2014 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace

For the last four or five years, I've stopped in at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival on my way to or from the farm. But now that I'm living here permanently, I thought I wouldn't get the chance to see the Ice Castle. So one snow-less, not too cold day, I drove down to the town of Saranac Lake just to see it. I pulled in to the Lake Flower boat launch and parked:

The ice castle was plain to see from nearly anywhere near Lake Flower (the source of all those blocks of ice). I walked over to take a look:

There were still piles of unused ice blocks, each at least four feet long, near the edge of Lake Flower:

I walked first to the back of the castle:

There were several entrances, and each led to turns which dead ended. I concluded that this was part of the fun and that I would have to walk around to the front to get inside. There was a crawl-through for children, but I decided not to crawl on my hands and knees over the ice to enter:

So I walked around the side of the castle:

To the front. Apparently, it had a Celtic theme this year. Last year, if I remember correctly, it had an "Under The Sea" theme, complete with Neptune and Seahorses:

There were ice figures guarding the outside of the entrance and one on each side of the interior archway:

Inside were two elaborate ice thrones, apparently for the Winter Carnival king and queen, local citizens chosen for their service to the community:

And a giant dragon, my favorite ice sculpture of the day:

There were two ice beasts of unknown species, but they were popular. Folks were "riding" them and getting their pictures taken:

Most folks were doing just as I was doing - walking around, snapping photos. But there wasn't much else to see. So I walked back to the car, where always before my dogs had been waiting for me. I drove back to the farm, about an hour and ten minutes north of Saranac Lake, where the dogs were indeed waiting anxiously for me:

Big, Beautiful Bloomingdale Bog Trail - Part 1

It was time once again to return to Albany from a stay at the farm, though I knew this would be one of my final trips and soon I'd be permanently moved. I left early because I'd planned to stop on the way home and try out the Bloomingdale Bog Trail whose main trail head is just north of Saranac Lake:

I met a nice man at the trail head who told me there was a woman with a leashed Golden Retriever on the trail, but she was almost back to the parking area and no one else was on the trail. So I leashed my dogs and started out, marveling at the beauty all around me:

The Shadbush was in bloom then, weeks behind the farm and perhaps a month behind Albany. But this is the Adirondacks, after all. Nevertheless, who could argue with such beauty?:

We passed by the woman and her Golden Retriever. She looked horrified to see my pack of (leashed) dogs. Once we had the trail to ourselves, I let my dogs run off leash but began buckling down on teaching them to stay close, perhaps within 15 feet. I had decided that they would either obey that rule or stay home when the rest of us hiked. I had to get cross, but they seemed to pick up the concept:

And still they had fun. This was a doggy (and human) paradise:

Whenever one or two of them got too far away, I'd shout "Stop!" and, when they did, I called them back to me for petting and praise:

There were burbling creeks to explore:

And what fun it was to climb down to the water!:

I had to keep up a constant dialog, but the pooches were beginning to grasp my new rule. And the trail was long, level and straight - apparently a former railroad bed. So I could see far ahead and far behind, enabling me to leash the dogs if someone was coming:

There were patches of balsams and several unusually large ones had fallen, filling the air with their aroma. For the dogs, it was all play time:

See, Dad. I'm not running ahead now! Am I a good dog?:

This was easy walking and spectacular scenery. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, Part 2

I was exploring the ice castle, the main attraction of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival (see yesterday's post also):

 Inside the castle I found this giant fish, whose mouth provided children with a handy escape route:

The throne and accompanying ice figures dominated the center of the ice castle:

There was a giant mermaid:

And icy letters on a block wall, designating this year's theme of "Under The Sea:"

I walked around to the front of the castle and looked through its main entrance:

I thought this was a whale at the time, but looking at it now, I'm pretty sure it was a submarine. It had small ice blocks inside, on which children could sit and pretend they were in a submarine:

But the time had come to return to my car full of dogs, so I walked slowly away from the ice castle as it glistened in the early morning sun:

The traveling food vender was already open for business, even though hardly anyone was afoot. I thought "The Towne Fryer" was a clever name for a doughnut wagon:

I returned to the parking lot, taking a photo of frozen Lake Flower on my way, with Saranac Lake homes on its far bank:

As I drove away to continue our journey, Daphne and Clover watched Lake Flower pass by outside the window:

Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, Part 1

I'd thought it would be impossible for me to stop at the Saranac Lake Winter Festival because of the crowds, but this year I drove through town early in the morning, before most folks were out and about. I parked, leaving the dogs in the car, and walked over to the ice castle. Leftover ice blocks, each about four feet long, were lying on the ground as if hoping someone would use them for something:

Because of the strong, early morning sunlight, I circled around the back of the ice castle to take photos without glare:

From behind, the "2013" sticking up above the castle looked more like "FiOS." Verizon would love the free advertising:

I saw an opening in the side wall of the castle and headed toward it:

And there, spread out before me like an ivory sculpture, was the 2013 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival throne and theme statues:

A radio station had set up a tent across the street, but the DJs were nowhere to be seen. I guess it was still too early:

Inside the castle walls I found a dolphin:

And a sea serpent:

I stood near the ice throne shivering while another tourist snapped my picture. That's Neptune and some fish on the left (my right), and an octopus on the right (my left):

Here's the octopus, right alongside the arm of the throne:

And Neptune with his fish. As you can tell, this year's theme was "Under The Sea." But I'll post more tomorrow:

The High Peaks Dressed In Autumn Splendor

I'd been so enthralled by the spectacular autumn colors along the Port Kent Hopkinton Turnpike that I'd spent several hours traveling less than 50 miles. I determined to cease my picture taking and just drive. So I turned south onto Route 3 and drove into the town of Saranac Lake. But when I passed by lovely Lake Flower - well, you know I had to stop for at least one photo. By the way, I noticed that the bakery across from Lake Flower is called the Lake Flour Cakery:

And from there I headed southeast through the High Peaks Region:

Bigger mountains sidled right up alongside the road, all cloaked in autumn finery:

The road dropped sharply down into the Keene Valley:

And there were more scenic wonders to be viewed in the Keene Valley:

These two small mountains kept watch over Marcy Field:

As Route 73 would through the Giant Mountain region, the colors intensified:

And the dogs kept watch whenever I got out of the car to snap a photo:

I saw this woman alongside the road, apparently a professional photographer, and I knew at once that her choice of scenery was perfect. I had to drive on ahead and find a place to turn around, but that's just what I did:

Because I knew that she was standing at the top of the Ausable River gorge, with a roaring water flume down below and autumn finery adorning the banks:

The Ausable River is a picturesque mountain stream which flows along Route 73 and provides such visual delights as these:

But I was almost to the Northway and knew that I'd then put my camera away and focus on my driving. But I had three sleeping elves beside me and wanted to preserve that sweet moment in a photo before I got onto the highway: