Remember
those spiral wishing wells in the mall where you tossed in a coin? People love
to watch coins spin around in circles as they descend into the vortex funnel.
Well, that is how our last two months have
happened….spinning and spinning until here we are the middle of September, with
just fourteen days left until we level up and head back to New Bern.
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| Andy's new ride |
As many of our friends know 95% of our time since May has been helping Dave’s parents transition to their new environment in a senior living center, where they receive round-the-clock care. In partnership with this we have been cleaning and preparing their home for winterization. But happily we have enjoyed several ‘mental health days’.
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| Breakfast gathering with mimosas |
Our core group of campers have helped make our weekends memorable again this year. We have munched and slurped our way through a pig roast, a hot dog roast and sundae Sunday, and Dave and I have hosted an omelet-in-the-bag breakfast accompanied with mimosas and an old-fashioned goulash dinner prepared wholly by Dave; and in the next two weekends a SU tailgate party and our annual Thanksgiving dinner, our final goodbye gathering to the camping season.
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| Cousin Cheri and Dave |
And
mixed in with these busy days we have met with fellow Harbourites, Karen and
Art Pethybridge and Don Albaugh and Marta Beman, as well as friends Bob Reid,
the McCluskeys, and Dave’s cousin, Cheri, and my brother, Andy. It has been wonderful to meet with everyone and give us a chance to
share hugs, memories and fish tales.
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| Adirondacks in Fall - not my photo |
We
even took a side trip to Old Forge. There are amazing vistas of upstate New York;
most spectacular is to journey into the Adirondacks. It does not matter if you
barge right into the epicenter remoteness of this 6 million acre forest, with
its lofty mountains and unspoiled waterways, or take your time and follow the
more than 2,000 miles of beautiful hiking trails that lead you from the lush
valleys to the steep cliffs; the Adirondacks are the essence of the breath of
God. A mosaic of greens on summer bloomed birch, maple and aspen trees become a
quilt of reds, gold, oranges, and browns in the Fall.
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| Summer in Adirondacks - not my photo |
We
drove northbound on route 28 through small hamlets and crossroads of pastoral
settings until we reached Old Forge, with a population of totaling 756 people
and having 371 households. If you were 10 years old I’ll bet you could clean up
pretty good on Halloween. During the
summer Old Forge is the western gateway into the Adirondacks, where a large
water theme park draws children of all ages, and eclectic shops and boutiques
draw the in vogue patron. We favored Montezuma Winery, whose Moose River labels
we purchased after a pleasant tasting session.
It is another story come winter time.
Coldest of the cold describes Old Forge. Their school mascot is the
Eskimo and for the state of New York they set the record for the lowest
temperature in 1979 when it was -52. This,
of course, would be the worst time to test the "what happens if you stick
your tongue to a frozen metal flagpole."
After
we strolled the village streets we began our journey home following Gray Lake
Road heading southeast out of Old Forge. Winding through the ancient timbers we
found ourselves at the base of McCauley Mountain, where a ski resort welcomes
those fearless at a 630-foot vertical drop, and their average base of 120+
inches of snow welcomes skiers for at least one hundred days during the winter.
Traveling
back to camp the two-lane road rolled and crisscrossed pastoral lands skirting spruce-fir
along small creeks, streams and ponds. Otter Lake, whose residents are
largemouth bass, walleye, northern pike and yellow perch. Soon we are descended
to the Tug Hill Plateau and the foothills begin to ease to the rural labyrinth
of turn-of-the-century barns and homes.
Another
occasion we visited The Wild Animal Park, just outside Chittenango. On these
fourteen acres the owner displays his passionate desire to education and
fosters an appreciation of the animals with the public about domestic and
exotic animals. Smaller animal
exhibitors tend to offer inadequate space and confined in pens or cages. And this park leaned toward this trend.  |
| Draken Harald Harfagre |
In
August Hokulea’s Polynesian canoe tied up bow-to-bow with the Draken Harald
Harfagre, the world’s largest Viking tall ship, on the Erie Canal in Sylvan
Beach. We watched as crew members from Hawaii and Norway exchanged gifts and
photos taken of this encounter.
The expedition crews are traveling the routes
of their ancestors across the oceans, lakes and rivers of the world. The crew, live
quite primitively; they prepare food in an open air kitchen and are sheltered
on the deck with a tent. Navigation is
reliant on the stars, the winds and currents, and the guidance of their
heritage. It was quite special to see these two worlds, so far apart, become
one as friends on our shores.
And
so with our time spiraling downward, we begin our final goodbyes and our
closing of camp and filling the gas tank.
Thank you for joining us on the brief update….see you again soon….
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| LIFE IS SHORT: ENJOY THE RIDE |
