September 06th

We will take the scenic route back to the boat. We have 8 days to go so lots of time for the last minute details. Crossing at Gananoque we dropped down to highway #3 and cross upper state New York. We are surprised and somewhat shocked by the level of poverty and decay that we see. One or two locations remind us of so called “third world countries” we have visited. Porches that use to wrap around grand old houses are now falling down and in desperate need of repair, siding falling off wood frame houses, rusting trailers on over-grown trash filled lots and For Sale signs everywhere. Moira said it best “it looks like people have just given up”. Closed factories and empty stores are everywhere. These people are living the decline of the American empire; we assume that they by cheap affordable imported goods from Wal-Mart. I can’t help but think that if we all stopped importing cheap stuff and developed domestic production, these people would get back to work and regain a sense of pride and perhaps a brighter future.

The mountainous landscapes, rolling rivers and architecture are all fantastic.