ADIRONDACKS

THOUSAND ISLANDS TO THE ADIRONDACKS

JUNE 20th

We pulled out of KOA Thousand Islands around 10AM and it was already 80 degrees.  It would be a GREAT day to be on the water and the waters, on both sides of the campground, were calm with soft breezes blowing.  Yes, only place to be is on the water.

We headed to Wilmington NY home of Whiteface Mountain which is 10 miles north of Lake Placid.  Our route took us on SR 3 starting as the Seaway Trail and turning into the Olympic Trail in honor of the Lake Placid Olympics which I remember well because I was living in the Berkshires…and I have no idea why I didn’t make my way up to Lake Placid except that I was a young, haggard mother and probably had neither the time nor the money!!!!

On our way we went through Watertown which is the home of Fort Drum.  Watertown was settled in 1800 by pioneers from New Hampshire as part of the large migration into New York from New England drawn by the Black River cascading through the town.  The city is known as the birthplace of the Five and Dime, the safety pin and Little Trees air fresheners. 

As an aside, my ancestors on my Father’s side  had very large dairy farms in Rutland, Vermont and in the early 1800’s (50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed) they migrated west to Aurora NY in the Finger Lakes as part of the westward movement. 

When I think of westward, I think of “out west”, but New York after the Rev War was “out west”.  

Further aside ….. it was this westward movement that continued west to Kentucky where they brought their farming, seeds and distilling skills creating a rich, rich bourbon history. 

Gotta love how the threads of the tapestry comes together!

 The Olympic Trail travels east to west for 170 miles from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain passing through the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park.  Man….is it beautiful up here!

The Adirondack Mountains are sometimes included in with the Appalachian Mountains but are more related geologically to the plateau of the Canadian Shield similar to the Laurentian mountains in Canada.  They are separated from the Green Mountains of Vermont by Lake Champlain and Lake George.  Interestingly enough the Adirondack Park is the largest protected area in the contiguous US and is larger than…..Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Canyon and Great Smokie Mountains COMBINED.  It consists of 6.1 million acres (9,375 square miles) and is the size of Vermont.

Indian Insults .....

The word “Adirondack” is a Native American expression applied to the Algonquians by the Iroquois intended to be a derogatory name  meaning, “The Ones Who Eat Bark”.  Those Indians had their way with insults!

Although the Iroquois and Algonquians never settled in this area, Samuel de Champlain sailed up the Saint Lawrence and Riviere des Iroquois near what became Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain in 1609.  He was the first European to encounter the Adirondacks and imagine the sight before him.  By 1642 the Jesuit missionaries and French trappers were in the region.

Spiritual Renewal

During the 1800’s the mountainous areas were viewed as forbidding but James Fenimore Cooper, Thoreau and Emerson transformed the view to a more positive term as a source of spiritual renewal.  I believe today the mountains are a source of spiritual renewal. 

Part of Coooper’s 1826 The Last of the Mohicans: a Narrative of 1757 is set in the Adirondacks, although the movie was filmed in Western North Carolina at Hooker Falls (just down Cascade Lake where we spent the last two summers) and Chimney Rock.  I guess filmmakers must have seen a resemblance between WNC and Adirondacks.  It’s definitely there.  Same spiritual renewal.

Bless the Environmentalists!

Logging and other ventures threatened the Adirondacks.  In 1894 environmentalists amended the State Constitution to protect this area.  Article VII, Section 7 (renumbered in 1938 Article XIV, Section 1) reads:

The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed.

Over the years this amendment has been unsuccessfully challenged by industries preserving a beautiful piece of land for future generations.

And aren’t we glad they did!  

We continued  climbing, climbing into the Adirondacks and coming down into Lake Placid was breathtaking …. Not only for the views of the surrounding mountains …. but also for the near takedown of a side view mirror on a utility truck parked croaked as we came through downtown Lake Placid almost sideswiping it off!  My head was on the dashboard, eyes closed.  Little did I know I was blocking Dave’s view of the side mirror! 

Our campground is ten miles north of Lake Placid Village on the way to White Face Mountain.  It’s a cool 95 degrees and hotter than hell!  Go figure!

WHITE BIRCH

Trip down memory lane!!

Every summer for six years I went to overnight camp for the Month of July.  My brother went to overnight camp the last two weeks in June and the first two weeks in July.  For our “only child” two weeks, we spent them with our grandparents in Vermont.  My parents really had summer figured out.  Essentially they  had the month of June and July to themselves.  By August my brother and I missed each other so much we didn’t have one fight! 

So, for six years I celebrated Christmas in July.  To this day when July 25th comes around I think it’s a holiday.    We drew names for our recipients of our Christmas gifts and they had to be made from local resources.

Now you’re probably wondering why I’m boring you with details of my childhood … but this is my blog and it’s becoming my historical journey.  The one item that was always packed in our trunks along with shorts, swimsuits, towels, etc is an autograph book.  It was important to obtain everyone’s name & address before camp ended.  

So……the perfect Christmas gift and the one I made every year for six years was an autograph book using paper from my stationary supply and making a cover out of birch bark.  Of course we had to find downed trees because stripping bark from a tree isn’t healthy for the tree.  As soon as I saw these trees, I was once again at Ayapoo creating my Christmas in July gift.

June 21st brought hot temps again.  It was almost 80 when I took Billy for his mid-morning walk. Last night we walked him down the trail to the K9 Doggie park that all these KOA's have.  HE LOVES THEM!  However, after chasing the ball for about fifteen minutes he was panting with his tongue hanging out.  Ninety degrees here actually feels hotter than in Florida.  There was not a breath of air moving.  It was like breathing in a dryer.

This morning I walked Billy around the campground and we passed a trail that led to the K9 Doggie Park.  He yanked me over to that trail, got down close to the ground and crawled along pulling me to the trail.  I told him we'd come back tonight but it took some convincing him to stop yanking.  Amazing how he knew that trail.  Normally he doesn't yank on the leash.

We all piled into the car and took a ride heading, at first, to the summit of White Face Mountain.... that is until we got to the toll and they wanted $16 for us to go up.  Decided we'd been to the tops of mountains before and they were higher than 4,867 feet so we would find our own views.

And views and views and views we did find.  However, for most of them, by the time Dave stopped the car the view was completely out of view!  Many of these roads don't have shoulders and everyone up here is in such a hurry.  So, I found this one......looking out onto Saranac River.  

We swooped down around to the Village of Saranac and then back through Lake Placid.  The temperatures were climbing into the 90's by this point so decided to come back to town when it's cooler - tomorrow or Saturday.

Coming back up SR 3 we pulled into White Face Mountain ski area.  How different a ski area looks in the summer!

I love the colorful chairlifts.  In my days of skiing, the chairlifts were all black or silver.

I noticed from Niagara to Adirondacks, the fire hydrants have these tall posts to that they can be found in the snow!

A look back at White Face Mountain.  

A mountain isn't complete without a mountain stream...Ausable River at Whiteface Mountain.

June 22, 2012

We had originally planned on going  to Plattburgh to hike the Ausable Chasm but dogs are not allowed in the Chasm.  They weren’t allowed in the Watkins Glen Gorge either.  So, we hung out in Lake Placid as the weather changed from hot to mild and visited the Olympic sites.

We parked in a parking lot and paid the meter to walk around the Olympic sights.

Wandered around the buildings and went inside to see what was up.   Opened doors and peaked in and lo and behold we found the skating rink.

Lessons are scheduled throughout the week and it's used by professional and Olympic skaters for practice.


Dave was disappointed that he didn't bring his skates!  There was a store across the street that rented skates but he felt the blades would not be the kind he was used to.


Oh well, guess I won't be witnessing his skating prowess!

Watched the skaters practice for a while then wandered outside to see what else there was to see.  1980 was a long time ago and the building is basically it.  Dave still wouldn't give up on the skating and decided he needed to go through the Athletes Entrance .... but had trouble opening the door!

All this work required lunch......before going into a town we research breweries as those are the places we like to eat.  Lake Placid did not disappoint.  There were two breweries to choose from and the deciding factor was parking!  The Village of Lake Placid is lined with stores and a few hotels with on-street parking making the two lane street fairly narrow.   I cannot even imagine this village during the winter Olympics. 

Ended up at Lake Placid brewery on Mirror Lake.  We started out with a sampler of their six beers, all of which were very good, narrowed down our choices and had great pub sandwiches and beer for lunch.    The weather was going from hot to cool with some rain in between so we headed back to the MH late in the afternoon. 

This evening we walked down to the Ausable River to hike the first half of a gorge.  The Ausable River or Au Sable River runs through the Adirondack Mountains past Lake Placid and Au Sable Forks into Lake Champlain.  This river is known for its spectacular gorges, cascading falls,  Ausable Chasm and one of the best eastern trout rivers in the USA.  The river is 94 miles long and runs the perimeter of the KOA Campground.

Heights are not my friend so this is as close to the edge as I was going to go!

Although we descended to this end of the trail we were at the top of the gorge as the river runs down from White Face Mountain.  The trail was very rough, rocky and rooty as well as steep in places.  At first I was descending with Billy on a leash and my camera on my shoulder.  It didn’t go well and handed Billy off to Dave so I could keep my balance.  Billy is part “goat” and loves to hike these trails.  He’d love the water if we can get down to it.  Apparently this trail eventually descends to the River so we may check it again out tomorrow.

 I am truly feeling my age.  Ten years ago I would have been climbing all over these boulders probably climbing down to the river over the ledges.  Now I look for the easiest path to get me where I want to be.  I wonder how that guy got down there!

June 23, 2012 - Woke up to much cooler temperatures and they felt great.  Heard some rumbles of thunder but couldn't pinpoint where the storms were so headed out to see some of the Olympic venues.

We headed up to Mt Van Hoevenberg to see the Sports Complex.  On the way up, we passed the Olympic Jumping Center where ski jumpers launch from a 90-120 (393.44’) meter tower to jump the length of a football field.   

Training and competition for Nordic ski jumping takes place year round thanks to a plastic mat out-run on the 90m jump. The Freestyle Aerial Training Center is located to the right of the base of the jump towers. Aerialists can train in the summer months by jumping into a 750,000 gallon pool.   You can see these jumps from all of the surrounding area.

Rain was closing in on us, clouds forming around the mountain peaks.  By the time we got up to Mt Van Hoevenberg the rain was close. 

Mt Van Hoevenberg is the home of the Olympic Bobsled Run.  

This venue was used for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and Goodwill Games in 2000.    The Bobsled track built in 1930 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is used for training and recreation.

Used by German team in the 1930's

The original Bobsled Track is a “natural” track carved out of the mountain following the mountain’s curves.  It was designed longer, steeper with sharper curves than European runs allowing for steadier driving and faster speeds.

The bobsled track has a lip added to the sides to keep the sledders from flying off the track into the woods.  Apparently that is what happened during the 1930 Olympics.

Live and learn!

All the tracks end with an up-hill run to slow these sleds down.

The combination track was completed in 2000 to host bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions for the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games.  It was in 2000 the German team  surveyed the track declaring it was too dangerous and returned to Germany.

It takes fourteen days to get the Combination Track ready.  Under the track are refrigeration pipes, starting from the top a fine mist is sprayed down the track.   After layers and layers of this fine mist are hardened, the track is scraped and carved to create the curves.  All of this is done by hand.

Somehow I thought the podium was larger!

We decided to take a bus tour to the top and forego the Bobsled Ride.  As we stood there, the thunder started and the rain came!  By the time we got to the top of the Combination Track is was POURING, thundering and lightening.  It’s always more intense on top of a mountain. 

The track is enclosed which keeps the refrigeration inside.

Even through the rain, you can see the ski jump towers in the distance.

LOOKING DOWN FROM THE START LINE.

FROM HERE THE PUSHER HAS JUMPED INTO THE SLED!

These tracks are used throughout the winter hosting numerous competitions.  Imagine how beautiful all this is in the snow!

Normally we would have been able to walk down the track but with the rain we rode back down.  At the bottom of the track it started to hail so we were glad we didn’t opt for a bobsled ride!  The bus driver was nice enough to drive us to our car and we only managed to get slightly soaked!

So ends our time in Lake Placid and the Adirondacks.  We are heading to Vermont tomorrow via Ferry across Lake Champlain.  Our traveling days are closing and soon we'll be settled into our summer home at Mount Ascutney where we will be hosting for July and August.

Tonight the KOA is providing us with a pot roast dinner.  Apparently this is done on Sunday nights but mis-information was provided to some campers that dinner was Saturday night.  So......they came around last night with an invitation for the dinner since we are checking out Sunday and that they would be delivering it to our camp sight around 6PM.   Works for me!

LIFE IS GOOD!