June 13, Friday
We left Niagara Thursday morning and drove east on the New York State Thruway, a toll road with limited access. It is often 12-15 miles between exits and traffic flows smoothly. We arranged in advance for an EZ Pass, an electronic transponder that is good on many of the toll roads in the East and Midwest. NY gives a discount to motorhomes on the Thruway, charging EZ pass holders the passenger car rate. We drove toward Albany but stopped a little west in the Village of Herkimer. The Herkimer KOA is about 6 miles north of the highway but the diversion is well worth the trip. In addition to the campground, the location includes the Herkimer “Diamond” Mine and Museum. Herkimer diamonds are actually unusual quartz crystals that precipitate out of silica inside hollow rocks in the sandy shelf of the area. The best ones form double-pointed needles. One can dig in the matrix and keep any “diamonds” you find, or buy crystals and finished jewelry.
The campground is along a pretty creek. We were parked nose to the bank so we had a full-screen view of a gently rippling green ribbon of water.
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