Saranac Lake Ice Castle - Part 2

I was working my way through the second story passages in the Saranac Lake ice castle (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

All along the walls, in keeping with the prehistoric theme, were cave wall drawings. This was a Mammoth:

And some sort of deer with antlers. The cave drawings were 3D, made of sculpted snow. I must confess, though, that it looked to me like they had been colored with urine. Then again, I've been know to have a sick mind:

I reached the steps which led back down to the interior of the ice castle, and realized that these were the steps I'd passed previously:

There were two thrones, used by the Queen and King in the official opening ceremonies:

I had been disappointed that there was no Adirondack lean-to made of ice this year, but then I heard someone say it was just down this passageway:

Indeed it was. It just that the lean-to was inside the castle this year instead of separate, on the banks of Lake Flower:

I walked around the maze in the back of the castle. It's that lower wall you can see in this rear view. I thought it was more skillfully planned this year, and more interesting to walk through. But I'd seen all there was to see, so I walked toward the parking area:

There were no hot dogs or hamburgers for sale this year, but they did have kettle corn:

And a booth with what seemed to be Adirondack antiques:

I got back in my car and drove to a small park on a different part of Lake Flower, where students from the Adirondacks' Paul Smiths College were going to present logging/lumbering demonstrations:

I could see that they were set up for various competitions, but they hadn't yet begun:

But some students were there, all ready to go:

Just to get warmed up, the students began practicing their ax throwing skills:

The guy in the above photo missed, but I managed to get a shot of this guy's successful throw. This was the end of my visit to the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. I got back in my car and began the 50 mile journey back home. A heavy, slippery snow began falling as I drove, and the roads became hazardous. I'm glad I didn't leave any later than I did:

Saranac Lake Ice Castle - Part 1

Our weather predictions for the day were not stellar, but I decided that my trip to Saranac Lake to see the Winter Carnival ice castle should go ahead anyway. I drove south through beautiful Adirondack forests for 50 miles:

The parking lot near the ice castle was full, so I found a spot on a side street by these cute Adirondack decorations in front of someone's home:

From there I walked to the ice castle:

I already knew the theme involved ice sculptures of dinosaurs, so I was not surprised to find them:

A Brontosaurus:

A Dimotrodon - or at least that's what I think it was:

And the ever popular Triceratops:

I walked toward the front entrance, where the Winter Carnival theme was spelled out in 3D snow sculpted letters, "Prehistoric Park:"

I could see people milling around inside, so I joined them:

And was immediately confronted by the biggest ice sculptures of all, two dinosaurs at right angles to each other. Some children were having lots of fun climbing on them:

I, however, had a lot of trouble making out what kind of dinosaurs they were, and where one ended and the other began. I could, though, make out the giant, sharp teeth of this one. Just like the children, I found those big teeth to be enough to make me happy:

I walked past this curious stairway, but it was busy so I exited a side doorway and walked around to the front of the castle again:

There were more steps in the front of the castle and they weren't busy, so I walked up them:

I reached the upper level, where I could see out over the parapet wall down to the roadway below, where busy workers were trying to keep traffic flowing and prevent illegal parking:

The upper level passageway, built of giant ice blocks as was all the castle, led around in a sort of maze. Now, this was a feature the former ice castles never had, so I was intrigued. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

2018 Saranac Lake Ice Palace

It was time for me to travel south to the annual Saranac Lake Winter Carnival to see the ice palace. It's 49 miles from my house, an easy drive when the weather is good. I got a good look at the front of the castle as I headed to the parking area:

 I parked and began walking toward the side of the ice palace. I'm proud to say that I passed by the refreshment stand without buying anything, in spite of the wonderful aromas drifting up from the grill:

 I first walked over to the shore of Lake Flower, where there was an ice version of a traditional Adirondack lean-to:


 Next to the lean-to were two ice Adirondack chairs, perfect for relaxing in and looking out over the frozen lake:

A new addition this year - an ice out house. It was only for show, though, as no hole and no door would make using it difficult (not to mention the see-through ice):

 

 I walked from the lean-to toward the back of the ice palace just in time to see a man disappear in what I knew was a maze of passageways attached to the back of the castle:

 Indeed, the first passageway I entered was a dead end. I tried a second entrance and followed it as it led me in a jagged path to an exit on the opposite side of the castle:

 If I was a small child, I could have entered the castle right there. I imagine that it's great fun for kids to enter the ice palace ahead of their parents, and worrisome for the parents:

I had to walk around the other side for an entrance big enough for an adult:

 I entered the center area, where there were two thrones carved of ice - for the king and queen. You can see the children's crawl-through entrance on the left:

 There was an ice sculpture of a snowmobile for kids to play on and for photos:

I walked out the front doors, the opposite direction most people probably took:

 There was a giant ice bear at each end of the ice palace, and a friendly Miniature Schnauzer checked one of them out carefully. Then he peed on its foot. Alas, the other activities which have been part of the Winter Carnival in previous years, like the Arctic Miniature Golf and the Curling demonstrations, were nonexistent this year. The Carnival consisted of only the ice palace, at least for those of us who drove in from other places. Nonetheless, the Saranac Lake ice palace is a yearly tradition and I'd hate to miss it:

2017 Saranac Lake, NY Ice Palace

Perhaps my favorite local yearly event is the Saranac Lake, NY Winter Carnival. I arrived this year on the very first day and found that nothing was up and running yet except for the ice palace. That was OK with me, since it's my favorite part. I parked and entered the building site on the edge of frozen Lake Flower, my first view of the rear of the palace:

 But first I had to go see the ice lean-to, which honored the traditional Adirondack structure. This was the first year I'd seen a lean-to::

 I walked out onto frozen Lake Flower to snap a photo of the front of the lean-to. There was a pile of wood in front of it, just as campers might supply the real forest versions. I supposed they kept fires burning during the night:

 And also honoring the Adirondacks were two ice sculptures of Adirondack chairs for visitors to sit in:

 I walked from the lean-to toward the rear of the ice palace. Notice the crawl hole for children:

 The structures on the rear were mazes. This year I didn't fully investigate them, though I have in the past:
 

 I walked around to the side entrance and saw lots of other visitors already exploring the interior of the ice palace:

 In the rear were two thrones, for the Winter Carnival King and Queen:

 Behind the thrones were buck and doe ice sculptures, with a fawn between them:

 And off to one side was a giant ice beaver, perhaps eight feet long:

 And two howling wolves, next to a crawl hole for children:

 I took the adult tunnel, which led out to front exterior of the ice palace:

 There it was explained that this year's theme was "Adirondack Wildlife." A giant ice bear stood on each side of the entrance doorway and an ice eagle perched on the top:

 The two bears were popular for taking pictures:

 The smaller bear was kind of cute:

 Outside, by the road, was a gigantic moose:

 And that was the end of my ice palace tour. I had to walk around to the back of it again to get to my car. Maybe next year I'll bring Seamus with me. I see dogs there every year: