Youngstown, NY is the home of Ft. Niagara, the oldest fort in continuous use in the USA. It played a major role in the French and Indian War and in the War of 1812. Fire hydrants all over town are painted to look like British, French, or Indians. Too cute. I think Vancouver, WA should paint theirs to represent the Lewis and Clark explorers. OK, now I need to write a grant.
Note the turtle on the Indian's breast plate. He even has a feather. Youngstown has some huge, beautiful, old homes along the Niagara River. Average home prices in this part of New York surprised us. They are in the mid-$200,000s. The weather was sunny and 75 degrees this day. Lunch at a small cafe, filled with locals and on the river, was delicious. Ted had Beef on Weck, a local favorite. This is a roast beef topped with gravy on a salty, caraway seed bun. Hey, you have to try the local fare.
Ft. Niagara is inside Niagara State Park, located where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario. The Fort, which dates from 1726, is run by a non-profit organization, but the park is run by the state. This British Grenadier explained that his hat was to make him look taller and more terrifying. Grenadiers were named for the grenades they carried. The grenades were notorious for going off before they left the soldier's hand. Dangerous business this is. Note the brush fence in the background. It represents the British position during the siege of Fort Niagara.
This is the main building in the fort called the French Castle because this was a French military site to start. LaSalle stored provisions here while he explored into Illinois. It housed the soldiers and their officers. The building to the left is the bakery. Rooms inside have been recreated to look as they would have when it was occupied in 1759. We could see Toronto, as plain as day, across Lake Ontario. The British captured the fort in 1759 and eventually it became a US Army Post, even housing WWII Prisoners of War.
These small sailboats were racing. We could hear the conversations as we watched from the French Castle.
The young people portraying those of the time seemed to really enjoy their roles. This French lass has come to watch the soldiers as they demonstrated shooting their smooth bore muskets. The muskets had powder and wadding, but no ball. It was a bit funny to watch the soldiers trying to keep from shooting an unsuspecting tourist! They made a big deal out of the British smelling worse than the French and the inferiority of their weapons. They melodramatically acted out the killing of one of their own by the British and the hanging once they caught the shooter.
The building to the right was the powder magazine in 1759. Ft. George is the Canadian fort across the Niagara River. The French filled the top floor of the magazine with dirt to prevent the building exploding when hit by fire from the British cannons.
This is the south redoubt. It was one of two entrances into the fort. Beyond the berm is a dry moat with cannon positioned around it. Soldiers had quarters on the second floor and a look-out under the roof on top. The draw-bridge gears and weights are still present and impressive technology for our 5th or 6th great grandparent's day.
We were so glad that we had seen Niagara Falls last night so that we could spend today seeing the rest of the county. These are the original locks at Lockport, NY on the Erie Canal. Wonder if the mule Ole Sal worked here? The gates are gone and the water flows like over a dam, but the stone walls are old and impressive. There are historical markers with lots of photos of what the work looked like as they were dredging the canal. Just to remind you, NY Governor DeWitt Clinton, the steam navigation advocate, made this happen. The canal ran from Lake Erie to the Hudson River and was very instrumental in the western expansion of the USA.
Here comes a tour boat through the new and improved locks only a few feet from the original. This section was completed in the early 1900s. Note how high the boat is relative to the canal walls.
The roiling water is now being released from the upper lock into the lower lock.
The lower lock is now nearly up to the level at which the boat will be released from the upper lock.
The gates of the lock are now being opened. As you can see, the boat has been lowered nearly 40 feet.
Now the boat is in the lower lock. Note how massive the gate to the upper lock is. The waterproof seals on the ends of the gates were huge oak timbers.
The boat is now free to go along its way toward Albany.
After leaving Lake Placid, we drove to Eastern Vermont. Along the way, we saw several of these signs. Very Vermont. Where is the silhoutte of a moose? Interesting how different states sign post their warnings.
We saw no real moose crossing the road, only this little guy. Gutsy, don't you think?
This is a six foot tall piece of art at a maple syrup company. It seemed that maple syrup was half cottage industry and half religion.
A King Ranch edition pickup with a Vermont tag seemed totally incongruous. King Ranch is near our winter digs in Texas.
These are the beautiful Green Mountains, home of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Revolutionary War fame.
We drove through Montpelier. The gold capped capitol is in the background. It's quite a small town situated between hills/mountains and a river. Construction made getting our "big rig" through here nerve wracking. Maps, GPS, Mapquest, and Google don't tell you everything.
Every town seemed to have at least one tall white steeple such as the one on this neat little church.
There were also lots of covered bridges.
Along the way we stumbled past the Ben & Jerry's factory, and Pen and I indulged. Wonderful fun. Met a neat young family from Maryland.
There were quite a few neat old houses, but we were rather amazed at the sparse population, distance to shopping, and seeming poverty. There were also quite a few aging hippies. No surprise there.
Several houses had these unique sideways windows. Why here and nowhere else we have been? 
Although much of Vermont was very rural and appeared slightly impoverished, this little town, Woodstock, stood out. You've probably seen it, the town where the Budweiser Christmas commercial featuring the clydesdales pulling the sleigh was shot. It has been a prosperous town throughout its history. The fact that it was a summer home for the Rockefellers didn't hurt. 
There were several neat houses that exuded wealth, such as this one.
This couple seemed to be enjoying their lazy summer day reading the newspaper beside the Ottauquechee River.
This builder didn't let a little thing like a river stand in the way of his/her plans.
On the way out of town, we passed through the White mountains. This is the Franconia Ski Resort near Franconia, New Hampshire, home of Robert Frost.
This is the beautiful Franconia Notch. Probably the most spectacular scenery we have seen in New England to this point, and one of the few places that would rival the Pacific Northwest. This photo is very similar to one that we took two year ago in the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side. 
