Adirondacks

We arrived at River Side Pines campground in Pottsville, NY at almost 10pm.  Andy called three other places and this was the first place that would take us this late.  We drove around three times to find our site and eventually found it.  It was definately different from state parks. There were a bunch of permeant trailers (with nice woden decks) on sites too.

After we quickly reorganized the car (put Anne's toys back where they are reachable) and put the camper up I went to the bathroom. Bathrooms are clean and have showers, check!
On my way back to the car I hear "don't walk this way" loudly. It was dark and I thought I was walking on someone else's site and they were indecent or something. After I changed direction and found the pavement, I started walking again. I heard "don't walk this way, he's here".  This time I asked, "where can I walk?"  I just stopped and the mysterious man with no light said "the bear is at the dumpster.  I'm trying to get a picture". Great, we arrived at night, I never saw the map and have no idea where the dumpster is. Hum, what do I do?  I walk backwards to the bathroom and wait maybe 10 minutes. I'm hoping the mysterious guy will say "coast is clear" but nothing. Eventually I text Andy and ask him what to do. He tried telling me an alternative route to our site but I didn't understand since I didn't ever see the map and was scared of the bear. So, I convinced Andy to drive my car with the spare key to pick me up. I had to sit on all Anne's toys but I made it back. I'm sure the mysterious man thought I was some crazy city girl.

In the morning I saw that when I made it to the pavement the night before, I was only 5 feet from the dumpster! There was a HUGE mess left behind by the bear within a foot from where I was standing.   I'm glad I didn't try to wait him out. He must have been there a while. Over breakfast at the campground, I met the mysterious man and thanked him. I overheard him say the bear was really big. I thought I heard him say the size of the door, but that seems too big. 

We explored the natural stone bridge and caves in Pottersville, NY. It was almost a little too touristy, but it was the perfect level for Anne's hiking ability and we were almost rushed to see everything in the .75 mile trail in 2 hours.  Anne was scared of the noisy cave, so we will make sure to bring head phones to Niagara Falls, just in case.

We took the scenic route through the Adirondacks and it was beautiful. I can see why people say you haven't seen them unless you've seen them by rail.