We’ve moved on as you an see. We’ve got a 3-day schedule for the next few weeks. Our plan is to travel one day, explore one day and then relax the 3rd day and then to move the next day day, explore and relax and continue this 3-day progression.
We are now in Schenectady, NY now and in a beautifully treed campground. Check out this view out our ‘neighborhood’.
This from our front windshield.
And, here were are in our campsite. The campground is right on the Mohawk River with about 20 slips for boats. I guess lots of people camp here with their boats.
We traveled here yesterday and today it is the Battle of Saratoga National Historic Park, just a short jaunt up the valley.
We found this little character in the creek below the NPS road.
The battle of Saratoga in 1777 was one of the great turning points of the Revolutionary War. Prior to that the Americans had had precious few victories and it looked as if the war would last forever. Lexington, Concord and the Bunker Hill had proven that the American militia could match the British but these involved much smaller armies. Since then, Washington had skillfully kept his much larger army away from the much larger army that the British had accumulated. But, because there had been no large pitched battles, it looked like a war of attrition. A victory was much needed and would increase American morale. Besides we wanted to prove to the French and Spanish that we were viable and that they should join us against their age old enemy, the British. We needed their help - badly.
The British plan was to divide those cantankerous New England colonies from the middle and southern colonies by moving down the Hudson from Canada and linking with the larger army in New York. Divide and conquer. General John Burgoyne, affectionately nicknamed Gentleman Johnny by his forces, was pretty self-confident about his plan and had even bet 10 pounds that he would be successful. He thought he’d stroll down the Hudson Valley, the rebellious colonists would flee at the sight of his army and he’d link up with Clinton in New York, wildly successful. Wrong.
He split his army into thirds, 1/3 got held up in western New York, 1/3 heading into Vermont got soundly trounced and there he was with only 1/3 of his army facing increasing American militia forces. Not only that but the forces in New York that were supposed to meet him half way up the Hudson, decided to head south. Was he trounced? You bet and he had to surrender his whole army. How humiliating. And, the French, realizing that the Americans were a viable ally, saw the chance to further humiliate their lifelong enemy England and joined forces with the Americans. Without their armies and fleet, we might not have won at Yorktown and might not have achieved our independence.
We toured the battlefield. If it’s the Revolutionary War, it’s Thaddeus Kosciuszko. He was an engineer and designed the fortifications for the Americans here at Saratoga.
Most of the battlefield has been used as farmland since the battle but this one building still remains. Most of it is original though much has been strengthened. This was the headquarters for Benedict Arnold, one of the most brilliant commanders in the American army and trusted and esteemed by all - for a while. He shared this with Elijah Poor of New Hampshire.
Here’s the bed with one behind it all folded up.
The Americans won at Saratoga and one of the reasons was the valiant bravery of Benedict Arnold. On the centennial of the battle, this boot monument was erected for him.
His name is nowhere to be found on this monument but on the back is this tribute:
‘In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot, the sally port of Burgoyne’s Great Western Redoubt, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution and for him the rank of Major General.’
Several old British cannons with these markings for the king.
On the way back to the RV, we found Sacket’s Ice Cream. Lots of flavors, a very nice price and look at all the different toppings you can put on at no extra charge.
If yesterday was our exploring day, today must be our relaxing day. But, what do Gary and I know about relaxing? Not much obviously. I actually had a short list of things I wanted to get done: bookkeeping, laundry and vacuuming the inside of the Jeep (we’ve been wearing hiking boots a lot recently and the floor of the Jeep is embarrassing.) I got the bookkeeping done during breakfast. Since we don’t have any sewer at this campground, I decided that we should wash our sheets in the camp laundry and I hied myself over there with our sheets. Then I realized that the washer was huge and could hold much more than our sheets so I walked back to the RV for the rest of our dirty clothing. I also decided that I could wear my shorts rather than pants and changed. Got back to the laundry, put the clothes and soap in and reached into my pocket for the quarters I had put there - yep, they were in my pants. Gotta walk back to the RV for the money. Come on, now - 3 times back and forth - and it’s not even 9:00 yet?
Ah, 2 down and 1 to go: the Jeep. When the laundry was done I returned to the RV and got out my cleaning stuff, the vacuum and, here’s the clue, a bucket of water, some rags and my Wash and Wax All. Sure enough, once I begin to clean, I couldn’t stop. Once I vacuumed I saw that the car really needed to be detailed. Once I had detailed I saw that the car really needed to be cleaned. Mission creep. OK, what about the RV? I managed to get the front of the RV cleaned before I realized that it was a ‘relaxing’ day - at 4:30. Oh, I had forgotten.
At 9:00 we sat down to watch the Republican debate on Fox. But, it wasn’t on Fox here in Schenectady. We’ve got cable here so should be able to get it. What gives? Later we wondered if there was a difference between Fox News and plain old Fox TV. Probably. But, all was not lost, we got to listen to the debate on Fox News on our Sirius. I think it would have been ever so much more edifying to watch it but, we know so little about how cable works that we couldn’t find the debate on our TV.
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