START: West Thompson Lake Campground, CT
END: McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (Ft Dix Range 14 Campground), NJ
Miles traveled:
Travel time: 0900-1500
Started out this morning with a 3.27-mile trail run on a couple of the trails, one of which started adjacent to our campsite. Overall the trail was not as rooty/rocky as the one in Acadia, but the overall forest/scenery in Acadia was much prettier. These trails took me to the lake, which is WAY low on water. We keep seeing signs about conserving water and there being a drought, and we have seen some pretty brown lawns/grassy areas. But being from the west, the two of us look around at green trees/forests and question the use of the word “drought.” However, when you see bodies of water that are very clearly not where they should be, you can understand. At one point on my run there was an aluminum foot bridge crossing over water. I think it is part of the lake, but it was just several disconnected ponds. The exposed lake bed was just dark soil, a thick edge at least 12 feet wide, bordering each small body of water. I’m sure the view would be more picturesque if the lake was filled in.
Given the longer drive we have today, we left earlier than the last few days. We ran into traffic when going through New York City - no surprise there. We skirted around the downtown part, of course, but the freeway takes you through the Bronx, and until we got onto the bridge heading into New Jersey, it stayed pretty backed up. We saw enough of NYC for us to be happy. “Hey Ruby, look out your window where all those tall buildings are, that’s New York City. Cool, huh?” And we were done.
Something else happened on this trip. We called Gram, talked to her for a few minutes. While chatting, Ruby pipes up with “my tooth just came out! Here Mommy,” and she passes her tooth to me. (I guess I’m the designated tooth recipient.) So she placed her tooth pocket under her pillow again, and speculated about what else the Tooth Fairy might bring. She was dreaming big - new stuffies, new toys, art kits, etc. I did my best to let her know that the Tooth Fairy only deals in funds, and maybe perhaps gift cards, but that’s it.
We arrived to the firing range in the middle of the afternoon. And yep, it’s a firing range. A live, active firing range. With a few campsites lined up along the other side from the parking area. Gravel pads with electrical hookups and sewer hookups for each site, but water is supposed to be shared. Supposedly, you aren’t allowed to keep your water hooked up all the time, you are supposed to fill your tank, then disconnect, so your neighbor can also have water. Our neighbor, who wasn’t home, had his water connected. We didn’t say anything or need any water, since we were only staying one night and we usually top off our water tank before we leave anyways (you never know if there might be an issue at the next campground and we end up without water).
Our neighbor on the other side was parked very crooked. They had a tow dolly behind their class C rig, and it was mostly in our space. It was very weird and kind of annoying. But, again, we’re just staying the one night, so we can put up with it.