Tramp spent a couple of nights on the banks of beautiful lakes in the mountains of New York

There is something a bit odd about travelling through Pennsylvania, New York and the states of New England without stopping at the great cities of New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Boston.  But this trip is not about the cities, it’s about the mountains, the coastlines, the natural wonders of the places we visit.  We can hit the cities on another trip, in another time, with a bigger budget. For now we want to keep it small, keep it slow and keep it simple.

Putting the various Civil War sites behind us, we moved north across Pennsylvania, enjoying the green rolling fields and the regular sights of grain silos at each farm.  We detoured to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area which lined the Delaware River and briefly enjoyed a beautiful drive along the river bank on the New Jersey side.  We ended the day in New York camped on the banks of a small lake in the Catskills Mountains.  The Catskills are known for the weekend retreats, small cabins and remote homes that are within reach to middle class New Yorkers.  But some of the homes and facilities seemed past their used by dates and with it being mid-May and the weather quite cool there were only a few hardy travellers to grace the lake’s shores.

We periodically go through these obsessions with old barns and we saw some good ones in the Catskills

Another great old barn. Notice the grain silos are starting to appear.

Stepping sideways for a moment, baseball has always been part of my life, as a fan, player, coach and administrator.  The sport has been handed down to our kids, who all played the game, and Julie who is now an avid fan, scorer and all-around support team.  As kids my Dad used to take all of us to Candlestick Park in San Francisco to see the mighty Giants play and I waited (not so) patiently for 54 years for them to finally win a World Series.

I finally made it to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame

All young boys had a sports hero and here he is mine in Cooperstown

In mid-state New York there is the small town of Cooperstown which is known as the home of baseball and hosts the famous Baseball Hall of Fame.  And so it was that Julie and I spent over three hours there, wandering amongst their fabulous exhibits on the history of the sport, the different teams, the famous moments and of course, the most famous players.  The museum also featured detailed displays of some of the most controversial moments in the sport, the old Negro leagues, women’s baseball leagues, the Latin American influence on the game, changes to the rules and uniforms, great stadiums, you name it.  There is no better celebration of the game in one place and we loved every moment.

The state of New York is best known for the one of the most dynamic and significant cities in the world – New York City.  But the state also features some outstanding mountains, not necessarily in height or jagged edges but in forests, rivers, lakes and winding roads.  The Catskills proved to be a warm-up act for the next set of mountains – the Adirondacks.

Some of our campsites in the Adirondacks were stunningly beautiful

We didn’t get too many great vista views of the mountains but this one gives you a hint

And another barn complex

Some of the old homes must have been stately and quite grand in their heyday

A huge mountain range as old as time, the Adirondacks (kind of hard to remember how to pronounce it) cover most of the northern stretches of New York and provide almost unlimited recreation activities for people near and far.  One fabled town, Lake Placid, has even hosted two Winter Olympic Games, in 1932 and 1980.

The Adirondacks are where mountains, forests and lakes beautifully collide

As we wound our way up and around the mountains, following streams, along ridges, through cute little towns that were still suffering from Springtime sleepiness we couldn’t help but admire the fantastic options for people to enjoy these mountains.

There is probably a beaver in this photo

One of the many fast moving rivers cutting through the Adirondacks

There were trailheads everywhere for those who wanted to explore the mountains by foot, fly fishing for those so inclined, canoeing and kayaking on all the beautiful lakes, we saw many snow mobile and cross country skiing signs for the winter, there were endless roads to explore, little towns – or hamlets as they called them – to visit and much more.  We were a little envious of all the great recreation opportunities these mountains offer.

A nice view from your veranda if you can get it

Lake Placid is a small touristy town on the banks of a beautiful lake that has hosted two Winter games but the town does not lean heavily on this history as part of its promotion.  Julie and I had to work hard to see the two ice rinks, including the larger 1980 rink that was the site of America’s famous victory over the Soviet Union in what is now called the Miracle on Ice.  We also saw the huge ski jump structures that tower over the trees outside of town and the outdoor speed skating rinks.  All good fun.

Lake Placid in upstate New York hosted two winter Olympic games

American sports sacred ground – the rink where the US beat the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics – the Miracle on Ice

The huge ski jumps rise high above the trees

We just couldn’t shake the winter sports theme in these mountains

With some reluctance we finally left the Adirondacks the next day but not before a beautiful drive down the Ausable River with its world famous fly fishing and stunning high mountains all around.  Even spots of snow were spotted on the shady slopes high above.  We took a ferry across picturesque Lake Champlain, named after the French explorer who trod these parts in the 1870’s, and crossed into green Vermont.  The Adirondacks are definitely an area we would like to come back to, perhaps in summer to do some walking and paddling.  Maybe we’ll have to put it on our list for the next trip.

Turn right for Vermont, our next destination