Day Two – Geneva NY to Plattsburgh
Miles: 339
Breakfast was at Water St. Cafe in downtown. We had a nice booth in front and also had excellent service. The Home fries were probably the best of the trip. We were out on our way shortly after 7:00. Our first stop was only 21 miles out, but I felt we needed to stop at this spot on the Erie Canal where we stopped in 2005 on our way to Newfoundland. Back then it was at the end of the day and we got to see a working canal boat, but this time the stop was far less eventful. We rode around the surrounding area some but we didn't stay long and got moving after maybe 15 minutes. We rode through the Fort Ontario park in Oswego, but there didn't seem to be much going on, and it looked like it required some significant walking so we moved on. 60 miles form the Erie Canal stop we stopped at Selkirk Shores State Park where we were right on the water but there was some construction on the beach and really not much to see so we walked around a little and got moving. Just up the road we stopped at the Salmon River Lighthouse also known as Selkirk Lighthouse which dates from 1838. Our next stop was at Sackets Harbor which is an old Naval station and Army outpost that was in continuous operation until the 1950s. There are many old historic buildings that are well maintained along with some monuments and even remnants of the earthworks used to defeat the British in a major naval battle on May 29, 1813. Sackets Harbor is on Lake Ontario where Henderson and Black River Bays meet. A little further north on the St. Lawrence River we stopped at Cape Vincent for another nostalgic picture from 2005. Upon leaving Cape Vincent it was getting close to lunch time so we stopped in Clayton at Wood Boat Brewery for some wings and a pint. We sat outside on the large front porch of the old Victorian house turned brewhouse. It was a quite popular spot on this perfect afternoon. Our final stop on the St. Lawrence was at Chippewa Park, a formal pull-off on NY12 that has a really nice view of Canada. We broke off of NY12 in Ogdensburg and started to capture some new territory on our way to Plattsburgh. As we rode our way southeastwardly we stopped in Canton NY along the Grasse River where Heritage Park is located. This once industrial area that dated from the early 19th century is now a well kept park. Next up were the falls in St Regis. This area looked like a once great camping area but it certainly was not in great condition when we visited. It appeared very old and dated with many campers appearing unoccupied but maybe just during the week. The falls were fairly impressive and after some pics we moved on. Our last stop was on the Saran River at the High Falls Dam built in 1921. I thought this was still a dam generating electricity but it didn't look like it when we were there. The parking lot is below the dam and we had to hike up to the top to get a good look which was probably a 50 foot climb that was mostly vertical but not all that challenging. We were only 15 miles from our hotel and it was only 5:00 so we decided to ride to the other side of town and hit a couple of breweries and grab dinner before retiring for the day. Both breweries are located in the area of the old military base that began in 1812 as an army base on Lake Champlain and at some point became a US Air Force base and part of the Strategic Air Command remaining current until 1995. Oval Craft Brewing was first up and we liked it very much. It was an old fire house on base and somewhat small, but we sat outside and basically had the place to ourselves. After one pint we went to Valcour Brewing for dinner. The building was a very well restored barracks that was probably close to 100 yards long. We ate at the bar and enjoyed a nice dinner. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Plattsburgh Brewing for our last one. It was in a Comfort Inn complex which was nice but had little efficacy and we felt like we were in a casino bar. We met some nice folks from Dayton in the brewery. We were just down the street so a short couple of blocks and we were at the hotel.
