The 'Long' Way to Kayaking

We wanted to kayak on Long Lake and Dave had the brilliant idea to incorporate a trip back to Tahawus, aka the historical town of Adirondac. You may recall that two years ago around the same time, I posted about this ghost town and the iron mining that started the settlement  https://intoanewhorizon.blogspot.com/2021/09/ghost-town.html. Since the temps were still in the 40's the morning of our recent trip, we opted to go to Tahawus and hike first, while the sun warmed the air, then head on over to Long Lake. Our first stop on the lengthy dirt access road was the Blast Furnace. What an amazing piece of history, but unfortunately it only was in service for a couple of years due to a flood and transportation issues. 

Then it was on to what is left of Adirondac, but I didn't take photos of the remaining house chimneys, since I posted that before. We did take a nice hike to Lake Henderson with its gorgeous view of Henderson Mountain and the changing color of the leaves. There must have been a huge rockslide on the mountain since you can see the bare spot in the distance. You can portage your kayaks and gear the approx. half mile to the water and go camping on one of the primitive campsites on the lake. We watched three guys do just that, but they had to take several trips since all their gear and the guys wouldn't fit in the kayak and canoe at the same time.

This is where Lake Henderson becomes the Hudson River.  

Then it was time to go to Long Lake and treat ourselves to lunch on the Adirondack Hotel's enclosed porch overlooking the lake. This moose greeted us and its eyes seemed to follow us everywhere!

Long Lake lives up to its name. It is 14 miles long and very narrow, almost looking like a fjord.  

We had a great paddle and only encountered one boat the whole time...we are loving this time of year! However, we were shocked to see that the pond that we kayaked in last time, was empty. During the heavy rains and flooding in July, the dam broke and the water drained out (there were also a couple of bridges on our way to the lake that had washed out and temporary ones were in place while they are rebuilding).

Even though our kayaking was abbreviated, we still had one of our best days exploring both on land and water. Returning to places that we discovered on our own is always a great experience. We never know what other interesting things we will find!

Another Fort!

We have been making up for lost time from this past summer. We have had two great weeks of sunny and mostly calm weather, and although it has been a bit chilly, we seem to be used to it and dress accordingly. W have been out kayaking almost daily, and even headed up to Lake Champlain's Rouses Point, which is right at the U.S./Canadian border. It has been a few years since we have been this far north and couldn't wait to see one of our favorite forts, Fort Montgomery, aka Fort Blunder. Bult in the 1800s to keep the British from invading the U.S. from Canada, it originally was found to have been on the Canada side of the border. Eventually the border lines were moved and it became part of New York State. 

The fort has been falling into ruins for many years and was for sale for a decade, until two brothers who are orthopedic surgeons purchased it about a year ago. Here is an original for sale from years gone by, and it ended up selling for $750,000. 

Although they said that they have big plans to renovate it, make the property a winery, and hold events and weddings, nothing appeared to have been started yet. Many years ago we were brave and ventured on land to explore and it was filled with garbage and graffiti, so there is plenty of work to be done and money to be invested. 

I like how this corner looks like the bow of a ship.

Here is a good article about Fort Blunder's history...

https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/fort-blunder-american-most-embarrassing-gun-battery/

I hope the new owners do what they intended to do with it. What an interesting place to own, especially since I read that it also includes 300 acres of land!

Annual Wet Meet

Today was the annual Mohawk Hudson Chapter of the Antique Outboard Motor Club's Swap Meet in Schroon Lake. Since this is a wet meet also, there were several classic boats there too, ours included! Unfortunately the iffy weather kept some of the usual boaters away, but we still had fun. Dave took two trips to and from Ticonderoga and Schroon Lake to trailer both his wood Aristocraft named PEGASUS and his latest addition to the collection, his aluminum Cadillac named SNAZZY. 

We launched both boats, thanks to the help of Jim Ryan and Ken and Don Gibbons. I love my 'Boat Boys' who make my life easier!

Here a few photos of the boats and outboards featured at this event...

 

 

Footnote: We also went to the annual truck show in Ballston Spa last weekend. It was huge this year and the trucks were packed in so tight that I couldn't take any good photos. It sure was awesome though, and I apologize for no blog post about it.

Moonglow

It has been quite a few years since we have been to the annual Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival, and with perfect clear, cool, and calm conditions, we decided to go down to Crandall Park in Glens Falls for Moonglow night. It is more of a sunset event with hundreds of people watching the balloons being set up and inflated, then tethered to stay on the ground (usually just being held by crew members). There were 13 balloons, all so colorful and unique, with some being inflated, and others being deflated as nighttime approached.

At night the propane fired burners really lit up the characters:

In honor of the 50th anniversary of this festival, there was a gigantic birthday balloon on site...and gigantic it was, especially standing underneath it. You can even hire it for your party or event!

What a fantastic way for everyone to get up close and personal with the balloons, their crews, chase vehicles and to find out how they work.

First they are unrolled, attached to the baskets, which are on their sides, and filled with air from large fans.

Then when they are almost filled, the burners are lit.

Then it's time to tip up the basket and hold it down!

Moonglow was a huge success, and the quarter super moon setting made it even better (that's it to the right of the lion).

Next time we hope to show up with a shirt like this crew member, that was total hot air balloons. However, we won't be showing up with a balloon though. I read that the initial cost can be from $40,000-$150,000! That doesn't include training, certification, travel costs, crew, propane, and maintenance. The shirt works for us and we'll watch everyone else. 

Footnote: These balloons and many more were scheduled to fly from the Glens Falls Airport this Friday and Saturday morning and evening, weather permitting.

Annual Paddle to the BIG Rock

This morning was a perfectly crisp, calm day to take our annual kayak trip from the Ticonderoga beach across the lake to Rogers Rock. We were the only ones there, which was awesome.

There were a few fishing boats out on the lake because it was so calm, but nothing like it is during the summer. We made it to the big slide...

Dave couldn't resist taking his last plunge of the season into the 70 degree water.

The water was so clear that he found this old anchor and chain that was caught in a bunch of rocks close to shore.

What a beautiful view down the lake towards Black Mountain, and a spectacular trip!

Boats & Bikes

We just had our big annual weekend of shows and events. Friday was the Adirondack Nationals car show, and although Dave and Jim Ryan went up to Lake George Village to see the cars cruising the streets, they got rained on...more like a deluge. ☔⚡ Saturday was supposed to rain too, but it ended up being a fine day for the Tugboat Roundup at the lock in Waterford.

I only took a few photos because I have posted so many in past years, but the John J. Harvey fireboat was our favorite. Every hour they did a water display. Afterwards the engineer and his wife gave a tour of the engine room. Only a couple other people wanted to go down in this very hot area, so it pretty much ended up being a private tour for just us (sorry no photos of the 5 engines this year).

Sunday was the famous Rice-o-Rama Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Show and swap meet in Spencer, Massachusetts. My brother and sister-in-law, Rick & Eva, had come up from FL to visit and attend, now that they are retired and able to take time to go. Storms came in around 2pm (what a wet summer it has been), keeping away quite a few spectators, but everyone there had a good time.

Dave's favorite of the show was this custom made frame with an aircraft engine in it. It sounded awesome and rates right up there with Dave's inventions. 

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, we picked up a respiratory virus and bronchitis. We tested for Covid several times and results were negative, but it doesn't make us feel any better. It all takes time to get over and for awhile we will lay low. Hopefully we are better by next weekend for the annual Ballston Truck Show!