Today was such a great day. We left Albany, NY and covered just a little less than nineteen miles on our trek to our camping spot at the Duanesburg, NY Airport. Don’t worry….it’s a grass strip municipal airport, and I think we have permission to camp there. More on that later, but we have the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 3 set up well off the grass landing strip and apron, so I think we’re safe from any incoming flights.
Big Agnes at the Duanesburg, NY Airport….the best camping spot we’ve had to date.
The reason we’re at the airport is we met some great folks at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Altamont, NY who called ahead and secured permission for us to use a small strip of grass for our nightly accommodations. If you ever find yourself on US-20 between Altamont and Duanesburg, NY you MUST stop and visit the Chuck Wagon Diner.
Chuck Wagon Diner...Old School Diner that’s run with love, great coffee, and great food in between Altamont and Duanesburg, NY.
We came into the diner fifteen minutes before closing and left fifteen minutes after closing with five new friends and a place to stay at the Duanesburg Airport. True trail angels hang out at this place. The diner itself was transported to New York from Detroit, Michigan and restored with love. The sign came from California, and is also restored to its full functional glory. This is the kind of spiritual place that Neil Gaiman described so eloquently in his novel American Gods. Go. Visit. It will be magical, and you won’t regret the trip. I walked over two hundred and twenty miles to get to the diner, and every step leading up to the experience was worth it.
We also met Elliott, another true trail angel at Cumberland Farms (a convenience store and gas station) between Altamont and Guilderland (no, not the sworn enemy of Florin from Princess Bride), NY. He encouraged our trip, gave us his phone number, and told us to call if we needed anything between here and Syracuse. This walk is restoring my faith in humanity, my faith in the greatness of America, and mostly my faith in the wonderful people who are sharing our journey. We are well and truly blessed.
Sounds like the trip of a lifetime!
ReplyDelete🤗❣😄❣👩