Chasms and the Champlain Islands

  Ausable, New York, United States
Thursday, October 11, 2007

We walked 5 houses down to McLeans for breakfast.

This local joint was a great place to get a taste for what Kesseville was all about. Listening to the local I learned that there is not much to do around except drink, smoke, and order strippers (and by the looks of the locals, I don't know if I would recommend the strippers). Simple and delicious egg sandwiches got our day started off perfectly and by 8:00 we were ready to explore the Chasm.
 
Only a few miles up the road we learned only after we got there that Ausable Chasm, like so many other things in the area have seasons. Turns out that the main house at the Chasm had only closed 2 days before our arrival. When we got there, no one was there, the doors were locked and signs thanking patrons for a great season did not look good for Joe and Frannie. After further digging around we eluded that the chasm's trails were still open until the end of October, but would not open until 9:30. With an hour to kill and breakfast already eaten, we drove around the town of Ausable and Joe popped into the local Army Navy Store for some additional layers. With little and nothing left to do, we decided to drive by the ferry, the one we would take over to Vermont later that day, to check out the schedule. Closed for the season also. We figured now we would need to drive all the way to the northern tip of the state only to come all the way back down through Vermont. Scrambling through the piles of brochures and pamphlets that Joe can not resist at every rest stop, visitor's center, and hotel lobby, we came across the Vermont Ferry Schedules and found another ferry that would take us to Vermont only a few extra miles up the road. 
 
Back at Ausable Chasm we arrived at 9:30 on the dot ready to pay our entry fee into this natural wonderland. The chasm was breathtaking. Just off the highway, a passer by would never know such a magical spot is hidden below them but once you step into the wooded areas and down the flights of stairs along the rock bed, the sight is amazing. Basically, the chasm is a cavern in the earth that was sliced perfectly in half by glacial freezing, water erosion, and the shifting of the plates. What remains can only be described as skyscraper rocks that surround the visitors and partnered beautifully with a river gorge of water that flows quickly but peacefully through the center of the rock split. We hiked the trails for 2 hours and covered over 3 miles of trails. The crowds started to arrive as we were leaving so it was perfect that we had Ausable Chasm all to ourselves for so long. I imagine the summer would be a great time to be there also though. They running tubing and rafting trips down the river and I believe that being in that water would really make you feel like you were in another world surrounded completely by all those rocks and caverns.
 

Leaving the Chasm we headed for our ferry in Plattsburg. This ferry would take us to the Champlain Islands where we would link up with Rt 2 all the way into Burlington. Before driving onto the ferry we couldn't resist a stop for the World's Famous Red Hots at Gus's a happening spot near the ferry. I had no idea what a red hot was so when Joe told me to go inside and get a few he only enjoyed the direction more when I replied with "well what IS a red hot?" I walked in, told the waitress I wanted 2 red hots and only learned after I paid for them and got them back into the car to unwrap them that red hots are not peppers (which I thought) but boiled hot dogs swimming in a red meat sauce topped with onions and mustard. I was disappointed (and so was Joe) that I only got two. We drove onto the 8 minute commuter ferry and savored every bite of those hot dogs while the three of us, Joe, myself, and Betty Lou the truck putted over Lake Champlain.

The Champlain Islands were crisp, quiet, and beautiful. Filled mostly with 2nd homes, get away cottages, and tourist spots, the Champlain Islands offer a lot of water, peace and quiet, and a kind of sophisticated travel tourism feel. We stopped in at the Islands' only winery, Snow Farm, and enjoyed a wine tasting on South Hero Island. The vintners and owners, both lawyers and big wigs from Burlington, tossed it all in for simpler living and their passion for wine.

Although we could have stayed longer, we knew we had to be on our way, the day was going too quickly already and we had a lot of ground to cover.