Waking up this morning, it felt like we were a little low on energy, so we stayed in bed a little longer. We got ready and packed a lunch for our drive to Lake Placid. We left around 10:00 and stopped for gas before hopping on I-87 for the drive north. At the C-store where we bought gas, Bob bought us and egg and sausage sandwich to share for breakfast, since we skipped our usual Sunday breakfast this morning. It was warm and delicious!
It was a gray, overcast day , but you take what you get. It stayed cooler, around 71 degrees without the sun to warm things up. Here in the Lake George area, there are lots of things to keep the kids amused like Great America, miniature golf, arcades, water parks, and the Magic Forest right across the road.
 Great America |
It features the largest Uncle Sam statue in the world, a magic show, and the only remaining diving horse attraction, Lightning.
 Magic Forest |
I’m sure the cooler weather put a damper on some of that fun. We heard that the temperature of the water in Lake George is 74 degrees. That is supposedly the warmest it gets all summer, so no wonder there weren’t many people swimming in the water. The drive to Lake Placid took us through Adirondack Park which encompasses the Adirondack Mountains. Traffic was very light on this Sunday. We finally got out from under the dark clouds that were hanging in the valley as we climbed into the mountains.
We had a few sprinkles here and there, but barely enough to use the windshield wipers. The clouds hung low on the tops of the mountains. Note the raindrops on the windshield.
We left I-87 (the High Peaks Scenic Byway) to take Highway 73 to Lake Placid. This highway took us through some small towns and many hiking areas. In many spots, the road was lined with cars of hikers who had parked there to pick up a hiking trail or go swimming in one of the mountain lakes in the area.
The road was very picturesque following along the river in some areas.
South of Lake Placid, we came upon the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Recreation Area.
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This is the site of bobsledding, cross-country skiing, luge, and biathalon at the Olympic Sports Complex.
As we entered the parking lot, we could see part of the bobsled course.
We went inside the Welcome Center to check it out. This map of the bobsled run hung on the wall.
We found out you could pay to take a ride in a bobsled with a driver and the pusher in the back. We saw one bobsled come down the track while we were there standing at the finish line.
We saw these examples of the 1980’s (front) and the 1990’s (back) bobsleds that were used.
We left there and took a drive down the road to the ski-jump area. From a distance, we could see these imposing structures.
We finally arrived at the Olympic Jumping Complex.
After we parked, we walked near the base of the jumps.
In all, there were 4 jumps of different heights. You could take a chairlift to the top of the hill and then take an elevator to the top of the jump.
We could see people up there. What a view they must see from the top!
Walking around, we came upon some young kids with their coach who were practicing their ski jumps using the swimming pool.
We sat in the bleachers for awhile, watching those brave kids sliding down the ramp in their skis, jumping, and landing in the water. Some were doing amazing tricks. These will be our future Olympians!
We left there and drove into the town of Lake Placid–site of the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games.
We saw the Olympic Center where today they were holding an antique car show. Lake Placid was crawling with people, so we turned around and started looking for the downhill skiing venue. It turned out that it was located north of Lake Placid near the town of Wilmington at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area (elevation 4872 ft.). From where we were, the mountains were engulfed in clouds and not much would be visible, so we decided to skip it and head back to Lake George.
There were many hikers out today enjoying the day by the looks of all the cars parked along the road. This seemed to be a popular spot to replenish your energy after an energetic hike. It was a roadside food wagon grilling up some delicious food, by the looks of the number of people who were standing in line.
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We made the drive down the mountain as the skies seemed to lighten up and by the time we reached the campground around 2:30, the sun came out. We haven’t seen much of the sun for 2 days, so it was a welcome sight. Auggie and I took a short walk upon returning and then the 3 of us sat outside enjoying the rest of the afternoon.
Bob grilled some swordfish and we relaxed with some TV after Auggie’s last walk of the night. Auggie was tired after his walk and all that fresh air.
 Good Night |
