Trip to the Adrondack's

I believe this is our third trip to the Adirondack Motel.
It is a wonderful place on Saranac Lake. In the past, we went in the summer and took advantage of the kayak's, canoe, row boats and paddle boat. Autumn is a bit nippy for lake toys, though there were a few brave souls out there. From our room we had a beautiful view of the lake, the clock tower on the other side of the lake and all the fall foliage. I like using the orange and yellow kayak. It is light and easy to use.

We went to the VIC (Visitors Interpretive Center) and had a tour of the marshes, trails, native plants, etc. Here are a few pic's from our hike there, our guide Martha and others taking the tour. It was raining on and off, kind of a drizzly day and chilly but very enjoyable. Thank goodness Dave brought some gloves cuz my hands were very cold.
Lots of beautiful scenery, color and even a reminder of where it all came from :). So here are just a few of the more than 100 photo's I took on our trip.







































We took a ride on the Adirondack Senic Railroad. The train ride was nice and all spiffed up for Halloween as well as the Depot. People just loved this talking witch. They were all standing next to her and getting pictures of themselves with her. I think the adults liked it more than the kids did.

After dinner on Saturday we went to check out Baker Mountain. We were planning to climb it on Sunday and were just doing some prep work to find out where it was. When we found it people were saying it would only take 20 mintues to climb. Dave says lets take a look so we get out of the van and check out the beginning of the trail. We start climbing. I have a pair of leather boots on. Very comfortable but definitely not for mountain climbing. We keep going. It was about 5:30 p.m. when we started and sunset was said to be at 6:15. After climbing for about 15 to 20 minutes it seemed we were only about half way, of course who can tell? Dave was getting tired so he tells me to go ahead so I can get to the top and get a few pictures and of course to say I made it to the top. I kept climbing. The higher you go, the steeper it gets. He kept calling to me saying "are you at the top yet"? My answer was alway "no". He is way out of sight now and I can only hear his voice. It is getting close to 6:00 and I am still climbing. He tells me to keep climbing but Iam getting concerned that I still can't tell how much more time it will take to get to the top and sunset is coming quickly. Dave's voice is starting to sound further away. I am worried we are going to get separated and will not be out of there before dark. The last thing I want is to be lost in the mountains at night, by myself. He yells again, "are you at the top yet"? I say "no but I am at a clearing. I'm going to take a few pictures and then I'm starting back down." This is one of the pictures at the highest point I went. I was tired from a brisk hike and still trying to hurry to get down before it was dark. I thought going down would be easier than going up but I found it to be just a difficult, in fact sometimes even more so. There were a few areas that were so steep I went down on my butt. It was not easy with heels on and the soles were thin. It was a vigirous work out and I did enjoy it but I would rather have had more time to make it to the top and enjoy the entire climb rather than worry the whole time about making it to the top and getting down before dark. We got down about 6:30 and it was pretty dark. I'm sure it was darker under all those trees and would definitely not want to be still working my way down. We'll have to try that one again only start an hour or so earlier....and with the appropriate hiking boots on. A little sore the next day but nothing terrible.