Day 1

Start: Amherst, NH
End: Painted Post, NY
Miles Driven: 404.5

We made it to Corning, NY today after a long day of lovely roads and a serendipitous detour. We started the morning at home, and drove West across Route 101 in New Hampshire and continued West into Vermont on Route 9. Even though it was a grey day, the drive was lovely. Barely any cars were on the road, and we chose a lovely two-lane highway rather than the interstate. We even got to pass a lovely store that proclaimed that they sold “Garage Sale Quality Merchandise.” No, we didn’t stop. Maybe on the way back.

We passed through Brattleboro, Wilmington and Bennington, Vermont, and then crossed into New York and onto Route 7. When we got to Albany, however, we had to get on I-87. We were going to go the 87-90-88 (hut hut hike!) route, but became a bit confused at the tolls and missed the entrance to 90. So there we were on the (ick) New York Throughway. The next exit was over six miles away. As I was looking at our alternatives, I saw a big patch of green on the map…the Catskills! So, instead of looping back to get onto I-88, we decided to meander across Route 28 through the Catskills. What a great detour!

Even though the day was gloomy and the trees were just starting to blossom, we were in awe. What an absolutely beautiful region. I was thinking how lucky we were to have missed our turn-off and to have taken this detour. And of course, driving through Margaretville…it was definitely meant to be!

We detoured off our detour and went down Route 30, which followed the edges of Pepacton Reservoir. This huge reservoir was made by creating a dam at the East Branch of the Delaware River. All along the reservoir’s edges, there were signs marking the towns that USED to be there. According to the NY State website:

The Pepacton watershed’s drainage basin is 371 square miles, and includes parts of 13 towns in three counties: Andes, Bovina, Colchester, Delhi, Hamden, Middletown, Roxbury and Stamford in Delaware County; Denning, Hardenburgh and Shandaken in Ulster; and Halcott and Lexington in Greene.

This windy, picturesque drive was definitely worth the extra hour or two that we spent on the road. After leaving the Catskills, we also got to drive Route 17 (a highway, but so pretty) before reaching Binghamton and the busier stretch of the road.

We’re now relaxing at the hotel and getting excited about the Corning Museum in the morning. It was a great start to our road trip–a plan, an oops and an aaaaaah…

🙂

Margaretville…out.