This morning I headed to the local RAM dealer for an oil change. I figured I better get it done here before we head into northern New England. Most of the RAM dealerships have an "express lane" which requires no appointment. That was the case here at Bob Johnson Dodge Jeep Ram in Watertown NY. They got me right in and I was done in less than an hour. That gave me time to go through my emails and messages. They had a few nice military displays in the waiting room highlighting the Army unit here at Ft Drum.
This afternoon we drove back up to Clayton NY on the St Lawrence River for our Rock Island Lighthouse Glass Bottom Boat tour. This is a supposed to be a 2:45 tour involving a one hour trip to and from the lighthouse, and forty five minutes on the island.
A selfie op before we boarded the boat
Not a "three hour tour" and not the "SS Minnow", but away we go!
Two personal on a bench seats on both sides and the glass-bottom viewing area in the center
The boat departed on time with about 30 on board, and we made our way to Rock Island where the lighthouse is. This whole area is called Thousand Islands and there are actually 1864 islands. Plus there are many shoals.
As we approached the island
Our boat docked at the island.
In 1847 the Government built Rock Island Lighthouse to help guide ships traveling the St Lawrence River. The lighthouse has been in three different locations here. Each time it was moved it was raised higher to improve it's visibility. The last time it was moved from one side of the island to where it sits today and it was raised 50 ft. There is apparently no documentation on how this was accomplished.
We exited the boat with instructions to report back in 45 minutes. Groups of eight at a time climbed the lighthouse and were briefed by a tour guide at the top. So some of the people walked about the island and some visited the keeper's quarters which is where the visitor center was. Only the bottom floor was open. Doreen and I decided to let the crowd subside so we toured the house first.
Scale model of the lighthouse
Each room had a fireplace for heat.
We finished up inside and then went out to get in line to climb the lighthouse. Around the back there is the foundation from the original lighthouse location, now a flower bed
The line formed outside the keeper's quarters. We met a nice family of six from Pennsylvania and they allowed us to join them to make a group of eight.
Doreen getting ready to go up.
A relatively short 56-step climb on this one.
Looking down river
Looking up river
A view of the keeper's quarters and those waiting to climb
The now automated LED light and the others that climbed with us
Our volunteer tour guide giving us the history and other information
We finished up on the island, boarded the boat and headed back. The skipper took a different route back showing us some interesting things on the way.
A huge freighter passing by
Some very old and beautiful Victorian era homes.
The land is leased to the homeowners by the State of New York.
Notice the elaborate boat houses.
One of many ship wrecks in these waters. Many ran aground due to the rocky shoals.
The "glass-bottom boat" was indeed glass-bottomed, but the glass was dirty, the water was green with algae, and you could barely see anything through it. For what it was worth:
On the way back the tour guide asked if we wanted to cruise by the shores of Clayton NY and that extended our trip a bit. We were gone longer than planned, but Liberty did fine, no accidents or issues. Tomorrow we will likely visit the 10th Mountain Division museum and see other local attractions. It was a great day!
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