In The Mountains

Colby Lake was the setting for our trip, but we were
so busy that we never got the chance to kayak.

Our little trip in the mountains was not without bumps in the road, but the easy going nature of the group meant we all had a laughter filled four days. First was Susan's cold which meant she missed the first two days of the trip. The rain Wednesday was the other hiccup, but we managed beautifully.

Anyone who knows me knows I love all things rock related, so I had to crawl into this hollowed out one in the town park.

We met around noon in Saranac Lake and walked about town, had a bite to eat and explored the shops. I ended up getting some polished stones at a store going out of business. My thought is to use them as garden accents, but who knows? They were pretty and the price was right.

We had a late lunch/early dinner at the River Trail BeerWorks and the Cowboy pizza was perfection and huge. I ate off of it for 3 days. We got settled into our very rustic rental and proceeded to play games for hours. 

Day two was forecasted to be a wet one, but not until the afternoon. We got ourselves over to the Adirondack Rail Trail and had a beautiful ride. When we reached Lake Placid, we could see the darkening sky approaching, so rather than walk about town, we turned around and headed back.  It was perfect timing as the rain started while we were loading our bikes back into our cars. 

Cloudy with approaching rain, but a nature filled ride.

We headed to Bitters & Bones for lunch and more laughter. The hotel Saranac was worth a visit too, so we explored its second floor bar and patio and vowed to come back for drinks another time. 

We spent time here on day three on their sunny patio.

Day three started off with an early hike up Mt Arab. It was a short but steep climb to a fire tower and gorgeous views. AJ needed this peak for a patch she is working toward, so mission accomplished. 

Mt Arab Fire Tower

It was a lovely time up in the tower.

I spotted something through the woods on our way down and it was this poignant memorial bench to a couple who loved the Adirondacks.

Then we met up with Susan for lunch in Tupper lake. It wasn't easy to find a place that was open since the high season was over and many businesses shut down. We headed over to The Wild Center which I was only interested in because of the Troll exhibit. It exceeded my expectations in so many ways.

Joyful Amyjean!

This was Bibi, who spends her time placing bird houses in the forest.

The theme of the troll exhibit was care of the forest and our planet. 

Each troll came with a thoughtful description.

Jill and I in the Stick Works exhibit.

Brook trout

We ran into another group of women having an adventure,
but they made matching shirts to honor the occasion.

This is Patrick Sapling who was just being finished when we visited. He is the first and only permanent troll at the Wild Center.

Day four started and ended early as AJ left at sunrise, Jill left the night before, and Peggy had to work that afternoon, so she left at 10. That meant Susan and I headed to the Rail Trail for a beautiful  20 mile bike ride to start our day.

We said goodbye at  about noon and I made my way home. I stopped in Schroon Lake for an ice cream by the lake, as well as a thrift store in Glens Falls. I could get used to fun little trips like this one, and Peggy has already proposed a Winter Glow trip to Maine in December, so we are clearly a well suited travel group.