The Town Of Lake Placid and Lots O' Mountains

The air was so crystal clear that when I reached the town of Lake Placid that I made a quick turn onto Riverside Road in order to get a good view of Whiteface Mountain. But the first thing I saw was this gigantic barn, a few horses relaxing outside in the sun:

There were more horses on the opposite side of this barn and it was, indeed, one of the biggest, best kept barns I'd ever seen:

And there directly ahead of me in the shimmering blue sky was Whiteface Mountain. It looked unusually large, much the way a full moon does sometimes. Whiteface is the only Adirondack high peak with a road to the top. I drove up there once and the view was certainly spectacular. I'd recommend it to anyone:

I turned around on Riverside Drive and headed back to the highway. I was looking straight on at the Olympic High Jump towers. The mere thought of rocketing down one of those is nightmare material for me:

From Lake Placid I continued on to the town of Ray Brook, where numerous high peaks views were available:

I don't know which mountains these are, but they sure are lovely:

And another view:

And another. But of course I was supposed to be driving to the farm. So I put my camera away and got back on the road. We were just over an hour away at that point. I'll post more tomorrow:

From The Cascade Lakes To The High Peaks Region

We were on our way up to the farm, the dogs and I. When we reached the Cascade Lakes I was again awestruck by the beauty and had to stop for a photo:

The lakes were frozen over but I saw no ice skaters. I did see rocky cliffs rising up on both sides of the valley, though:

Daphne, Clover and Seamus watched my every move when I got out of the car:

These cliffs are favorites of rock climbers. This sign reminded me to look closely for climbers:

And I did see some. These rock climbers were much higher than it appears here. I couldn't get the whole cliff in the photo and still see the people, so I opted for just this portion. I have noticed that these climbers seem to prefer ice to rock and I find that odd. I'd be afraid the ice could shift or worse, although I'm sure it's easier to set a piton in ice:

Mountains on the southeast side of the valley, just across one of the Cascade Lakes:

I've never been able to identify that snowy peak which can be seen, at least on clear days, from the Cascade Lakes. Anybody out there know its identity?:

But I had six dogs waiting impatiently back in the car and it was time to resume our journey:

We drove on through the high peaks region and stopped at Adirondack Loj Road for more pictures of the surrounding mountains:

We were close to the town of Lake Placid and could see the Olympic jump towers on the outskirts of town. John Brown's historic farm was just ahead and off to the left of this photo:

I've always been fascinated by that sharp cliff and mountain pass in the distance. I can't identify it, but in days past have hiked in places which probably looked like that (Avalanche Pass comes to mind):

But there's always anxious dogs urging me to get back on the road and do something more interesting. So I resumed the journey toward the farm. I no longer try to make it quickly. Instead, I opt for making it an interesting learning experience:

Route 73 Through The Adirondack High Peaks

I left The Raybrook Frog (see yesterday's post), passing beneath lovely old pines and past a chainsaw statue of a pioneer. The Tail O' The Pup BBQ was directly across the road with its giant red lobster. The dogs and I were on our way home:

There are cabins for rent along the road with mountain views and lake access. They're busy in the summer, but this was wintertime so I turned in to take a closer look:

And everywhere the Adirondacks framed the view:

These cabins were cute and looked inviting, but a winter pass-by is all I'll get to see of them:

And then we continued on along Route 86 to the town of Lake Placid and south on Route 73 through the high peaks region:

The turnoff for Adirondack Loj Road has always provided marvelous views as long as the peaks are not covered by clouds:

I hiked many of those peaks in my younger days and gazing at them now stirs up good memories:

But as always, I had a long drive ahead of me and had to continue on toward home. I'll post more tomorrow:

The Adirondacks Of Keene Valley

We were traveling homeward down through the Adirondack Mountains, the dogs and I. We were on Route 73 in the high peaks region when I stopped along the road to snap a few photos. You can see what a beautiful November day it was. Just ahead of where my car was parked, the road dropped sharply down into the Keene Valley:

Once down to the valley floor I stopped again to capture the glorious view:

Smaller mountains lined the roads while the taller mountains were a few miles away:

This field afforded magnificent views of the nearby high peaks and the ramshackle old barn in the lower left recalls a time when this was someone's hay field or pasture. It wasn't that long ago really:

I got closer to the barn for a better look:

And then decided, "What the heck, I might as well walk right on down there and see it for myself:"

The inside of the barn showed its old structure where, I supposed, horses or cattle once rested during the cold, cold nights of Adirondack winters. Someone had propped up the sagging hay loft with steel columns:

One wall had caved in. I noticed that someone had begun painting the interior white but never finished. The history of the Adirondacks is full of hunters, trappers, explorers, dreamers, farmers and visionaries (like John Brown, buried at his farm near Lake Placid). What a marvelous place, the Adirondacks - a wonderful park, an amazing and enduring legacy for the people of New York State:

Lake Placid And The High Peaks Region

I'd had a pleasant weekend up at the farm and was on my way home to Albany with all six dogs in the back of the car. We were traveling through the high peaks region of the Adirondacks. When I passed through the town of Lake Placid, I decided to stop at the extensive Adirondack Equine Center. There was no event going on at the time so I simply pulled in and took a tour. My main interest was in the surrounding mountains:

And the views of the surrounding mountains were quite nice:

I was a little concerned that the various workers driving around in pickup trucks would stop me, but no one seemed to care as I drove around, stopping in various places to snap pictures:

But I was soon back on the road and stopping once again at Adirondack Loj Road to take a photo of the high peaks, still a bit shrouded in clouds that morning:

A young couple with their Beagle on a leash also stopped on the shoulder of the road and got out to enjoy the scenery. They began running and playing in the hay field, a perfect picture of joy:

Farther on down the road I stopped at a driving range to admire the autumn color:

There are signs in places warning of possible Moose in the roads. I've never seen one in the Adirondacks, but I have seen them in nearby Vermont:

As Route 73 began to drop down into the Keene Valley, the mountains straight ahead were almost all covered in clouds. With my stop at Benz Pond, detour along Blue Mountain Road and numerous photo stops, this was becoming a very lengthy trip. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Driving Through Lake Placid And Beyond

We drove past the Cascade Lakes without stopping but as we made our way toward the town of Lake Placid, I just couldn't resist. It was just too beautiful to pass by without snapping a few pictures:

When I arrived at Adirondack Loj Road, I pulled off the road for more photos:

These are some of the highest of the high peaks, many of which I hiked when I was younger:

And stretching out in the other direction is the town of Lake Placid with the Olympic high jumps rising high above the buildings. That's where we were heading next:

I stopped at a soccer field behind the Lake Placid High School to snap a picture of Whiteface Mountain. That's the one peak which a person can drive to the top of and I drove it once with my mother shortly before her death:

We drove out of Lake Placid, past the home of John Brown and toward Ray Brook, New York:

The dogs seemed to be getting antsy again but I wasn't sure where we could stop in this area:

And then I remembered a little pull-off along the road which led right into the forest:

So I stopped and let the dogs out to run. They seemed quite happy about it:

Seamus and the younger dogs took off uphill into the forest, sniffing and "anointing" everything:

"Hi Dad, can we go hiking now?"

Daphne discovered a clump of a parasitic plant and I stopped for a photograph. I've had a lot of debate about its identity, but have finally concluded that it was Indian Pipe even though its flowers hadn't yet nodded and even though it was much taller and thinner stalked than usual. Feel free to correct me if I was wrong:

But it was quickly time for all the dogs to hop back up into the car so that we could continue on our way. Little old Winky, as usual, dragged his feet. He was moving toward the car, albeit very slowly. I finally had to help him up into the car which occasioned some angry growling. Winky is and always was a one-of-a-kind: