Durant Lake.
In August, we stayed at my favorite campground so far, Lewey Lake in the Adirondacks. We only stayed a couple of nights, because we had to go back to Missouri, but we vowed to come back. This time we stayed at Durant Lake, just a few miles north of Lewey Lake, and this campground was just as sweet. Autumn leaves were just beginning to change, in splashes of red and yellow along the roads and reflecting in the lakes.
Full of Friendliness
Our friendly interactions with people started at the entrance booth. While I waited in line for the ranger, a woman in her sixties and her mother-in-law started talking with me. They were here in a cabin for a week, on a trip together that the younger woman’s husband had arranged. The husband had died suddenly this summer, but the two of them came anyway, to grieve together. Later they were talking to the ranger, Kat, about going to the ADK Trading Post for lobster rolls. Kat raved about them, available only on Fridays – as fresh as Maine and heaping with meat. She ended up giving us directions and after we set up, we met the widow there.
Maple leaf.
Also while in line, an RV exactly like ours pulled up behind us. “Hey, twin!” a woman my age said as she walked by. She was there with three women friends and her daughter, and we ended up chatting several times that weekend. This whole trip, we haven’t seen a 2015 Itasca Sunstar 27N, so it was fun to compare notes. But also, these women were just so personable and fun and real. Our kind of people. If we’d had more time, we could have talked for hours.
The first morning we were dropping off garbage and pulled up alongside a truck with a lesbian couple. We were on our way out and they in, but it was one of those connections where you really just wanted to sit down and talk together. Every sentence seemed to shed light on something we had in common. We talked again the morning we were both leaving and they gave me their info and an invitation to visit close by. I thought we’d meet up with other lesbians more on this trip, but even at the Ohio Lesbian Festival, surrounded by lesbians, we didn’t have more than a few short conversations with people. Talking with these women made me realize how much I’ve missed that familiar understanding with “PLU” (People Like Us), and it was tempting to toss our schedule to the wind and follow them home, but we have tickets to a Celtic Music Festival in Nova Scotia that we need to get to.
Moose Festival
Moose we saw in Colorado.
Years ago, camping in our teardrop in Colorado, a mother moose and her baby wandered through our near-empty campsite at breakfast. It was awe-inspiring moment, and we’d love to see a moose again. We kept our eyes peeled in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and in Ontario, and again here in the Adirondacks, but no luck.
So when we saw that the Moose Festival was opening this weekend in nearby Indian Lake, we decided to check it out. We were too early for the Moose Calling Content, which could be fun (how does a moose even sound?). And too late for the ranger-led hikes into moose territory. So all we got to see were some crafts booths and a small band. But we did make yet another connection… this time with a man who sells jewelry cleaner. He spends his winters in an RV park in Florida, near the Keys. He gave us his card and suggested we look into renting a space; the rent is way below market at $300/month.
Adirondack Museum.
The Adirondack Museum
We weren’t able to visit the museum our last time through here, but it was better to go this time anyway. We weren’t rushed, and the August crowds had dwindled to a few September stragglers. This museum is amazing. We were there nearly four hours and still didn’t even get to the art museum building. It’s a great family museum, packed with interactive stuff for kids and plenty of outdoor space to run around. There are even old cabins set up for play with dishes and craft projects. A wringer washer you can use to wash dish towels and hang on a line. And lots of old fashioned toys to play with (yoyo’s, string jacks, balls-in-a-cups, etc.). I have to say, as much as I love reading historical information, that kind of interactive learning appeals to me, too, and with no kids there, Kate and I had some fun with it all.
The whole place seemed to be set up for people with museum aversions. The grounds included a large pond with leaping trout, as well as numerous cabins, tents, and outbuildings for exploring. In many places, touching was encouraged. It was a gorgeous day, and outside strolls were a welcome break between museum visits.
Milk sled.
The indoor museums were fun and interesting, too. They had lots of early buggies and sleds, and a beautifully restored private train car. If the Catskills were a back-to-nature getaway for New York’s middle and working class, the Adirondacks were the ultimate outdoor getaway for the rich. The Vanderbilts and Astors had homes here, and it was here that Theodore Roosevelt learned he’d become president after President McKinley died from assassination. Rich people still send their kids to summer camp here for $20,000 per session.
The museum includes several cabins that were donated, moved and reconstructed at the site, dating from the early 1900s to the 1970s. Many include original furniture, showcasing the bark-and-stick décor that is specific to the Adirondack region.
We loved this area just as much the second time around and wouldn’t mind coming back yet again.