Touron,Touron, Get your Touron!

26-Sep-2016

Ausable Chasm. NY

We decided to jump on board the tourist train today and headed to the Ausable chasm, dubbed the Grand Canyon of rather east.

It was certainly touristy, but it was a lot more.

Obligatory foreign tourists

Miss sciency presses on

More tourists 

La Quinta de Bolivar

26-Sep-2016

Plattsburgh New York

Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America from the Spanish, spent his final days at a farm called La Quinta de Bolivar near Santa Marta Colombia.

Many years ago I Was fortunate to visit La Quinta de Bolivar with my sister Mags.

For the last two nights the gunship has spent the night stabled at the La Quinta de Plattsburgh.

Located 500 yards off route 87 it has little of the charm I remember from Bolivars retreat.

But It was clean and had a great king size bed.

It has beennice to spend two nights in a hotel.

I'm hoping they will let me try the waffle machine tomorrow.

We also picked a half a bushel of honey crisp apples yesterday. So we got that going for us.

Wish we had someone to bake us up a pie.

Meanwhile apples have figured big in the diet.

Tomorrow we'll probably head back into the Adirondack Park and get our stink back on.

A recent photo- The first poison ivy we have seen

And of course,mycelium.

Science and education

25-Sep-2016

Tupper Lake and Paul Smiths NY

We dialed back the trail miles the last couple of days in order to take in a few interesting spots on the journey. In Tupper Lake we visited the Wild Center, which contains an incredible amount of information on the flora and fauna of the Adirondacks region. Also lots off cool things for the kids to play on including a 500lb plus eagles nest.

The perfect place for nature nerds like us.

We met Larry, a volunteer docent who gave ms Sciency and I a private nature tour. We learned a lot and had some fun.

The next day we went to Paul Smiths Visitor Information Center located at Paul Smiths college located in the town of Paul Smith.

Notwithstanding Mister smiths fascination with his own name everything appeared normal. The people were nice and the campus seemed the obvious benefactor of many unsuspecting teenagers student loans.

The VIC (visitor information center) was unfortunately closed but we  had free access to miles of trails and spent a few hours in self guided study. It gave us some time to use the tips Larryhad provided the day before.  Here are the shots

Mycelium conquers all

Ms Sciency ready for steak!!!!

Out of the campground and into dimly lit alleys

25-Sep-2016

Lake Saranac NY

New Yorks Adirondack campgrounds have been very nice.

But they are a bit pricey at $20 per day plus some $3 administrative fee .

Turns out the subcontractor gets paid even for people who drive up and don't use their online booking system. 

Corporate welfare. Perhaps some remnant of the Weiner Administration

Finally New York tacks on $5 more because we do not reside in the Empire State.

Clearly racist if you ask me.

Ms Sciency said enough was enough.

We rigged the gunship for stealth mode and ended our days parked for the night at whatever site we thought was appropriate.

I thought we should have packed the cloaking device.

The first night we found a quiet boat launch in Long Lake that was nothing but peace and quiet.

The view in the morning was sunrise on an Adirondack lake.

Last night was a parking lot in the middle of Tupper  lake. It was uneventful but my view at sunrise was that of a port-o-John. I wish I had snapped a photo to put in The blog

I finish writing tonite in Lake Saranac parked behind a supermarket.

Tomorrow we are getting a hotel and a bottle of whiskey to watch Hilary and el Donald in their first debate. 

NIGHT BLOGGER NIGHT BLOGGER,!

Just can't get enough mycelium!!

The Santononi Legacy

24-Sep-2016

Newcomb NY

A hundred years ago some rich guy from Albany New York built this giant house in the woods so his friends could come and fish for weeks or months at a time.

I'm thinking one of my friends should do something like that.

Anyway the house he built was truly magnificent and, as all 3 of his sons were apparently not wise in the ways of business, the 13000 acre property is now owned by the state.

It's a 5 mile hike in and 5 miles back. The alternative is  horse drawn cart that seemed nice but was not what ms. Sciency had in mind.  We walked the10 miles. It was a wide level road that made for an enjoyable promenade in the woods.

Bob "don geologico " at the milking parlor ruins

More Mycelium!!!

Mycelium Everywhere !!

22-Sep-2016

Long Lake, NY

They say the largest living organism on the planet is a mushroom colony in eastern Oregon.

That at least explains why all the hippies moved up there in the 70's.

Anyway we are finding many mycelium in our travels, including many we have never seen before.

So, today's science is the wild world of mushrooms of the Adirondacks,

We pretty much don't know what any of them are.

So we did not eat them

The trees they are a changing

20-step-2016

Durant lake Campground

We got up to the Adirondacks just a few days and it seemed pretty green all around. In just four or five days the colors are really changing.

We climbed Blue mountain yesterday. It was a bit, of an ass kicker  for us but we made it up and down. Today we did a 6 miler on level ground from Durant Lake Campground that was a real nice walk through the woods.

New York State has really nice campgrounds, at least in the Adirondacks. We have had great weather so far. Rain may come tomorrow.

Recent photos

Back on the trail

20-sep2016 

North River NY

After 4 days of good times with family it was time to fire up the gunship and do some trail walking.

Somewhere north of North River on highway 28 we pulled off and ran down a gravel road. From there we hiked a few miles just to get back into the swing of the game.

Here's  what we found

Here is one of miss Sciency from the lodge yesterday  as a palate cleanser

She wants to make sure you notice the big garnet rock she is sitting on