Sheesh. Is it only Day 5? It already feels like we've been gone forever.
We woke up at Cranberry Lake State Campground to an overcast morning -- but no sign of rain, so that's good.
We took Route 3 east through the Adirondacks and were treated to stunning views of the mountains -- swamps, ponds, lakes, birch groves, evergreen-covered slopes. And, in spots, the sun broke through just enough to illuminate the peaks with a soft, warm glow -- so striking against the low, gray clouds. At one point, Clare asked how long it would take us to reach the blue.
"The blue?" we asked. "What do you mean?"
"That blue stuff," she explained, pointing to the horizon. "That blue mountain." She was right: the waves of mountains before us were dark green fading to soft sage fading to steel-blue way off in the distance. I love that she sees the landscape like a watercolor painting. After we explained that it's just the light and the clouds and the distance playing a trick on her, it became her own little joke and she'd comment throughout the day, with mock frustration, "We still haven't reached that blue mountain!"
By the way, for our biker friends out there, Route 3 is a wide ribbon of lightly-traveled highway with generous bike lanes on either side. It winds up and down through the Adironcacks for 170 miles from Watertown to Plattsburgh, NY. Keith and I couldn't help but imagine what a fun trip that would be on a bicycle.
We stopped for lunch outside of Lake Placid at Tail O' The Pup BBQ and Lobster Clam Bake, a funky little roadside stand that's part '50s diner, part old-timey, knotty-pine motel, part circus tent, where we ate at one of a few dozen picnic tables under a huge red-and-white striped awning and the kids played on the nearby playground. Totally campy, totally cool.
Lake Placid offered something we hadn't seen in at least a day: civilization. We know this because we saw a Gap outlet and a Starbucks. It's not a small town; the tourist strip of high-end shops and cafes seemed to go on and on. But even so, we could not imagine this town hosting an entire Winter Olympics. It was hard enough for us to squeeze through on a Tuesday afternoon.
We finally wound our way through the Adirondacks to Essex, NY, on the shore of Lake Champlain, where we took a 20-minute ferry ride across the lake to Vermont. Again: stunning mountain views in every direction.
We had reservations at the Little River State Park outside of Waterbury, but before heading there, we stopped at the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory for a tour, which was short and sweet. The tour ended with free scoops of their new flavor Cookies & Milk Ice Cream, and I will have to seek that out at the grocery store when we get home.
This state park campground, on the shore of the Waterbury Reservoir, is huge. From what I can tell, there are close to 100 sites, and I think that many of the campsites are taken tonight. But the sites are so wooded and so private, and the campground it so sprawling, that it really feels like we have the place to ourselves. Our site is about 40 feet up a steep embankment from a sandy beach, where the kids spent time playing in the water while we set up camp.
It's now 11 p.m. and the only sounds I hear are the crackling of the fire and the breeze in the trees. Ooh -- I just heard a loon wail. Bliss. Goodnight.
Fondly do I remember Lake Placid from my Interim class, must have been 1986 (!). We stayed at Paul Smith's college outside of Saranac Lake, spent the days at the Trudeau Institute, a laboratory formerly used as a Tuberculosis Sanatorium. We drove to Lake Champlain one day and took the ferry over to Burlington, checked out the Ben and Jerry's shop but it was too cold for ice cream. Also rode part of the bobsled run at Lake Placid. Was it yesterday?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having an awesome trip. Keep the photos coming, you all look great but where are photos of Amy??