238 miles via NY 12, I-81, NY 104, NY 390, I-490 (west of Rochester), I-90, I-290 (around Buffalo) and I-190. Cumulative tow miles: 551. Truck miles: 270. Cumulative truck miles: 933.

This was the longest – both in terms of distance and time (almost 5 hours) – of any hop we have made in the past year. At 238 miles it pushed the limit of how far we can travel on a single tank. We probably could have made it, but rather than stress out we made a fuel stop at a service plaza on I-90 (the NY State Thruway). I thought this would be the easiest way to get a partial tank, but it turned out to be not so easy because the single diesel pump on the truck side of the plaza was out of service. I guess not many trucks fuel up at these service areas. We decided that, rather than snake our way over to the car pumps, we would use our 5-gallon emergency supply. That was only the second time we have used the emergency supply.

The route would have been even longer if we had taken the fastest route – I-81 to I-90. More expensive, too, as the New York State Thruway is pretty pricey. I avoid tollways when towing because I am never sure what the charges will be, but opted for a compromise this time – about 50 miles of toll road out of 238 total. About half was on expressway. Most of the rest was on NY 104, which mostly wasn’t bad – a little up-and-down but not many sharp curves. We did, however, run into a nasty stretch of construction just west of Oswego which included 4 separate one-lane sections with flagmen. Very ugly. Jett hated it, but so did I.

At the final toll plaza I couldn’t get over to the “E-ZPass Only” lane, so had to go through a manned booth. I thought I might be asked to pay extra for the RV that I was towing, but the attendant just cheerfully waved me through. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t cheating the State of New York.

Our home in Clayton was the Merry Knoll Campground. It was pretty basic – ordinary swimming pool, a minimal bathhouse, a laundry with 2 washers and 2 dryers. Our site was in an open field which ran down to the St Lawrence River. Scenic, but not so scenic as our previous site at Arrowhead. It was a steep walk down to the water, but once there a broader vista was the reward.

Not a great place, but perfectly fine for two nights.

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.