STW1 Hop 2: Glenville NY to Clayton NY

168 miles via NY 5, NY 67, NY 29, NY 28 and NY 12. Cumulative tow miles: 313. Truck miles: 518. Cumulative truck miles: 663.

Jett hated this hop. It was entirely on local roads, most of them with a lot of up-and-down and sharp curves. Every time the GPS said “winding road ahead” she moaned. If all hops were like this one she would just stop traveling.

The route itself was very scenic, if you could get by the nausea. The first 10 miles were along the Mohawk River and we passed through many towns which, while not prosperous, were decrepitly beautiful. One Victorian was twisted and collapsing – it looked like a strong breeze would push it over. But we couldn’t stop for a photo – it was a 2-lane road with not much shoulder.

Thankfully, the second half of the trip was flatter, with mostly 4-lane roads. I also assured her that the next two hops would be mostly on interstates.

Our home in Clayton NY was the Arrowhead Marina and RV Park. I chose this campground primarily for its location – it was relatively close to Watervliet where I was planning on doing some genealogical research. I didn’t have high hopes for the campground, especially since it billed itself as a marina first and a campground second. I thought it would be cramped. Not so. The site was spacious, with lots of privacy. The park was arranged in a series of loops, with expansive wooded park land separating them. This park may have had the highest ratio of open space to site space of any campground we have seen. And the view of the Mohawk River from our window… spectacular. Arguably the most beautiful view we have ever had from a campsite.

The Mohawk River is simply beautiful and serene. It is like a real-life “attitude adjustment” painting. The river just screams for someone with a palette of pastels to sit and paint. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Obviously, we liked this place way more than we expected to.

The campground itself doesn’t have much in the way of facilities other than the marina. A nice dog park, public restrooms and showers with a small attached laundry, a tiny playground. Picnic tables scattered about. That’s it. No tennis courts, no shuffleboard. Most surprisingly, no swimming pool. There are some busy railroad tracks nearby, but the noise did not annoy us. It was also pretty far from just about any kind of shopping or entertainment. Still, we liked it and would come back again.