Day 19 - 2025 East Coast Adventure - Another Diving Board!

8/5 - Half Moon Pond state park, VT to Chenango Valley State Park, NY

We had a damp start to the morning which is different than what we've had last few days. The haze from the forest fires remains so in addition to the moisture in the air, there was also a light layer of ash on the camper.  I sent the boys and Amy to go repeat my hike from last night (they were pretty jealous of my porcupine spotting) and I stayed back to pack up camp.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the same luck I did and only saw saw some ducks and a tiny salamander (still cool!). 



I picked them up as they were about halfway back to camp from the hike and we hit the road. We had do navigate old school for a while as there was no cell phone service near camp. We made it though and very quickly we were in New York!

We stopped in Schenectady at the miSci museum. It was a smaller museum, but the boys spent about 90 minutes exploring their exhibits. They had some unique ones that we hadn't seen anywhere else including a VERY strong magnet with a bunch of washers on it. The boys created the game of "can't miss darts" where they threw the washer near the magnet and it was pulled in. We also put all the washers together to form almost a solid bar and then the boys tried to pull it apart. 



After the museum, we had a "must go" (where we eat whatever is left and must go) lunch from the back of the car and headed towards Chenango Valley. While it was almost exclusively highway miles on I88, it was very scenic, even with the white sky from the smoke. 

We pulled into Chenango Valley State Park around 3.  It was a HUGE park with a massive camping area and many hiking trails.  By around 4, we had camp set up.   The boys wanted to relax so Amy and I went for a walk.  We made it just over a half mile before we saw a number of people in swimsuits.  Turning another corner, we found the splash pad and swimming area.  Knowing that the boys wouldn't want to miss this, we turned around and picked them up.

Upon returning, we were able to really determine what the park offered.  There was a beach walk in area as well as another diving board with a diving well.  The difference here though was that this was natural water and so you could not see through the water to see the bottom.  That didn't stop Robinson though, he soon was jumping off the board and into the deep green abyss.


Sebastian wasn't that interested in the diving well, but did have a good time looking for fish from the kayak rental area and building a very intricate sand castle.


We returned to camp for a dinner of quesadillas.  Then, because the boys still really wanted to see nature, we left on a twilight hike.  This time we were successful.  We found 3 beavers (and got to hear them talk to each other!), 1 deer, 1 unknown brown mammal wandering the golf course, a few bats, a heron, and a LOT of bugs


On the drive back from the hike spot, we also encountered a LOT of deer that had come out for their evening feast.  We counted six before we spotted a herd in the field.  


As we pulled back into camp, we had the windows on the car down.  One of the sites had a bug zapper and while there was an intermittent ZAP, as we drove by, a swarm of bugs must have gone at the zapper because it sounded like a Gatling gun going off.  We all had a good laugh at the sound as we went by.

Back at camp, we enjoyed the free, warm showers and then headed for bed.

Trip mileage - 3,309
# states - 13
# provinces - 3

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