Adirondacks Road Trip

saltydog

A couple of months ago, we took a little road trip through the Adirondacks and into Canada. While the weather forecast was horrendous (rain, rain and more rain), it showed that sometimes it can be good to be prepared for the worst. The rain turned out to be mostly showers and looming storm clouds overhead, but we cherished every rain free moment and the occasional ray of sunshine bursting through clouds even more. And sometimes, the clouds made for very photogenic skies. We were also thrilled to discover that, while downstate NY all trees still wore a rich green, the foliage was peaking in the Adirondack Park. Unfortunately, radiant blue-sky fall shots mostly eluded me due to the forever overcast sky and often bad lighting conditions - but I tried to do as best as I could with what Mother Nature had in store for me.

We left Long Island, NY in incredibly warm and humid weather and had to run the a/c in the car full blast. Not even 20 Miles into our trip, the overcast skies had turned into pouring rain.






As bad as the rain often seemed, it would suddenly stop and as mentioned above, would give way to ominous clouds:




This little town lies on the outskirts of the Adirondack Park and time seemingly stands still in it's historical downtown area. You've gotta love the fact that the pub is named "The Pub". The town itself by the way is called Boonville, and I don't know why but I think that's a really cool name. Cool enough indeed that I've got a t-shirt :thumb!




The mornings were often foggy and very chilly, but also quite beautiful in their own way:




Even in the rain, the fall colors sometimes would shine brightly:




Also the fallen leaves looked quite pretty in the rain:






This trio of Scarecrows already dressed for Halloween was literally glowing under the autumn skies, especially the lady in pink:




Muddy grounds are prevalent everywhere this time of the year and rubber boots can be found on almost every porch.




The region boasts many many lakes and rivers and the brightest foliage could be found along their shores and banks.










This diner is located in the town of Old Forge and the colorful umbrella serves as a reminder of the bygone days of summer.




Old Adirondack House and fallen leaves:




Naked Moose, really?




Really !




Most tourists stick to the towns and villages at this time of the year and the beautiful lakes lay deserted and radiate peacefulness and serenity.




Of course a trip through the Adirondacks requires a picture of the famous Adirondack Chairs. But here I am actually cheating - upon closer inspection these turned out to be made of metal instead of wood:




A few more shots of lakes and rivers along the way:










And another beautiful tree in it's prime:




A typical Adirondack store. You cannot imagine how many times during this trip I've cursed the washed out skies and difficult lighting conditions:




This is probably a good summary of all you need to live the good life in the Adirondacks, and approximately in the right order : Worms, Ice, Beers, Firewood, Groceries, Maps, Boots, Gifts, Books and Seafood!




Here, the sun suddenly broke through the dark clouds and I almost threw myself out of the car to catch this moment. I didn't have much time to look for a great motif but thought this little red house did the job quite nicely.




For a while the sun and the rain kept playing cat and mouse and made for beautiful light, as seen at this little seaplane port:






The sun almost wins in this shot:




And finally - the rainbow I'd been craning my neck for for the past 30 minutes:




The last road shot taken in the US before finally crossing the border into Canada (to be continued...)




I hope you have enjoyed this little trip. Upon reviewing the posted pics I noticed that quite a few of them appear less than crisp - this is probably the result of some radical downsizing in Photoshop without sharpening and I apologize. These are not the sizes I will eventually upload to my galleries and the originals seem okay...

Many greetings,
Jana

bob swanson

Your images certainly impressed me. Thanks for the dialogue and pictures and look forward to the rest.
bsvirginian

Ann McRae

Thanks for sharing and I look forward to more. I love the path with fallen leaves shot!

ann

System

I rode through the adirondacks on a motorcycle a few years ago. The thing I remember most was the smell of the pine trees. As we rode along, you could almost feel the history oozing out at you via the look of the buildings. Your photos bring back memories of my trip.

Mitchell

Wonderful series.

I lived in Albany for 13 years before moving to Florida. I was an avid hiker and have climbed most of the high peaks in the Adirondaks. This series really took me back.

Thank you.

Microcosm

Really beautiful pictures, great eye.

Hoss's! I've been there. I've been up in one of those planes as well, nice little town.

saltydog

Thanks for the kind words everyone, they are much appreciated!

Mitchell - The Adirondacks really are a beautiful place and going on an extended hike there has been on my to-do list for a while. Unfortunately, whenever I find myself up there it is either very cold or raining and I have to admit that I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to sleeping in a freezing, muddy tent (I've done it though, but I prefer sun and warm...).

Microcosm - I cannot remember the name of that little town, but you are right, the seaplanes aren't far from it. "Hoss" must be a big shot there, because everything is named after him - the store, the hotel, the restaurant and even the ice cream parlor...

Microcosm

saltydog wrote:

Thanks for the kind words everyone, they are much appreciated!

Mitchell - The Adirondacks really are a beautiful place and going on an extended hike there has been on my to-do list for a while. Unfortunately, whenever I find myself up there it is either very cold or raining and I have to admit that I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to sleeping in a freezing, muddy tent (I've done it though, but I prefer sun and warm...).

Microcosm - I cannot remember the name of that little town, but you are right, the seaplanes aren't far from it. "Hoss" must be a big shot there, because everything is named after him - the store, the hotel, the restaurant and even the ice cream parlor...

I've stayed at one of the camps there a few times in the summer, and I'm pretty sure Long Lake is the name of the entire town. I could be wrong though. Yeah, hahaha I'm not sure about Hoss either but everything in that little town is somehow associated with that name.

saltydog

Microcosm wrote:

I've stayed at one of the camps there a few times in the summer, and I'm pretty sure Long Lake is the name of the entire town. I could be wrong though. Yeah, hahaha I'm not sure about Hoss either but everything in that little town is somehow associated with that name.

Yup - Long Lake, that's it, just checked my travel map! This makes me wonder when the first camera with integrated GPS System will show up, so it will embed location into the EXIF Data. Heck, what do I know, it seems like such a logical step, that it probably already exists.

It also makes me wonder about the creativity of the "Lakenamegivers" up there. So there's Sixth Lake, Seventh Lake, Eighth Lake... And when they finally got bored with numericals they came up with - Long Lake ???

schmoo

I really enjoyed this series! I have taken a road trip through the mountains of NY but never quite that far north. I think the the faulty weather you had just adds to the story... and it makes your sun shots all the more dramatic and special.

The Naked Moose looks like a truly fantastic place to stop for lunch.

Looking forward to seeing more!

saltydog

Thank you Schmoo! I am really glad you enjoyed my little trip, since I always love the shots you post.

I have to admit that the "Naked Moose" sign and the moose statue were photographed in the same village, but not in the same place. The wooden moose just stands in some weird little niche at the edge of town, but I thought the two photos went together well .

Microcosm

saltydog wrote:

Yup - Long Lake, that's it, just checked my travel map! This makes me wonder when the first camera with integrated GPS System will show up, so it will embed location into the EXIF Data. Heck, what do I know, it seems like such a logical step, that it probably already exists.

It also makes me wonder about the creativity of the "Lakenamegivers" up there. So there's Sixth Lake, Seventh Lake, Eighth Lake... And when they finally got bored with numericals they came up with - Long Lake ???

Haha, well there are a lot of lakes up there! Do you want to be in charge of naming them all? And yeah, I'm sure some sort of GPS integration will emerge at some point.

leaforte

I love the still life of the rubber boots!

saltydog

leaforte wrote:

I love the still life of the rubber boots!

Thanks . My In-laws live up there and these are my father-in-law's boots. They're both great people, but make fun of me because I always take pics wherever I go. My husband's mom couldn't help but whisper loud enough for me to hear, "what's she doing now, taking pictures of Mike's boots???" . Well, it's all in the eye of the beholder...

photographz

Hoss's is one of my favorite places to visit when we hit the north country. Have you ridden one of the Helm's seaplanes? I've been up twice with them, about 20 years apart-in the same plane (the brown one) with the same pilot (the father)! It's nice to eat at the Adirondack hotel and watch them land.

Great shots, I love it up there in the fall and winter (any time but spring, I *HATE* black flies)!

It's funny how you can go there and it seems like nothing changes. My mother and I camped up there near Indian Lake when I was a child, and I hadn't been back for years. My husband and I decided to go up there again a few years ago (and try to at least once a year since), and it was amazing to go to Long Lake. Northern Borne hadn't changed..the same planes where there...the hotel was about the same...Hoss's was still there (although it's changed inside). I will admit I like the high peaks for the scenery, but the central area is WAy less "tourist trap" (like Lake Placid).

It's one of those places you find yourself saying "wow" alot!

Art Scott

Fantastically great shots.......


[Quote:
Originally Posted by saltydog]
Yup - Long Lake, that's it, just checked my travel map! This makes me wonder when the first camera with integrated GPS System will show up, so it will embed location into the EXIF Data. Heck, what do I know, it seems like such a logical step, that it probably already exists..... ???[/quote]

Actually Ricoh had a full integrated GPS P/S several years ago.....it sold for around 10K........looking into your profile I do not see what you shoot with...so.............Nikon has had GPS capable cameras for a while.....the least expensive was the D70.....then the D200 came about and know the D300 - D3x all have the ability to mark your shots as you shootem with a GPS attached via a cord to the front of the camera (or it was on the front for the D70 and D200)......I do not know if the D90 or lesser models ahve that function or not....it is too bad that canon has not adopted it also.

DavidTO

I spent many summers of my youth in the ADKs. And several since! Got married in them thar mountains, they hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for sharing!

Shima

My family has a cabin at Fern Lake (AuSable Forks) up in the Adironacks, great to see photos from other areas... brings back such good memories!

PS - where on Long Island are you from? I grew up in Center Moriches.