After two-and-a-half weeks in Canada, we drove further downstream (east) on the St. Lawrence River and crossed back into the U.S. for good. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic at the border, and we made it through the immigration and customs line in about five minutes.
We settled in at Robert Moses Thousand Islands State Park for a few days. The park is located along the St. Lawrence Seaway, which includes both the river and multiple canals and locks constructed around dams on the river. In fact, to get to the state park campground, we had to pass through a tunnel UNDER the massive Eisenhower Lock.
During our stay in the park, we watched a couple freighters pass through the lock.
We also had more opportunities to take our e-bikes for spins around the campground and along the St. Lawrence River.
We traveled about an hour west to the town of Ogdensburg to visit the Frederick Remington Art Museum.
Remington, while renowned for his western sculptures, grew up in Northern New York and had studios on an island in the St. Lawrence as well as in New York City.
One interesting aspect of the museum is that it had multiple castings of some of his sculptures. The bronzes were made using the "lost wax" casting method, and you could see the differences between early and later castings as the molds deteriorated.
We also learned that Remington began his career as an illustrator for magazines and books, specializing first in black and white drawings.
He then turned to painting. He struggled a bit when he moved from pen and ink drawings, until he taught himself color theory.
His sculpture work came relatively late in his career. Similar to his painting experience, he dove in to understand the science of casting, and worked closely with foundries as he created his work.
The American West Remington depicted was mostly gone by the time he created his art, but he helped extend the mystiques of the American Cowboy and Plains Indians.
We moved on to the village of Lake Placid, NY. Along the way, we stopped to see Ausable Chasm, a dramatic gorge with waterfalls and cascades cut through layered sandstone. This family-owned tourist attraction occupies about two miles of the Ausable River as it makes its way to Lake Champlain. The Chasm was carved over the last 10,000 years as Rainbow Falls moved steadily upstream.
We'd signed up for the Classic Tour, which included a mile of trail walking on top of and within the gorge...
...followed by a raft ride through the narrowest part of the Chasm.
We set up camp in Lake Placid at a campground operated by the local volunteer fire department.
Lake Placid, the site of both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, is still a mecca for winter sports. We purchased Lake Placid Legacy Passports covering admission to several of the sites.
Visiting the various locations, we could practically picture ourselves as Olympians.
First up was Whiteface Mountain. We drove the winding Veterans Memorial Highway up the mountain toward the top.
We parked and made the final rocky climb to the summit.
There, we had dramatic 360-degree views of the Adirondacks, including views of Lake Placid and Mirror Lake, as well as the village.
In a different direction we could see Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains of Vermont in the distance. Getting out our binoculars, we could make out the Olympic ski jumps (purple circle) and the bobsled tracks (red circle).
We exited the summit via an elevator and tunnel. This was installed at the suggestion of Franklin Roosevelt when he was New York's Governor to allow disabled people access to the summit.
Driving back down the mountain, we made our way to the main ski resort and took a gondola up to Little Whiteface Mountain, a lower summit.
We could see the many ski trails (some of which were used at the Olympics) on both Little Whiteface and Whiteface Mountains.
The next day we traveled first to the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex on Mt. Van Hoevenberg, the site of the bobsled/luge/skeleton track, as well as the biathlon course.
Our Legacy Passports allowed us to take a guided tour of the facilities. We visited an indoor refrigerated track where bobsledders, luge, and skeleton athletes are able to practice their starts. We were also able to see a skeleton sled up-close-and-personal. The athletes cover the top with duct tape for traction against their suits. Each sled has a harness molded specifically for the athlete's torso.
Continuing outside, we passed over the historic bobsled track used for both the 1932 and 1980 Olympics.
It now lies in disarray because it was replaced by a start-of-the-art track in 2000. The new track is built from concrete embedded with 80 miles of ammonia piping to keep the track refrigerated from October to April.
We took a bus up to the top of the track and were able to walk down through the first few curves.
There are multiple start locations along the track so that athletes can train and work up to the full track run. Visitors can pay $125 per person for a bobsled run on wheels from the lowest start, but we passed on that opportunity.
From Mt. Van Hoevenberg we drove four miles to the Olympic Ski Jump complex.
There are two main ski jumps (90 meters and 120 meters). The current towers have been raised and improved several times since the Olympics, and the complex is the only one in North America that allows training year-round. In the summer, skiers can slide on a surface that looks like astroturf, wet down with streams of water.
Nearby, there is the Freestyle Aerial Training Center allowing summer training. There are three different-sized jumps and a 750,000 gallon swimming pool where skiers land. Bubblers in the pool help break the surface water tension, making for safer landings.
On our last day in Lake Placid we drove into the village and hiked 2.5 miles around Mirror Lake. Lake Placid lake itself, horseshoe-shaped, sits a small distance from the village. Mirror Lake is smaller, but sits right next to the downtown shops and hotels.
We then visited the Olympic Center, which is located in the center of the village.
The Center has three ice rinks: a practice rink, the rink from the 1932 Olympics...
...and another larger rink from the 1980 Olympics where the U.S. Mens hockey team beat the Soviets in the "Miracle on Ice."
Downstairs there is a museum about Lake Placid and the Olympics.
Outside the Center (and next to the high school) sits the outdoor speed skating oval. It was on this oval in 1980 that Eric Heiden swept the speed skating gold for the U.S. by winning each of the 5 distances.
Leaving Lake Placid, we began our trek back to Virginia by heading south on the New York Thruway. It was a 10 hour drive altogether, and we broke it up with an overnight stay at the community campground in Jefferson Township, NJ.
We arrived safely home late in the afternoon on August 28. It was the wrap of another successful Ciaowagen trip, and it was good to be home.
But not for long... Keep paying attention to our blog for more on that!
댓글