Old Fort Niagara French and Indian War Encampment (Youngstown, New York), Part 1

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to kick off the month of July at the Old Fort Niagara French and Indian War Encampment. I also apologize for the slight delay of the Fort Niagara blog posts. It has been a hectic week between fitness training, getting re-rehearsed in my own songs for the Treasure Night 15 event, and then rehearsing with Wayward Companions for the Whiskey Rebellion Festival and two other gigs we have over the forthcoming weekends! So yes, it's been pretty busy here in my corner. :D

But anyway...

It was my first year at this particular reenactment event and was definitely one I was looking forward to, especially upon seeing photos of the castle from friends that have already been there. Fort Niagara also has some pretty cool history behind it.

I set out early Friday evening when I met my travel homies at around 5pm and we made the 4-5 hour drive to Youngstown, NY. It was about 10pm upon our arrival and I was immediately taken in by the night time scenery, from the beautiful Lake Ontario to the castle (I have what might be a rather unhealthy obsession with castles).

After we unloaded our stuff into the tents, I went for a walk, briefly visiting the castle and using that time to observe and take an "I have arrived" selfie.

The night time weather was quite lovely, making the night spent in a tent a very pleasant one.

I got up the following morning and went for a little jog (as I typically do at these events) and in doing so, I was able to take in even more of the scenery.

the castle in the daylight

For this event, I decided to wear one of my newly sewn outfits and I set out on my exploring expedition.

on the third floor of the castle in front of Betsy Doyle's memorial display. She's badass :)

the cool little pass all of us had to carry

Lake Ontario. Seriously, it's amazing to see in person.

another photo taken during my exploration of the castle

A bird was also chilling in the rafters. It turned out that the nest was nearby.

I hung out in the French Military kitchen for quite some time since I met some really cool people who shared food from the hearth with me. Food from the hearth is always welcome. I also had a couple 18th century artists and an author interested in using my image for their future works. I will get a little more into them and their works - along with the sutlers I encountered and purchased from - in the next part of the Fort Niagara blogs.

the castle at close to sun down...

having a beer with friends at the evening tavern

The following morning (Sunday), I had to leave pretty early on due to the fact that Wayward Companions were rehearsing for the Whiskey Rebellion gig which took place the following weekend. A recap of the Whiskey Rebellion Festival will also be posted here soon.

The drive home was very scenic and so I took a couple photos.

the healthiest things I could find at a gas station I stopped at

Stay tuned for part 2 of my Fort Niagara blog postings, along with other forthcoming blog posts that will feature Whiskey Rebellion photos, my step by step process on making an 18th century hat (my goal is to have it completed in time for the next Wayward Companions gig on July 15), and a review of one of my favorite sutlers' product in the Health and Beauty section of this blog. My next adventures also include going to the Cochranton and Bushy Run Battlefield reenactment events. I haven't decided whether I will dress in period clothes for these particular events since I will only be day tripping it on the Saturdays to hang out with friends. We shall see. Maybe I'll feel inspired. :)