The Wild Walk in Tupper Lake, New York

I took a drive down to The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, an Adirondack natural history museum, but it was so very crowded that I could barely move inside, much less see the exhibits. Besides, I'd just toured it in December, 2013 (here, here, and here). So I left the museum building and walked out to see their newly opened exhibit, The Wild Walk:

The Wild Walk is a sky-walk which takes visitors up and over a portion of Adirondack forest, giving them a treetop view which only the wildlife usually gets to see:

The walk took me across a wide, plank walkway, supported by giant, steel pylons and gradually lifted higher and higher as I walked. The crowds which had so bothered me inside the museum became part of the fun here, as everyone was exploring and having a good time. Besides, we were outdoors:

There were intersections, turns, returns, ramps, platforms and much more to see as I walked higher:

Chairs hung from the center of some of the pylons:

And at the highest point of all was a gigantic "bird's nest," which people climbed into to see the world from an eagle's point of view:

I continued walking as the treetops dropped below the ramps:

And  could see ahead that there was much more to The Wild Walk for me yet to visit:

Another highlight was the spider's web, a sort of suspended trampoline for the kids to enjoy. The adults watched from the boardwalk, but I'll bet some adults have given it a try:

And beside the web was a giant spider. You can also see the bird's nest in the background:

And then I encountered several walkways, suspended on cables so they bounced as we walked. They led to what must be the biggest hollow tree on earth. The tree looked so real that everyone tapped it when they arrived to find out if it was wooden. It was concrete. Once inside, a spiral staircase descended to the next level, with interactive bird call exhibits along the way:

It was a wonderful experience for an old codger like me, and undoubtedly an even more exciting experience for the children. If you are in the Adirondacks, I'd highly recommend it:

Chapter Three - The Wild Center!

I was nearing the end of my tour of the Wild Center. This display was about the natural cycle of processing natural materials, decay and soil building. That board which looks like it has thousands of worms was actually filled with Red Backed Salamanders. I wish I'd asked if they were real but I never did:

A Coyote:

"Every night the river sings a new song:"

This was part of a display about high peaks summits and explained the process of how rock becomes soil:

There was a small model of an elevated walkway and I wondered if there was one outside which I might tour:

But no, the elevated walkway is planned to be opened in 2015:

There was a cafe in which to have lunch, and also a gift/souvenir shop:

I especially liked the gift shop. I revert quickly to boyhood in natural history museums and zoos, and even more so in their natural history related gift shops:

They had Adirondack themed edibles, pottery, artwork, games and aromatic items filled with balsam needles:

Adirondack themed ornaments:

Plush birds which sang songs typical of their species:

And lots of puppets and stuffed animals, especially the big favorites of moose, bears, fish, otters, rabbits, etc. But I had cows and chickens and dogs and cats waiting for me at home, so I bid farewell to the Wild Center and began my journey back to the farm:

Chapter Two - The Wild Center!

I continued my tour of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. I was especially interested in the mushrooms, as I so often see and photograph them while hiking. I have only once seen a green mushroom and I don't think it was these, but I'll now be able to identify one if I see it in the future:

There were lots of wetland displays as the Adirondacks is filled with bogs, ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers. Water, water, everywhere:

The displays on the right were about peat bogs and that giant fish tank on the left contained several indigenous species:

Including Lake Trout:

And Sturgeon:

There was a giant Pitcher Plant display:

And all about flooding, shallow water fish and nighttime species:

More about wetlands:

And Brook Trout:

This was the otter display, a big favorite. The swim tank was very large and L-shaped. The part you see here was merely a small portion of it. The happy, playful otters also had dry land on which to live and you can see that over on the right, above that cave opening. The cave was for children to explore:

I took many photos of the otters but they were moving so rapidly that none of them were useable. So I admit that this photo and the next one are from the internet:

When I studied Wildlife Biology in college, my Adviser specialized in River Otters and kept several of them as research animals which, I could tell, were secretly pets as well. I had my photo taken with them and it appeared on the cover of a pamphlet about the Honors Program. But there was still more to see at the Wild Center and I'll post Chapter Three tomorrow:

Chapter One - The Wild Center!

The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York is an Adirondack natural history museum which I'd long planned to visit - but never had. So one wintry Friday I drove down to pay a visit to The Wild Center:

The central building was large, modern and beautiful:

I paid for admission and began my tour. The first exhibit was a geological demonstration of the origins of the Adirondack region:

There was a traditional Adirondack lean-to, complete with socks drying on a clothesline. But what was in that aquarium?:

Inside that aquarium was an Eastern Garter Snake, a common Adirondack resident:

There were many large displays of local fish:

And local turtles. This was an Eastern Painted Turtle, but they also had Red-Eared Sliders, an introduced species which now makes itself a home in the Adirondacks. This turtle was close enough to touch and I was impressed by the clever sign which warned turtles that human touch might be dangerous. I thought that a far more effective way to handle the problem than a "Do Not Touch" sign:

A naturalist came out for an owl demonstration. She brought out Luna, a Screech Owl who had been so badly injured by a car that she would never again be able to live in the wild. The naturalist talked about all the local owls and, of course, Screech Owls. Luna was very calm and used to people, and she'd found a comfy, happy life at the Wild Center:

There were clusters of typical Adirondack scenes:

And more turtles in a pond which also had Wood Ducks:

Dragonflies:

And mushrooms, lots and lots of mushrooms. I encounter them frequently while hiking and have been fascinated by their colors and variety. You may recognize the one on the left as the subject of many photos in former blog posts. But there was still a lot more to see at the Wild Center and post Chapter Two tomorrow: