Category Archives: Travel

Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

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Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

Oh COVID how you’ve clipped my wings! But that doesn’t mean I can’t revisit the places I’ve been. Today I thought I’d take a trip back in  time to re-visit some of the places I’ve been. Care to come along?

Key Largo Fla – 2019

John Pennekamp State ParkNature at it’s finest. This northern most Island in the Florida Keys offers diving, snorkeling and a lot of Ocean Fun. My favorite spot- John  Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. But be prepared with water shoes . The shoreline is sharp coral that can bruise and cut bare feet.              

Great White Heron in Mangroves – Key Largo 2019

Iguana at Pennekamp Park 2019

 

Busch Gardens – 2018

Colonial Williamsburg, VA (and Busch Gardens) – 2018

Just weeks before my hip replacement surgery I made a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. It was much colder than I expected Virginia to be even if it was November. I was joined by family and friends. 

Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

 

Carriage Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008

Grand Canyon Arizona- 2011

If you have not been to the Grand Canyon you are missing an amazing sight. I’ve been twice and can’t wait to go again. When I first saw the canyon my mind could not embrace it all. It was too large, too majestic. I was with a guide and he warned us but I still felt dizzy and overwhelmed. Something this magnificent just couldn’t be real! But it is. 

Grand Canyon- 2011

Grand Canyon 2011

Maui Hawaii – 2020

Hawaii is one of my favorite places. I’ve been to the  Big Island, Oahu and Maui.  My latest trip was right before the pandemic. I was back on Maui and had a chance to go SNUBA diving. It’s like Scuba but your tank is floating on a raft on the surface and you breathe though a hose. The other big difference is that you do not need to be certified to SNUBA making it something everyone can try.

snuba at Turtletown 2020

Wind Surfing 2020

Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

This was fun. It’s nice to reminisce now and again. And I have so many other trips to share. Maine for Puffin watching, Sedona and my first helicopter ride . The amazing state of Alaska and Denali National Park. I can’t forget Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Florida and swimming with Manatees or the Big Island and snorkeling with Manta Rays. Not to mention Bears and Moose and Elk in Wyoming. The Teton Mountains are magnificent rising from the valley floor. We have a lot to talk about!

The Grand Teton

The Grand Teton 2017

Where Have We Been?

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Where have we been?

I don’t mean travel. COVID still has us locked down but where have we been the last couple of weeks? Well kitten duty is time consuming. Even with toys Banner is a demanding little bugger! I try to play with him for at least 30 minutes before work every day. If I don’t he is so wound up I can’t get any work done. It took him only about 2 seconds with my back turned to tear into my work laptop. Yup he pulled the F2 key off. I lucked out because I snagged it back from him before he he swallowed it and I don’t use the F2 key. I didn’t even know what it did so other than a white spot I guess there was no real harm done.

We Got Our First Snowfall

It snowed here yesterday and then the temps dropped so we still have snow on the ground today. I read that the Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a snowy , cold winter. Why not?  2020 has thrown everything else at us!  I tried to get Banner interested in watching the snow come down but he had no interest at all, A kitten after my own heart. He’s more interested in the feather trim on my witch hat for Halloween.

 

You need to arch your back a little more , Banner , to get that scary Halloween witch cat look! At least he’s got the tail thing mastered.

New York Wildlife

On a more photography/travel related note I got my New York Wildlife Viewing guide. Hopefully this will help me choose some trips in 2021. I couldn’t just buy the book. The only way to get it was to subscribe to Conservationist Magazine. I’ve gotten one digital issue so far and it was really good. I hope some of my issues will be print because the color photos are gorgeous and the articles weren’t boring at all!

The first thing I checked was Adirondacks and the first place on the list was “The Wild” in Tupper Lake. If you recall my brother and I visited “The Wild” in August. 

From the description in the book it sounds like there is a lot more to it than what we saw. Of course we were there while the pandemic was still in full force so half the exhibits were closed. Once this COVID is all over I’ll have to go back. We might have missed some other things there too because my knees were  really limiting my mobility.  I’m working on possible solutions to improve that too.

Puzzle Update

The Puzzle is still laid out on the table but I picked up the loose pieces and put them in the box.  So far Banner has not tried to eat them but I don’t want to tempt him either. So there’s been no progress to report but no damage from curious kitty either. It’s just waiting for me to get some time to work on it again.

 

 

Birds, Birds and more Birds

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Birds, Birds and more Birds

Hawaiian NeNe (Goose)

Birds are a popular photo subject with me. My friends often tell me it’s time to stretch my wings and get a new subject and I do. I chase all kinds of wildlife. But sometimes the birds are just there. They are an easy subject because I don’t have to search for them. I can spend days trying to locate a fox or a moose or even a deer to photograph but birds are always around me.

Bird on a wire

I was near a pond in Norton taking shots of the fall foliage. Birds were the farthest thing from my mind when a hawk settled right above my head on a wire. How could I not take his picture?   Besides birds are a challenge to get a good shot. Although the hawk was right on a wire near me the background was filled with tree leaves. He also spend quite a bit of his time on the wire with his back to me. Not much of a picture if you can only get the back of a head!  So I continue to take pictures of birds.

 

 

 

 

Birds in Florida

Some of my best photos were in Florida. I always seem to have good luck there. I try to take most of my bird pictures in the wild. I may be at a wildlife sanctuary but the birds are wild and free to fly away. I got a second class photo of a very rare bird from an airboat. It’s called a snail kite and I didn’t realize how rare it was until I returned home and saw a special on the bird on PBS. The photo is blurry so I’m not going to share but the odds of me going back for a better one are pretty slim. 

Egret with Hot Dog

Accepted in Nat Geo “I Shot It” Contest

Maine Puffins

Another great bird trip was with the Audubon Society, I joined them for a trip to see the Maine Puffin Colony. What a trip! Who knew it could be so cold in the middle of July! We were in the Bay of Fundy where we could see the evidence of the 12 ft tides the area is known for.  I may have to think about doing it again because I’ve improved my photography skills since then. But I did get a few  ‘Braggable” shots.

Loons of New England

So now I have a new Bird Challenge. I need to get a decent photo of a common loon. Loons can be found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and now the Lake George area of New York. I’ve seen them. I’ve heard them but always at a distance. So now my goal is to get close enough to get a good photo because I can do better than this!

 

I have some locations and ideas in mind but I think spring nesting season will be my best chance. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Puzzle update

No update this week. I’ve moved into the browns and purples and they are harder to match and I haven’t had much time to work on it.

The Wild Center

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The Wild Center, Tupper Lake NY

The Wild Center, formerly known as the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, creates an environment that lets you immerse yourself in nature. What do the eagles see? What would it be like to live in a spider’s web? On one of our aborted trips to Whiteface Mountain we detoured to the Wild Center. I’d heard about it from my sister and also read several articles in Adirondack Life magazine but I really couldn’t get my head around what it was. So what’s the best way to find out? Go there for myself.

A Walk On The Wild Side

The Wild Center gives new meaning to a walk on the wild side. Well maintained boardwalks wound through the forest and trees. My knees were not cooperating the day we were there. My limited mobility as I’ve gotten older continues to be a major frustration for me. On the board walks I was fine but when we left the boardwalk for the trail it got harder and soon I was parked on a bench watching families pass by to the river. Still I was able to enjoy enough to see what all the buzz was about. 

The Eagles Nest

One of the stops on the board walk that I heard mentioned over and over again was the Eagle Nest. I couldn’t imagine it but once I saw it I was hooked. A short climb up a series of stairs and you step into the world of the Eagle. Standing in the nest you look out over the tree tops just like an eagle would. There are panoramic views in all directions.

The Spider’s Lair

Nearby a rope spider web was stretched over a large hole in the board walk inviting the adventurous and non mobility challenged to test it out. A family was rolling around laughing a struggling to climb back up while we were there. Oh to be young again. I would have tried it in a heartbeat but I was pretty sure that if I got in I’d never get out now.  Just watching those teenagers convinced me my assessment was correct.

The Wild Walk

Wild Walk takes visitors up a trail of bridges to the treetops of the Adirondack forest. That was really tempting but once again caution limited what I was willing to try. The suspended bridges and the climb up the inside of the huge tree truck look like tons of fun. It made me think of the Swiss Family Robinson attraction at Disney. Lots of swaying walk ways suspended in the trees. 

Handicap Accessible

You may think from my comments on what I skipped that this is only for the young and fit but that’s not entirely true. The board walk is so wide and well maintained that you can easily navigate those sections with a wheel chair. On a nice day there is no better way to get out in nature and enjoy the beautiful Adirondack breezes. 

 

A Day on Lake George

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A Day on Lake George

A day on Lake George is a day spent in “God’s Country” or so say the locals. I can tell you that in my travels I’ve seen some beautiful places but few reach the level of beauty and tranquility as Lake George. Of course that’s just my opinion. I’m sure the folks water skiing, jet skiing and tubing would have a different description. There’s nothing tranquil about what they are doing roaring around the lake. Still, Lake George wasn’t nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes for nothing.

The lake was originally named the Andia-ta-roc-te by local Native Americans. James Fenimore Cooper in his narrative Last of the Mohicans called it the Horican, after a tribe which may have lived there, because he felt the original name was too hard to pronounce.

The first European visitor to the area, Samuel de Champlain, noted the lake in his journal on July 3, 1609, but did not name it. In 1646, the French Canadian Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues, the first European to view the lake, named it Lac du Saint-Sacrement (Lake of the Holy Sacrament).

But by any name, its beautiful.

Our Day on The Lake

We started our day by picking up the boat at the Sagamore, a resort hotel located in Bolton Landing on Lake George. The Sagamore’s history dates back to the 1880’s. Located on it’s own private Island the main hotel is a nod back to the elegant travels of yesterday.

Casting off from our slip we left the stately Hotel behind us as we headed to one of the many islands on the lake.

Lake George is 32 miles long with somewhere  around 170 islands. 148 of the which are state owned. Many with docks and campsites. Although many of the names of the islands and surrounding mountains were familiar I’d been away too long to recognize many of them.

Some of the surrounding mountains include Black Mountain, Elephant Mountain, Pilot Knob, Prospect Mountain, Shelving Rock, Sleeping Beauty Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, and the Tongue Mountain Range. Some of the lake’s more famous bays are Basin Bay, Kattskill Bay, Northwest Bay, Oneida Bay, and Silver Bay.

The lake is distinguished by “The Narrows”, an island-filled narrow section (approximately five miles) that is bordered on the west by the Tongue Mountain Range and the east by Black Mountain

All The Way to the End of the Lake

We picked up sandwiches at the little store on Glen Island where the ranger station is located. We cruised around until we located a vacant island with a dock where we stopped for lunch.

During our explorations we passed a huge eagle nest, empty today but looking in good shape. Eagles use the same nest over and over. They just keep adding on.

 

The afternoon was spend riding up toward Ticonderoga, the northern end of the lake. We stayed away from the southern end of the lake because there’s where Lake George Village is located with it’s Million Dollar Beach and where most of the tourists will be. On our return we spotted the cruise ship Mohican  on the far side of the lake.

Northwest Bay

We ended the day in Northwest Bay.  It quiet beauty under scores my earlier comment. Northwest Bay Brook was tranquil.

A few kayakers and fishermen but not water skiers. The brook was quiet.