Got up at 0600, packed (later, I figured out that I'd forgotten my cooler with fruit) and said goodbye to Brenna. Filled up my gas tank at (Exxon) in Harrisonburg, VA (0635) and left town on I-81, headed north (in the dark). Made good time (through WV and MD) all the way to the Pennsylvania border and listened to an audio book. Also, Mollie called to ask me questions about grocery shopping. I continued on I-81 and the drive went quickly (very little traffic). Passed the (newly named) President Biden Expressway as I continued north. Stopped for lunch at Arby's in Pittston, PA (1100) and then got off I-81 (onto US-6) in Scranton. It started sprinkling and I took it slower than normal (I didn't trust the tires on the rental car). Along the way, I drove through some very small towns (saw a little Christy Matthewson sign in Honesdale). Eventually got on PA-352, following Google Maps directions, and then ended in the woods on dirt roads. This was not, in fact, the way to the Upper Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River headquarters... I backtracked to blacktop and drove east again. Just before crossing the river (into New York), I saw a sign for the NPS HQ and took another dirt road to reach it. The building was closed but I found a NPS Passport cancelation station and park map. While there, I talked to an older couple from Texas and they were having trouble turning their RV around (they actually had to unhook their car to get out of the parking lot). Since I wanted to continue north, I then (re)crossed the Delaware River into Narrowsburg. Like several other similar types of River parks, this one had few facilities - this meant that I had to drive a lot (as I said, initially without a map) to find history and scenery. By the end of my time in the area (using NY-97), I'd visited the towns of Skinners Falls, Cohecton and Callicoon. Seems like there is a lot of room for infrastructure improvement but the remote nature of the park was worth the travel difficulties. At one of my stops, I helped a couple from NYC to find their way back to civilization (they had no cell signal and no map). Having seen all I'd planned, departed the park and headed northeast (NH-94, NY-93, NY-92). There were several deer in the road and I had to be careful everywhere I turned. At this point, it became possible to visit another place I'd had on my "Bucket List": Catskill Park. Over the years, I’ve skirted the edges several times but I was always on the southern (NY-17) and eastern (Ashokan Reservoir, Mount Tremper) sides. Today, I decided to try to access the area on the western and northern sides. I made my way to NY-17 and, after crossing it, reached Roscoe. I then used NY-206 to enter Catskill Park - the road cut through the mountains to Downsville so I didn’t have to drive completely around on NY-30. I came out of the woods just east of the dam for the Pepacton Reservoir and got some good views across the widest sections of the lake. I drove east through spectacular foliage and enjoyed the lazy, winding nature of the road as it followed the shoreline of the reservoir. There were lots of signs that showed where there had once been towns - they were now submerged beneath the waves. I also saw a lot of trailheads for hikes into the Catskills (to the south) and boat launch areas. Unfortunately, it was raining quite a lot for much of this time so I didn’t stop to explore as much as I’d planned. It got sunny for a short time as I reached the bridge near Andes and I got the only picture I could take of the lake (there were no scenic pull outs anywhere else). After that, I continued on NY-28 through Margaretville, Fleischmanns, Big Indian and Shandaken. Along the way, I crossed into Ulster County (family connection there). As it was still raining, I decided to exit the park to the north (on NY-42). Feel like I only scratched the surface - I’ll definitely return to this remote and wild place! Followed Google Maps out of the area (left, right, left, right) and eventually ended up on NY-32, which took me all the way into Albany. I then got on I-787 and NY-7 until I was able to find the Hudson River crossing at Troy. Got dinner at McDonalds in town (1715). Traffic started to become a problem as I drove east but I still had daylight left as I entered Vermont. I switched to US-7 but, since there appeared to be rain on the mountains to the east, decided to get gas before beginning my crossing. Got off at the Arlington exit and then drove west to VT-7A - ended up filling up at Stewarts Shop (a place I've visited before) in Arlington, VT (1810). After filling up, drove north on VT-7A again and then took some back roads to get back VT-11 on the east side of Manchester. I then continued across US-7, into the hills. It started raining a lot and my drive across the Green Mountain range was miserable. Even worse: I ended up behind several slow drivers and, despite using VT-100 and VT-103, I couldn't get clear. Eventually, I disregarded Google Maps and found a long stretch of road with no one on it (VT-104). Eventually made it to VT-131 and then took it to I-91 towards White River Junction. By then, the weather had turned extremely nasty. I talked to Mollie as I got closer to home and, happily, soon found myself on I-89. By the time I arrived at my condo (2000), I was very tired... The rain continued as I unpacked but I was able to relax a bit before I went to bed, exhausted (2200). What a trip!
