syl on their original site and we were moved to a site right across from them. Our new site is a non-reserveable site that the office keeps open in case of emergency.
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| Our site at Wellesly Island SP |
We took the first day and got ourselves acclimated by pedaling around. It’s a large park with many loops with the majority being tent and small rig sites. We are very pleased with our sites in the Heron Loop.
While pedaling, we saw deer, bunnies (my favorite) and squirrels….black squirrels. That’s something new for me!
We took a little road trip one day and went to Cape Vincent to see Tibbett’s Point Lighthouse. Dan and I had seen this before but I never tire of lighthouses. Tibbett’s Point is where Lake Ontario meets the St. Lawrence River. It’s very peaceful and we sat down and enjoyed relaxing and taking in the views.
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| Windmills and boats |
And we took the obligatory lighthouse photos….
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| Gin and Syl |
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| Dan and I |
Wellesley Island State Park has quite a network of hiking trails and Dan, Syl, and I set out one day to explore. We didn’t have a plan but did have a map so off we went!
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| The park offers Voyageur Canoe trips. That's one BIG canoe! |
One of the trails follows the waterfront of Eel Bay (off of the St Lawrence) for quite awhile. We made frequent stops to take in the views…
I could never tire of seeing the houses on the islands. I try to imagine what it would be like to live on an island that small!
We learned about glacier potholes.
The glaciers provided the height necessary for water and rock debris to rush down and create these holes.
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| The blue green of the water was eye-catching. |
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| We weren't the only ones enjoying the outdoors |
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| Beaver pond |
We got quite a treat on the trail….
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| "Trail" mix! |
Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries all in the same area. Nancy - you would have loved this! The blueberries and raspberries were so sweet and tasty. But, the blackberries were a bit tart!!
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| Some of the views reminded us of Maine |
We were treated to this surprise on the trail
We were walking and heard quite a bit of rustling in some brush right off the trail. I think we disturbed this sleeping fawn. It bounded away very quickly
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| Black squirrels! |
Towards the end of our hike, we stopped by the park’s butterfly house. The butterflies were not impressive to us but the flowers were!
The park also has an exhibit demonstrating the different wing spans of the various birds found here.
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| Dan's "wingspan" is almost as big as a bald eagle's! |
We played tourists two days and took a boat tour around the 1000 Islands. We also toured Boldt Castle and the Boldt Yacht House. Dan and I had done this a few years ago, thoroughly enjoyed it, and wanted to do it again.
I was just as intrigued with the small houses on islands as I was the large!
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| Gorgeous day to be on the water! |
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| So many islands |
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| Boldt Yacht House (which is actually on Wellesley Island) |
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| Dan, Gin, and Syl looking at the wonders in the yacht house |
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| Ongoing restoration on Boldt Castle |
The insides of the castle and the view from the castle were breath-taking
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| Front parlor |
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| Bedroom |
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| Wonderful views |
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| Blue skies |
Back at the campground, Dan had found the perfect place to watch the sunset. So the four of us set out one night. We had the dock to ourselves for the majority of the time but could see a houseboat anchored out in the bay. After awhile, it started heading towards us and docked at the dock we were sitting on. As soon as it did, a boat came speeding towards us/them. My first thought was “border patrol”.
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| and it was! |
The houseboat was fine anchored in the water as it was international waters. However, when it docked, it was on US land and the agents wasted no time getting to the houseboat and questioning them. All was good, the people on the houseboat answered their questions and off they went. A little bit of excitement!
We were not disappointed with the sunset….
We would definitely come back to Wellesley Island State Park if in the area again. But, we would only stay in the H Loop. The spaces are large, there are not too many of them, and we got US Verizon coverage for cell/internet!
