Lake Champlain

How unfortunate to be on Lake Champlain with our mast down.  What a great place to sail - there are cruising sailboats in every direction and filling every marina.  But, alas, we are pretty ugly, very slow powerboat at the moment.

We didn't mind the lack of sails on this calm day.

Our first stop on the lake was Port Henry, NY.  We stayed in a marina so we could be close to a town/have power to ensure we could watch the World Cup.

World Cup Fever in Port Henry

The highlight for us on Lake Champlain was the 2 nights we spent anchored at Valcour Island.  

It was mid week so we had an anchorage to ourselves

The landscape was so much like home I felt really homesick for the first time. The east side of the island was just like being in Georgian Bay or the Thousand Islands which I guess makes sense as we aren't too far from that neck of the woods now. The island is even set up with rustic campsites like the ones in Ontario's National Parks.

On the rest of the island, the landscape varied wildly:

Beachy areas on the west side

Grasslands closer to the center of the island

Lake Superior? 

 

We spent hours hiking on the island which was rewarding when we stumbled across ruins of the various camps and cottages which once dotted the shores.

The hike was less rewarding on the many parts of the trail that were not maintained:

Yes, that's the trail.

Next up? Canada!