1000 Islands

One last night at the Cracker Barrel in Watertown and I was off to one of the 1000 Islands campgrounds on the St Lawrence River.  Here I would have my last glimpse of the Great Lakes,  where Lake Ontario pulls the plug and drains toward the Atlantic Ocean.

The St Lawrence Seaway is the world's longest, unfortified and friendliest border.  There has been peace between the two countries since the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1815 ending the war of 1812.

Besides, it is beautiful.

The native peoples of the area called the area MAN-I-TO-ANNA, meaning the "Garden of the Great Spirit."

The Thousand Islands State Park Region has 45 Canadian and U.S. parks to choose from.  There are actually 1800 lovely islands that are located in the northern region of New York State and are bordered by  Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain and the foothills of the Adirondacks.

  

The St Lawrence River was discovered in 1535 by Jacques Cartier (43 years after Columbus sailed into the Bahamas).

In 1964, Bill Cullen, on the TV program 'Price is Right' gave away one of these  island to a lucky winner.   The name of the island is--(Tah Dah!!)--Price Is Right Island.

I don't know which park I stayed in--it was just the first one I came to on the way to the border.  No, it was not a warm enough day for me to get into that water.

The park was obviously a favorite with the four-legged swimmers...

When this one climbed out of the water he met his match...

Exactly!

Holy Cow!  And all different owners.

What is it with redheads?

This beauty ignored the redheads but spied a young French brunet...

Ahh, I prefer brunets to redheads.

Wow!  Did you see the legs on that one?

Most of the islands are accessible by bridges, others by boat but the river freezes enough in the winter that the islands can all be reached by cars and even trucks.

What is the difference between an island and a shoal?  Any mass above water line 365 days a year that supports at least one tree is an island.

There are about 800 dairy farms and 45,000 head of cattle on these islands.  Philadelphia Cream Cheese was developed in nearby Philadelphia, New York in the mid-1800s. 

It was pretty expensive as State Parks go--$49 per night..Ugh!  But I had not paid for a campground in over a month so I guess I shouldn't complain.  And if you subtract what it would have cost to dump my tanks, fill with water and luxuriate in a 1/2 hour shower, it looks a little less costly.