​We just made it back from our latest adventure – this time to Western/Northern New York, Ontario Canada and Vermont. During our 1,650 mile trip we:

1) Hiked the Revolutionary War battlefield at Saratoga
2) Toured the Schuyler Mansion in Albany (in honor of the Broadway musical “Hamilton”)
3) Took a boat ride on the Erie Canal
4) Hiked the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen
5) Visited the vineyards in the Finger Lakes region
6) Spent 2 days watching Niagara Falls
7) Visited friends in Toronto
8) Toured the Boldt Castle on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands region
9) Hiked up Chimney Mountain in the Adirondack Mountains
10) Toured the Revolutionary War Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Defiance

As with all trips, it was great, but it’s also nice to get home and unpack the gear. 

You can see all the photos of our Adventures on the Adventures/North America page.

Although this activity doesn’t have anything to do with Hiking, Camping or Shooting – it was very interesting so I’m adding it to the blog.

The activity was the "Race of the Century" at the Collings Foundation.  During the day they actually raced cars from 1904 to 1935 to show how fast the technology advanced during that period. The first race had a running person beat a 1904 Franklin Type A Roadster, a woman on a 1900's bicycle and a stagecoach from 1879. The last race had an 8 cylinder open-wheel Sprint racer nose out a Boeing PT-17 Tuskegee Stearman bi-plane. In between they raced thoroughbred horses, a powered bicycle (the forerunner of the motorcycle), a Steam-powered car, a 1908 Cadillac Open Roadster Runabout, 1914 Stutz Bearcat, and a 1924 Ford Model T.

Other cars that were on display, but were not driven in the races included a 1927 Rolls Royce Springfield Phantom 1 Phaeton, 1928 Pierce Arrow Series 81 Limousine, 1932 Duesenberg SJ Dual-Cowl Phaeton, 1935 Packard Model 1208 Convertible Sedan and over 50 other cars.

The foundation also has a military vehicle collection that includes many tanks from WWII and several other airplanes to include working 1909 Bleriot Type XI, Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk, North American TF-51D Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24J Liberator, North American B-25 Mitchell, North American AT-6F Texan and 25 other aircraft that they fly in exhibitions around the United States.

If you would like to learn more about the Collings Foundation - here's a link to their website:

www.collingsfoundation.org
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