CampADK Trip Report July 6-22, 2012

[CampADK]

Good day from Site 60

     and the start of our 2 week July FCP vacation with our crew from London Ont. We came in 2 days early and managed to snag walkup Site 60

    . We have to move again for a night this morning and then tomorrow again... Ugh.

Yes Site 60

     was a great site for the night! Especially since it was a prime viewing spot for the near full moon last night which came up about 10:45pm on the eastern horizon. A nice orange behind a layer of hot summer cloud.

We were entertained by a beaver who

     would cruise by every so often, then come up on the site, rattling the bushes in the dark, then head back into water to much on a bunch of leaves that he had pulled of the shrubbery. Even managed a few shots of him feeding away in the dark, not bothered by our flashlights. We could hear another beaver nearby as well.

We had two campers performing taps at quiet hour down further in the bay on First Pond.

Water, bathrooms and showers

     should all be restored again today now that the well pump has been repaired. A big thanks goes out to staff would worked tirelessly to resolve this problem all week.

Yesterday a young gal from the DEC had a fishing kiosk setup at the boat launch

     with info and about 30 fishing rods for kids (probably adults too) to try their hand at fishing. She will be there every Friday so be sure to head over if you are their on a Friday!

As I mentioned elsewhere, a camper had chairs on their Penninsula beach and kids water toys stolen, then later straps for their canoe

    /kayak

     were stolen from the back of their truck. Time to get more diligent about locking stuff up! Sad.

Roy had more wood

     stolen from his wood lot so he is no longer going

     to be selling wood to campers. He has removed his wood racks.

A bit of on and off drizzle this morning as we await the morning coffee, buns and papers gal

More later along with several great photos!

Cheers from CampADK
FCP Site 60

    
"Not on Square Pond (yet)"

[Rollins Fan]

Looks like good weather after a slight chance of rain

     today. We head up next Saturday. How long can this great weather hold on? Thanks for heads up on thieves. Sometimes I get pretty paranoid about locking up things, then I wonder

     if it's really necessary. It's so empty when

     we are there in June, that I wonder if that's safer or not. Do people chain their kayaks

     at night,mor do you think that's a safe bet?

[mistermatt1984]

We had a beaver off our site last night around 11pm over in the 140's.

I won't be much credit to the staff over the water issue. The toilet has been running in the bathroom across from 144 for three days straight. I imagine they'd save a bunch of water if the fixed it. I have heard some information that I don't want to point fingers anyone but apparently staff dropped the ball regarding the water situation.

Still have time to harass older folks about the parking situation though.

[CampADK]

The campground definitely has less staff then is required. I'd blame the state not staff for such issues. Doesn't help when

     'someone' trashes the Rollins bathroom which requires 8 hours of manpower to clean up.

[CampADK]

Good evening for todays site, Site 151

    ! We had to move today from Site 60

    . We'll move to our slightly more 'permanent' site, Site 104

     tomorrow morning.

It rain

    ed this morning but cleared up in the afternoon, although it often looked threatening. The ponds where

     pretty busy today, but not overly. Should be another night of clear sky for viewing of the near full moon coming up over the horizon.

A few photos!

On Fridays a gal from the DEC has a Fishing kiosk at the Fish Creek boat launch

    . Learn about Fishing and try your hand at catching a big one!



One of two beavers that have been hanging around the 50's. We say this one rattling around in the bushes, then feeding on leaves on the water. Light didn't bother them one bit...



Near full moon on the horizon to the east!





Fishing via paddleboards...



Two girls trying to make each other fall off their canoe

    . Don't try this kids! Those crazy adults, think the guys convinced the girls to do it... they were so brave...



John and Susan make some great FCP vehicle decals...





John also made some FCP tee-shirts!



John has a bunch of the FCP decals and a bunch of t-sheets/pullovers in various color combos. He's on Site 140

     till Wednesday.

[CampADK]

Yet another night enjoying a full moon from a different location, this time on our site today, Site 151

     just as the moon appeared on the horizon looking across towards roughly Site 207

     at about 11:05pm....

[Rollins Fan]

Nice photos. I have to agree that the campgrounds are understaffed. I remember when

     we first came to Fish Creek in the 80's after camping on a non-state site, it seemed much more controlled at FCP. You could almost set your watch

     to their hourly drives around,at least late evening.

[humormeplease]

Always great times with you both Dave & Kate! Thanks for entertaining Emily last night round the fire as she felt like a VIP sitting in Kate's lap .

Spending the day walking Lake Placid shopping and people watch

    ing with great weather @ FCP this week!

PS Dave we'll be over to run the stop watch on your dock

     set up

[humormeplease]

Dave/Kate...how did you like the dime for a nose? Not sure if you found it yet? (inside joke)

[Can't Wait!]

Sad about the stealing going

     on this season, I've always felt like our stuff was safe at FCP, guess we better be more careful this year.

And I love those FCP shirts! Want one or two someday!

[schemer]

We just got back from a week at our favorite campgrounds... We had great weather and great time except for a few minor issues. Campers are being more inconsiderate as the years go by. 10pm to 7am is quiet time. It is no fun to be in a tent listening to people laughing, talking loudly, arguing til 3 in the morning (and getting woken up by their yelling)[list=][/list]. I know this is due to cuts in the budget and having only two rangers on for the night shift with one having to be at the front gate. But not getting to sleep through the night ALL WEEK makes me cranky. ALSO... not cleaning the bathrooms everyday needs to be corrected. I talked to one gentleman and he told me he was off two days and no one did his job. Then the pump problem started. Why

     do people hear from a ranger to conserve water so that the park doesn't run out of water.... go immediately to their hoses and fill up the water tanks? that is not conserving water.

[humormeplease]

Going

     to be heading out on the BIG chair today...on the water

Stay tuned for Dave's videos I'm sure!

[xlpic]

We just got back from a week at our favorite campgrounds... We had great weather and great time except for a few minor issues. Campers are being more inconsiderate as the years go by. 10pm to 7am is quiet time. It is no fun to be in a tent listening to people laughing, talking loudly, arguing til 3 in the morning (and getting woken up by their yelling)[list=][/list].

My kids push the quiet time envelope on the opposite side of the clock, but are getting better each year, thank God. A few days next to us and they would have no choice but to become morning people.

[CampADK]

Hey we finally got a bit of rain

    ! We had a sprinkling on Tuesdays for a good.. hmmm... 30 minutes? Sure don't remember much rain this year so far

    ...

The campground has been a bit more quiet than we are used to. This morning the Gold Coast was looking a bit bare... alas it has refilled today. Little to no bugs, sun sun and more sun. Seems like 'same old same old' nights with brilliant stars every single night. We are definitely spoiled.

Yesterday we had our friend John try out the infamous BIG chair out on our big tube. We managed to go around all three ponds before dumping

     him on the finally stretch as we cornered around about Site 99

    . oops.

I've enjoyed lots of night photography this week. Should really walk around the campground and get some alternative vantage point, but it is hard to beat the night view from Site 104

    .

So a few picks from the last few days...

John doing a trial run of the new BIG chair/tube combo. We have a few ideas for later this week...



Another milky way/starry night shot!



The High Peaks Bean and Bakery gals. Lots of morning treats, coffee and newspapers await!



Sea Gulls view of our 'island', campSite 104

     "On Square Pond"...



Our "Square Pond Marina" is somewhat busy this year...



Kate resting her broken arm in her hanging egg chair out on the Dock

    ...



One of the largest sailboats I have seen on Square Pond...



Moon coming up over the horizon about 11:00pm over Site 85

    ...



Dock and full moon...



Site 104

     under a star filled sky...



Cheers from 104 !

[Rollins Fan]

I love the photos, especially the Milky Way, almost inspires me to upgrade my camera. How did you do the gull view? Keep that good weather run, we are heading to Rollins on Saturday.