Spectacular Wanakena, New York - Part 1

I was having a great weekend up at the farm and had just hiked up to the Cathedral Rock fire tower and back. But the day was still young, so I drove to the hamlet of Wanakena:

Wanakena is a hamlet on the shores of the Oswegatchie River and Cranberry Lake. I once began a week long wilderness canoe adventure in Wanakena, so I remembered much about the village and this felt a like a bit of a homecoming. The Cranberry Lake Wild Forest was evident even in the hamlet itself, with big trees shading the homes:

And many of the homes had a summer camp feel to them. Indeed, many of them were only summer residences:

And nearly all front porches were screened. This is prime Black Fly and Deer Fly country:

It was a relaxed and friendly place:

And water was everywhere, so owning a boat was a natural thing to do. The golf cart, I guessed, was for driving around town:

Adirondack siding. How appropriate:

Red Adirondack chairs on a deck without screening. Oh wait, there's a screened porch behind the deck. Black Fly and Deer Fly seasons are not to be trifled with:

I stopped at the Post Office and General Store to buy myself a sandwich for lunch. They had prepared sandwiches, all organic and very healthy at - well, very healthy prices. Apparently this is a high-end tourist town:

This 171 foot suspension footbridge was constructed in 1908 between the village and the Rich Brothers Lumber Mill to get employees to and from work. It still stands today and has become a bit of a tourist destination. I remembered walking across it when I was in Wanakena years ago for my canoe trip:

I was enjoying my driving tour of Wanakena and thinking how pleasant it must be to spend summers here. But there was still more to see. I'll post more tomorrow: