The fifth leg was at a Thousand Trails campground (Rondout Valley), the priciest campsite on the trip. And we stayed here for four nights. But the campgrounds are very nice, with many amenities for children and adults. And our site was very spacious.
The temperatures here dropped below freezing one night. I was super cautious and disconnected the water hose from the spigot to prevent freezing in the hose. But I think I was the only camper to do this.
Near the campground was a tourist orchard/farm: Kelder Farms. We went into the store and got some cider, apple cider donuts, dutch apple pie, pancake mix, syrup, bourbon caramel dipping sauce, and jam (Route 209 Traffic Jam with peach, strawberry, cherry, raspberry, and cranberry.) We didn’t pay to go pick pumpkins or take part in the other family activities.
Steve took a short bike ride from the campground, mostly to check out the location of the Westwind Orchard cidery.
In the afternoon Steve and Lexie explored Minnewaska State Park, mostly looking at the trickle of water coming down the Awosting Falls.
We also walked along the narrow Mossy Glen trail. The trail was so narrow we had to walk single file, and Lexie did not like walking second.
Other Lexi hikes were around the campground, including one into the backwoods behind the campground.
We went to the Westwind Orchard (https://www.westwindorchard.com/) on Friday night to try their cider and have some food. The ciders had complex flavors with descriptions that were similar to wines, but none that we tried were appealing to us. And we split a bowl of pasta and olives for dinner. OK, we split the bowl of pasta and Vicki had the small bowl of olives to herself. We were surprised to find that the cidery had salsa dancing that evening. So we stayed and danced for awhile. And made friends.
Bill and Andrea McGovern, friends of ours from Lake county Ohio and now residents in New York, came over on Saturday to show us around the area. We wandered around the Catskills and had lunch at the Phoenician Diner, a very popular local eatery.
Afterwards we walked along the Comeau Trail in Woodstock. The trail was challenging with roots ready to trip unsuspecting hikers. Then we visited the Woodstock School of Art.
We ended the evening making grilled cheese and soup at the RV and had a warm, tasty meal in with our friends. We tried to have dinner out together because there are so many interesting and well-known restaurants in the area. They were all busy because of the leaf-peepers that were visiting. Woodstock is only 2 hours from NYC and is a very artsy area and favorite autumn getaway.
On Sunday Steve and Vicki joined Bill and Andrea at their church: St. Joseph in New Paltz.
After Mass we had brunch at Apple Greens golf course, which was overlooking a golf course and the Shawangunk Mountains.
The four of us then went to the Mid-Hudson bridge across from Poughkeepsie. While there was a four mile hike available across the Hudson and back, we decided to stay warm and only admire the river from a few vantage points.
The final activity was getting a tour of the McGovern’s home in New Paltz, and looking at the hobbies that keep them busy.
We had a rainy departure from this lovely Catskills Mountains area but look forward to returning for more outdoor explorations and visiting the National Park sites..
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