Summer in New England - Road Trip 2012 - Day 3

Today was day 3 of our adventure and we started off from East Syracuse, NY and headed up the western-northwestern border of New York on I-81 and then later US hwy 11. Our first stop was Watertown, NY, where we visited the NY State Zoo at Thompson Park. Thompson Park was a fantastic place for families because they had not only the zoo, but a sprawling playground, sports fields, and picnic areas all around. The zoo was small, but had some animals we had never seen live before like wolves, wolverines, and a Canadian lynx. It had a great local flair and lots of programs to educate kids and adults alike on the animals, especially the ones native to New York. We stopped for lunch at a Subway in Potsdam, NY. After we left Potsdam, our next stop was Malone, New York, to see the Wilder homestead (actually located a little outside of Malone in Burke, NY) which was the boyhood home of Almanzo Wilder, made famous in the "Little House on the Prairie" series. We took a tour of the homestead and then loaded up to go camping in the Adirondacks! The highway down to Fish Creek Pond where we camped was full of everything you picture when you think of upstate New York; rounded top mountains, hidden lakes, and wetlands filled with trees that look like a moose might jump out any second. Our scenic drive led us to Fish Creek Pond, which was obviously a lake by almost anyone's standards of size, where we set up camp right by the pond (lake) and had a nice relaxing evening reading, knitting, and watching the wildlife. One creature in particular wasn't as wild as his outside let on, namely a little chipmunk friend we named Oliver, who was almost totally unafraid of us and knew that where humans were food was soon to follow. At one point he ran right over my foot looking for a dropped piece of cereal and consistently ran directly underneath our camp chairs while we sat in them. We had a wonderful day and are looking forward to getting into Vermont tomorrow! Here are some pictures from today!