Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Ah, Success!

I did it. I climbed the trail to the top of Mount Jo. I stood at the summit and gazed at even greater mountains. It was pretty awesome... (This will be a long post but it'll be done and I can move on to other things tomorrow.)

We started out Sunday afternoon by dropping kids off at Beaver Camp in Lowville, NY and then headed north, deeper into  the Adirondack Mountains. We stopped along the way to take a few pictures...
 (Stillwater Road) We drove for about 20 miles on two dirt roads in the backwoods. That makes for one dusty car!

 Shoes on a wire over Big Moose Rd. in Eagle Bay, NY

Our first and only bear sighting. I thought I was watching a big black dog cross the road. Why "bear" never entered my mind until Priscilla said, "Look! A bear!!!" I can not tell you. The best photo of him remains in my mind where he still looks like a big black dog sauntering across the highway.

The "Super Moon" over Long Lake on Sunday evening.


We stayed in Tupper Lake the first night. The room was clean, comfortable, and very musty smelling. The owner was nice and friendly, but we decided to pay for the single night, take our things along with us, and give ourselves the option to stay somewhere else the following evening.

We did a little bit of driving in circles, not unusual when you're unfamiliar with a particular area, had a good breakfast, and headed for Mount Jo which is a little beyond Lake Placid.

 Breakfast.

 Just starting out on our mountain hike.

 On the trail. We took the longer, easier way rather than going straight up. It was a good idea. 

 Froggy friend

 Stopping midway to rest and eat a snack.

 Continuing on. That is the trail, not a creek bed.

 The reward, a majestic view from the top of Mount Jo.

 More snacks. Priscilla is excited. :0)

A fellow hiker took our picture for us, and Priscilla took theirs. I'm pretty sure that farthest peak in the corner behind me is Mount Marcy.

After our hike we headed down to Lake Placid for some walking and browsing in the shops.

 Ski jumps from the 1980 Olympics.

 The view from a balcony where we stopped for some iced coffee. This is Mirror Lake. If I hadn't been so tired from our hike, I might have thought it a grand idea to rent a boat of some kind.

 Fancy hotel next door to the coffee shop. Can't even imagine what it must cost to stay there, but I loved all the activity going on.

Upon hearing we didn't have a room for the night, a woman from one of the Lake Placid shops recommended we look into a travel lodge down the road. (this is her store) Monday evening we checked into a beautiful room with a king sized bed and went to bed before the sun set.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the Country Bear Diner (no credit cards accepted) in Wilmington, NY and headed for Whiteface Mountain.

We needed to kill some time and get the coffee out of our systems so, on the recommendation of a staff member, we climbed the trail to Stag Brook Falls. 

 Beautiful! 

 At the waterfall.

Me and Priscilla

(This is my longest post ever. Are you still there?)

 We took the gondola ride up Whiteface Mountain rather than hiking, but when we got to the top we found we were not on Whiteface like we'd thought. We were instead welcomed to the summit of "Little Whiteface Mountain." The view was astounding in spite of our mistake. That is Lake Placid in the background.

 While on the summit, Priscilla's cell phone rang (We were off the grid for most of the trip.) and she found our old friend Allan on the other end of the line. He will be visiting from Minnesota this coming weekend, in town for his 50th high school reunion. 

 Priscilla on Little Whiteface.
 Whiteface Mountain. Our destination for the next trip.
 Sign at the summit.

On our way home we stopped for ice cream in Long Lake, NY and then later for coffee in a little town called Inlet. There was a nice little bookstore there that sold coffee and I bought a book of Adirondack stories called "Leaky Boots". It was a nice end to a fun, first annual sister trip. Well, I think think it should be an annual thing anyway.


14 comments:

  1. Well....Little Whiteface...you made it!
    I want that first breakfast....
    Glad you had a great time♥️
    Welcome home...
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both breakfasts were delicious and the best part was someone else fixed it and did the dishes!
      It was wonderful to get away for a couple of days with my sister.
      Thanks.
      :0)

      Delete
  2. What a great Sister Trip. After our mom passed away, my sis, Donna, and I have tried to take weekend trips each year. We've missed several but have wonderful memories of many we did take. Love all the pictures. They are wonderful memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought of you and Donna while we were out because I've seen your sister days. I'm sure you have a ton of great memories. I plan to collect a few too.
      :0)

      Delete
  3. It sounds like you two had a great trip. I'm glad that you can now say that you've been to the Adirondacks. :) Dave and I once rode the bobsleds (the track they raced on in the Olympics) in Lake Placid. He used to go to Lake Placid for work once a year, so I would ride along and we would make a weekend out of it. Fun memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know you could do that, ride the bobsleds that is. Was it winter? Oh, the fun times we could collect and will.
      :0)

      Delete
    2. Yes, it was winter, and we always seemed to have the worst traveling day when we went, but we always had such a nice time when we were there, eating out and watching hockey games on Mirror Lake...and going in all the neat little shops that always seemed to close way to early in the evening.

      Delete
    3. They do seem to close early. Everyone was closing up shop by five or six o'clock. Everyone but a woman at a furnishings store who said the others were "lazy". Made me laugh, but I hardly blame them for wanting to go home at a decent hour. Why live in the mountains in the summer (or winter even) if you don't have any time to enjoy being there?

      Delete
  4. I found out that there is no gondola to the top of Whiteface. I must have misunderstood. You must drive up, park and then take an elevator for the remaining distance. Next time we could do that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I looked at the map and wondered about that. Next time I'll be better prepared to check out the possibilities. Being there at least once always helps a lot with knowing what to look for.
      It was a great trip. Thanks for taking me.
      :0)

      Delete
  5. What a fun trip! Looks like a wonderful time....love the moon...it was cloudy here! Maybe you've started a new tradition!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rain moved in late yesterday and we got dumped on here at home during the night. Thankfully, the weather in the mountains was perfect.
      Yes, a new tradition.
      :0)

      Delete
  6. Mmm, what a fun idea. A sister trip.

    ReplyDelete