Fort Ticonderoga guards Lake Champlain against attack since 1755. Originally built by the French to guard against the British during the French and Indian War, it was captured during the American Revolution by Bendict Arnold and Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys and used to defend against British attacks from Canada. See full-sized photo

A Mohawk Indian gives a demonstration of flintlock marksmanship by shooting directly into the field we had walked through just minutes before. Later he admitted to being Italian, but .... it was still fun. See full-sized photo

The fort's guns guard the narrow spot in the river, as the Indian prepares to fire his flintlock. Tug 44 appears next to the tree on the right, I hope he's not shooting at us again. See full-sized photo

Tug 44 rides at anchor, under the guns of Fort Ticonderoga. Luckily their aim is a bit to the right! See full-sized photo

I'd seen the fort many times as a kid, but this was the first trip we'd made via boat. Following one of the guidebooks, we anchored in the "sheltered anchorage" directly below the fort. We got tossed all nite long and got a severe pounding. In the morning we inflated our blow-up-doll dingy, and had great difficulty getting into it as it collapsed and partially sunk, getting us both very very wet. We rowed to the guidebook's non-existent dock by shoveling 10 tons of seaweed with our paddles, then sunk to our knees in mud on the shore. After we walked across an open field we came up behind the sign that said "Do Not Enter - Artillery Practice Field" and hurried up the 3-story stairway. Naturally the gate at the top was locked, so we did an "Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys" re-enactment and scaled the fence just as they did. Good gawd!

see the Fort Ticonderoga website at: http://www.fort-ticonderoga.org/

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