Campobello Island :: The Roosevelt Cottage

Thursday, September 20th - - The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was created in 1964 as a memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who spent summers on Campobello Island from the time he was a year old in 1883 until he was stricken with polio in 1921. FDR last visited Campobello in 1939 but Eleanor and the children returned often, through the early 1960s.






The view of the FDR cottage from the visitor center.


The visitor center has a 15-minute film about the Roosevelt's and Campobello Island as well as several exhibit areas. All are worth spending the time to view.





This little fenced-in area was identified as the "Best Photo Area" and I would imagine just about every visitor to the FDR cottage has taken a photo from this spot... including me.






It does make for a pretty picture, doesn't it?


I did not take any photos of the interior. There are 34 rooms furnished with ordinary, every-day items that were used by the Roosevelt family. Nothing ostentatious or fancy, rather more of a practical and utilitarian nature with an emphasis on comfort and simplicity. That, in itself, was impressive. The rooms have been restored with their original furnishings though the wallpapers are reproductions. The tour of the home is self-guided with docents available to answer questions about the house, its furnishings, and the family.





Later in the day, I took a drive along the carriage roads. Unlike those built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. at Acadia National Park, these roads can be used by motorized vehicles.



According to one of the brochures, very little of the forest cover from the Roosevelt era has survived in the 2800 acre park. Apparently, the interim owners (after the Roosevelt family sold the land and before the park was established) logged the island for pulpwood. The area has been allowed to regenerate. I saw very few large trees on my drive through the forests.



The Herring Cove Provincial Park borders the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. We stayed at the Herring Cove Campground, which was quite nice and reasonably priced. The two parks take up roughly the first third to almost half of Campobello Island. The rest of the island is privately owned by the 1100 or so residents.

Double Coyotes

If you look close at the coyote on the left; under the coyote is a dark spot which is a prairie dog looking out of it's hole.

Saddlebags as Camera Bags?

For the past two years, I have been using either my Carradice Barley or Zimbale 7L saddlebags, with the padded Zimbale insert shown here, as camera bags. This setup is convenient, secure and fits up to three full sized (SLR or medium format) cameras. The side pockets are great for storing film, a flash unit or other accessories.



But I am also ever on the lookout for a much smaller bag that will accommodate a single camera equally well without the extra bulk. The ideal bag for this would be just large enough to swallow a DSLR with a zoom lens attached, but no larger - so that it's tucked in behind the saddle without the sides sticking out. It would be fantastic if the bag had a padded insert, but not a dealbreaker if it does not; I can make my own. Finally, I would like for the bag to have the look and feel of a classic saddlebag: earth-tone canvas, that sort of thing.






A bag such at the Velo Orange Croissant, or the Berthoud it is based on, would be perfect for the job if just a tad larger. Unfortunately they do not quite fit my camera comfortably. It looks like the similarly shaped Acorn and Zimbale bags are slightly bigger, but I am not certain they are sufficient either.






After seeing the dimensions of the Carradice Zipped Roll, I thought that it would be large enough. But while the bag is large enough in itself, the opening is quite narrow and I cannot get my camera through. The Zipped Roll has now become the Co-Habitant's handlebar bag.






This United Pedal saddlebag I spotted at the New Amsterdam bike show had the same issue - the bag itself being the perfect size, but the opening too small to fit a full-sized camera through.






It occurs to me that a traditional Roadster saddlebag design could work as well - only made of lighter fabric, so as to make sense on a roadbike.




In this era of small-scale bicycle bag manufacturers, I think it would be a great idea for someone to design the perfect single-camera saddlebag. So many cyclists are also photographers and would love to carry an SLR on their roadbikes without having to mount an expedition-sized saddlebag every time.




If you carry a full sized camera in your saddlebag, what is your setup?

Gravy Dish

No information on this

Peekaboo

I didn't get a better photo before he noticed us. He slithered away so fast I could hardly believe it.

I am really, really glad that venomous snakes don't tend to move that fast, or at least, not that fast towards you. (I have seen Copperheads move fairly quickly, but away.)

Anyway, this is a Water Snake, I think the Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota).

They supposedly have poor dispositions (they'll bite if you pick them up), but if you ask me, any snake that runs away from me has a disposition that I enjoy.

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Submitted to the Friday Ark.

Updated Route Conditions for Mount Rainier

Lots of climbing reports. Here's a scary image of Rainier's north face... A serac falls off the Liberty Cap Glacier down the Liberty Wall.

It was a very warm this weekend. Thankfully, most climbers had a great time and there were no accidents... Reports to follow soon (i.e. TONIGHT.)

Image by David Gottlieb

Rough Road

This is a really rough part of one of our favorite roads in the Jemez Mountains.