For anyone interested...
We will be keeping a record of the rest of our summer adventures, which always seem to be in the Adirondacks, at a brand new blog:
http://adirontreks.blogspot.com/
Happy Summer!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Back to my Champlain Valley Home...
Upon leaving Chicago, we drove south through Indiana which had marginally fewer tolls than Illinois. Continuing east, we were glad not to hit traffic in Cleavland at rush hour and we grabbed some Mexican cuisine outside of Erie, Pennsylvania. We stayed the night, just outside of Fredonia, New York at Lake Erie State Park.
After a muggy night in the car, we packed up and headed to New Hartford, New York where we would visit my Great Aunt Ruth, who is ninety-six and never seems to age! After chatting for a while, we went to visit my cousin Leslie and her cute son Jacob in Canastota. We had a great time, ate some fantastic food and noticed that Jacob is ready for a road-trip:
We drove to North Lake and spent the next two nights at camp with my parents. We enjoyed sailing, canoeing, reading and eating a S'morgasbord (that would be a smorgasbord of S'mores) around the campfire. It felt nice to relax in a familiar place again, and we got to catch up with my folks!
Our trip home wouldn't have been complete without one more stop: Wadhams! We went to the Dogwood Bakery for lunch, where I consumed a Peanut Butter, Jelly and Cheddar sandwich. The rest of the afternoon was filled with music as we got to reunite with Kevin and Elizabeth. After a feast in Plattsburgh, we boarded the ferry and arrived home where we were greeted by a mouthy cat.
We're home for a day, but looking at the weather it looks like a kayak trip may be in order. It's going to be hot and muggy and we can hear the lake calling!
Just after returning home, we jotted our trip onto the same map that included our 2010 trip. There is some overlap, but Colorado certainly looks much better explored...and that was our goal!
After a muggy night in the car, we packed up and headed to New Hartford, New York where we would visit my Great Aunt Ruth, who is ninety-six and never seems to age! After chatting for a while, we went to visit my cousin Leslie and her cute son Jacob in Canastota. We had a great time, ate some fantastic food and noticed that Jacob is ready for a road-trip:
We drove to North Lake and spent the next two nights at camp with my parents. We enjoyed sailing, canoeing, reading and eating a S'morgasbord (that would be a smorgasbord of S'mores) around the campfire. It felt nice to relax in a familiar place again, and we got to catch up with my folks!
Our trip home wouldn't have been complete without one more stop: Wadhams! We went to the Dogwood Bakery for lunch, where I consumed a Peanut Butter, Jelly and Cheddar sandwich. The rest of the afternoon was filled with music as we got to reunite with Kevin and Elizabeth. After a feast in Plattsburgh, we boarded the ferry and arrived home where we were greeted by a mouthy cat.
We're home for a day, but looking at the weather it looks like a kayak trip may be in order. It's going to be hot and muggy and we can hear the lake calling!
Just after returning home, we jotted our trip onto the same map that included our 2010 trip. There is some overlap, but Colorado certainly looks much better explored...and that was our goal!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
My Kind of Town...
No sooner had we arrived in Chicago when our friend Maria (who's apartment we would crash) decided that instead of lunch, we should go out for ice cream. She knows us well! We fought through brain freeze together and then went our separate ways for the afternoon.
Lisa and I headed over Wrigley Field for what turned out to be the ultimate old-time baseball experience. As we arrived at the ticket office, we were greeted by a five-piece dixieland band dressed in Cub's uniforms. From our seats, located just behind the right fielder, we enjoyed the clever interlude choices of the organist. While admiring the ivy covered backstop and manual scoreboard, we ate Chicago style hot dogs, with all the fixins. The game went into the eleventh inning before the home team won. If they hadn't, it would have been a shame...
For dinner, we wandered over to Dagostino's Pizza for some deep dish deliciousness before strolling back to Maria's apartment. We enjoyed seeing the fine neighborhoods just north of Wrigleyville.
The next day, we lounged around for most of the morning and headed towards downtown Chicago. We disembarked at the Field Museum of Natural History and were greeted by Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex fossil ever found. We got to tour Lascaux Cave, a reproduction of the famous prehistoric art cave in France which has been masterfully recreated with laser technology. John (Maria's boyfriend) met up with us to see mummies of ancient Egypt, and mammals of Asia and Africa.
After we had our fill of natural history, we wandered down the boardwalk on the shore of Lake Michigan while admiring the skyline. John gave us a great tour of the parks that lined downtown Chicago and we took an apparently obligatory photo into "the bean:"
For dinner, it was back to Maria's for a buffet; she claims that she likes to have options. With bellies full, we went for a walk and found baby bunnies that must have been born earlier that day. We moved them off of the sidewalk with frisbees, hoping that their mother would come get them. SO FUZZY!
We've certainly been spoiled by our stay with Maria and John but will be heading east tomorrow! Until next time, go Cubs!
Lisa and I headed over Wrigley Field for what turned out to be the ultimate old-time baseball experience. As we arrived at the ticket office, we were greeted by a five-piece dixieland band dressed in Cub's uniforms. From our seats, located just behind the right fielder, we enjoyed the clever interlude choices of the organist. While admiring the ivy covered backstop and manual scoreboard, we ate Chicago style hot dogs, with all the fixins. The game went into the eleventh inning before the home team won. If they hadn't, it would have been a shame...
For dinner, we wandered over to Dagostino's Pizza for some deep dish deliciousness before strolling back to Maria's apartment. We enjoyed seeing the fine neighborhoods just north of Wrigleyville.
The next day, we lounged around for most of the morning and headed towards downtown Chicago. We disembarked at the Field Museum of Natural History and were greeted by Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex fossil ever found. We got to tour Lascaux Cave, a reproduction of the famous prehistoric art cave in France which has been masterfully recreated with laser technology. John (Maria's boyfriend) met up with us to see mummies of ancient Egypt, and mammals of Asia and Africa.
After we had our fill of natural history, we wandered down the boardwalk on the shore of Lake Michigan while admiring the skyline. John gave us a great tour of the parks that lined downtown Chicago and we took an apparently obligatory photo into "the bean:"
 |
| We don't have these things at home... |
 |
| The Windy City |
For dinner, it was back to Maria's for a buffet; she claims that she likes to have options. With bellies full, we went for a walk and found baby bunnies that must have been born earlier that day. We moved them off of the sidewalk with frisbees, hoping that their mother would come get them. SO FUZZY!
We've certainly been spoiled by our stay with Maria and John but will be heading east tomorrow! Until next time, go Cubs!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Iowa
We awoke in Grand Island, Nebraska and began driving east and soon found ourselves in Iowa. Despite our best hopes, the landscape of Iowa had not become more interesting since our last visit:
Our destination for the day (don't laugh please...) was the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. It surpassed our wildest dreams for the location, although we didn't expect much after seeing cornfields for eight straight hours. Many of the original buildings remain, including his childhood cottage, his father's blacksmith shop and his schoolhouse. The national park service has yet to let us down. Even the sites that sound completely bland have been set up well and include interesting historical tidbits.
We are spending the night in Walcott, Iowa intending to make Chicago by tomorrow evening!
Our destination for the day (don't laugh please...) was the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. It surpassed our wildest dreams for the location, although we didn't expect much after seeing cornfields for eight straight hours. Many of the original buildings remain, including his childhood cottage, his father's blacksmith shop and his schoolhouse. The national park service has yet to let us down. Even the sites that sound completely bland have been set up well and include interesting historical tidbits.
We are spending the night in Walcott, Iowa intending to make Chicago by tomorrow evening!
Friday, July 5, 2013
Rocky Mountain National Park - Part II
Our last full day at Rocky Mountain National Park was Independence Day. Throughout the day, we watched the campground transform from sporty hiker types to large family caravans with RVs. What a difference a day makes...
We awoke early and with surprise pineapple and raisin bran muffins in our bellies, we set out for our final hike of our park experience. We headed to the Fern Lake Trailhead where we set out on a meander through the moraine until we ended up at "The Pool." From there, we took a southerly route and looped back through a recently burned forest that still retained a charcoal smell and wandered near Cub Lake and some other small ponds.
We ate our lunch on a shady set of rocks while we watched a herd of thirty elk bathe in a nearby pool. We broke out the binoculars and watched their heads bobbing while some splashed in shallower water. This marmot was sunbathing on a rock next to us:
After lunch, we returned to an increasingly full campground with unexpected cars parked on our site so we decided to catch the shuttle into town to try the last advertising malt shop in Estes Park. As we arrived in town, we were glad that we traveled by shuttle as we witnessed the gridlock occurring on Main Street. The malts tasted great and we dodged crowds before catching the shuttle back into Rocky Mountain National Park.
We whiled away the rest of the afternoon between playing games and music. One family set up their camp seats in a row facing our site so we went to their site and played for them. We have been making sure to not play after 8:00 so that we don't disturb those wanting to sleep in the early evening. However, we could tell by the noise in the campground that we were not going to be going to bed early...
Instead of fighting the crowds for fireworks viewing in Estes Park, we went to the evening ranger program at 8:45 on the effects of climate change on the national parks system. They desperately need some colder winters and wetter weather to combat the effects of the pine beetle in Rocky Mountain National Park or they will be losing most of their trees in the coming years.
Equipped with earplugs, we went to sleep and awoke early the next day. Before we left the park for good, we made a quick drive to Sheep Lakes hoping for the off-chance that we may catch a herd of bighorn sheep. We didn't see any, but Lisa was happy that she got to see a prairie dog!
We reluctantly left the park and began to head east as the elevation dropped and we drove through a narrow canyon. Eventually, we ended up in the flat lands with the rocky mountains to our west.
After a brief cut into Wyoming, we were in Nebraska where we headed for Scotts Bluff National Monument. It turned out to be a sandstone bluff rising hundreds of feet into the air which was an important landmark on many historic trails. It was used on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer and even the Pony Express trail systems.
We grabbed lunch at Rosita's Mexican Restaurant, which had a great statue in the parking lot:
For the rest of the day, we drove through the prairie, following multiple trains pulling more coal than we have ever seen before. We are spending the night in Grand Island, Nebraska intending to make the drive across Iowa tomorrow. Wish us luck!
We awoke early and with surprise pineapple and raisin bran muffins in our bellies, we set out for our final hike of our park experience. We headed to the Fern Lake Trailhead where we set out on a meander through the moraine until we ended up at "The Pool." From there, we took a southerly route and looped back through a recently burned forest that still retained a charcoal smell and wandered near Cub Lake and some other small ponds.
 |
| The Glacial Moraine |
 |
| Burned Trees |
We ate our lunch on a shady set of rocks while we watched a herd of thirty elk bathe in a nearby pool. We broke out the binoculars and watched their heads bobbing while some splashed in shallower water. This marmot was sunbathing on a rock next to us:
After lunch, we returned to an increasingly full campground with unexpected cars parked on our site so we decided to catch the shuttle into town to try the last advertising malt shop in Estes Park. As we arrived in town, we were glad that we traveled by shuttle as we witnessed the gridlock occurring on Main Street. The malts tasted great and we dodged crowds before catching the shuttle back into Rocky Mountain National Park.
We whiled away the rest of the afternoon between playing games and music. One family set up their camp seats in a row facing our site so we went to their site and played for them. We have been making sure to not play after 8:00 so that we don't disturb those wanting to sleep in the early evening. However, we could tell by the noise in the campground that we were not going to be going to bed early...
Instead of fighting the crowds for fireworks viewing in Estes Park, we went to the evening ranger program at 8:45 on the effects of climate change on the national parks system. They desperately need some colder winters and wetter weather to combat the effects of the pine beetle in Rocky Mountain National Park or they will be losing most of their trees in the coming years.
Equipped with earplugs, we went to sleep and awoke early the next day. Before we left the park for good, we made a quick drive to Sheep Lakes hoping for the off-chance that we may catch a herd of bighorn sheep. We didn't see any, but Lisa was happy that she got to see a prairie dog!
We reluctantly left the park and began to head east as the elevation dropped and we drove through a narrow canyon. Eventually, we ended up in the flat lands with the rocky mountains to our west.
After a brief cut into Wyoming, we were in Nebraska where we headed for Scotts Bluff National Monument. It turned out to be a sandstone bluff rising hundreds of feet into the air which was an important landmark on many historic trails. It was used on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer and even the Pony Express trail systems.
 |
| Scotts Bluff National Monument |
 |
| Lisa, basking in Nebraska's glory! |
We grabbed lunch at Rosita's Mexican Restaurant, which had a great statue in the parking lot:
For the rest of the day, we drove through the prairie, following multiple trains pulling more coal than we have ever seen before. We are spending the night in Grand Island, Nebraska intending to make the drive across Iowa tomorrow. Wish us luck!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Rocky Mountain National Park - Part I
Arriving in Estes Park, we saw a banner for a Big Band Extravaganza. We headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park and snagged a campsite at the Moraine Park Campground before driving back into town. We spent the rest of the day meandering between the free concerts that featured local Big Bands and the ice cream shops for malts! Yum!
That evening, we made some dinner and broke out our instruments for an early evening jam and we drew a crowd! We enjoyed meeting some of the people that were camping around us, and no one seemed to be unhappy about our music (yet...).
The next morning, we awoke and got on the shuttle for Bear Lake, which is a popular hiking spot in the eastern part of the park. There was a chance of showers and as we had realized in previous national parks trips, the chance that they give you is equivalent to your chance of surviving the storm. We hiked through hail to Bear Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake and Nymph Lake before turning back to the shuttle stop when we heard rumblings from above.
We lazed around for the rest of the afternoon at our campsite and had another early evening jam with a similar audience. A jazz guitar player came over and I broke out the trumpet for some tunes that probably razzed the neighbors. Since he used Lisa's guitar, we gave full disclosure that a bird pooped on it last week. It was early to bed though because we wanted to beat the storms on our next hike.
We got up early the next morning and took the shuttle to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. In much better weather than the previous day, we hiked to Mills Lake, Jewel Lake and the Loch. Each of these lakes had a much more sweeping vista than the ones we visited on the previous day. After a picnic lunch at the Loch, we headed back to our campsite for another lazy afternoon.
That evening, much of our original campground audience had left so we felt better repeating songs...
The next day we embarked on the Trail Ridge Road, which is the scenic drive that cuts across the park. We enjoyed the scenery along the way and got to explore trails in the tundra. We found it interesting that plants in this area may only come an inch above the ground but have a five foot taproot! It's amazing how nature can adjust to harsh climates.
On the return trip, we got to see a few elk herds. One elk that seemed to be sniffing towards our car made us think that it was time for a shower, so we headed back into Estes Park. We will be camping in the park for two more nights before we start heading east.
That evening, we made some dinner and broke out our instruments for an early evening jam and we drew a crowd! We enjoyed meeting some of the people that were camping around us, and no one seemed to be unhappy about our music (yet...).
The next morning, we awoke and got on the shuttle for Bear Lake, which is a popular hiking spot in the eastern part of the park. There was a chance of showers and as we had realized in previous national parks trips, the chance that they give you is equivalent to your chance of surviving the storm. We hiked through hail to Bear Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake and Nymph Lake before turning back to the shuttle stop when we heard rumblings from above.
We lazed around for the rest of the afternoon at our campsite and had another early evening jam with a similar audience. A jazz guitar player came over and I broke out the trumpet for some tunes that probably razzed the neighbors. Since he used Lisa's guitar, we gave full disclosure that a bird pooped on it last week. It was early to bed though because we wanted to beat the storms on our next hike.
We got up early the next morning and took the shuttle to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. In much better weather than the previous day, we hiked to Mills Lake, Jewel Lake and the Loch. Each of these lakes had a much more sweeping vista than the ones we visited on the previous day. After a picnic lunch at the Loch, we headed back to our campsite for another lazy afternoon.
 |
| Huffing, at 10,000 Feet |
 |
| Mills Lake |
 |
| The Loch |
That evening, much of our original campground audience had left so we felt better repeating songs...
The next day we embarked on the Trail Ridge Road, which is the scenic drive that cuts across the park. We enjoyed the scenery along the way and got to explore trails in the tundra. We found it interesting that plants in this area may only come an inch above the ground but have a five foot taproot! It's amazing how nature can adjust to harsh climates.
 |
| Longs Peak in the Distance |
 |
| Tundra |
On the return trip, we got to see a few elk herds. One elk that seemed to be sniffing towards our car made us think that it was time for a shower, so we headed back into Estes Park. We will be camping in the park for two more nights before we start heading east.
 |
| Sniffles, the Elk |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)