Prospect Mountain -- Dave & Lee Visit New York State – August 2006 (Part 1)

DAVE & LEE VISIT NEW YORK STATE – AUGUST 2006

A VACATION TOGETHER (DAY ONE)

Ever since coming to Austin back in August 2002, I’ve made sure to go back when I can and visit the friends and family in New York State that I left behind.  There was a period of time where that wasn’t feasible, so it’d been a couple years since I’d seen these important people.  Now the opportunity presented itself to visit again, and show off the important person in my life to those friends and family.

Flight arrangements were made, and we arrived in Albany on Saturday, 5 August.  Mum & Dad met us at the airport.  It was nice to have a welcoming committee.  We still had secured our own rental vehicle, because Lee and I would be venturing out on our own a number of times this week.

Since it was on the way towards Argyle (as we’d be staying with my parents for the week), there was an important stop-off in Ballston Spa to make.  With Mum & Dad following, we stopped off at the Tobey residence to see my alternate family.  Pete’s parents were also able to stop over, too.  It was a great afternoon of talking, and maintaining those important connections.  Of course, an excellent dinner too.

After we stayed a reasonable amount of time, it was time to head up the road.  We’d been in flight a large chunk of the day, and we wanted to get to Argyle so we could unpack and unwind.  Was a big day planned the next day?  No, not really.  But we were on holiday together, and going to take advantage of the lazy time.  There would be some trips later in the week which would require us to get up early, so we wanted to take advantage of the sleep that we could.

DAY TWO:  Sunday, 6 August 2006

Part of taking Lee to the area where I grew up was to show her all the neat things I’d left behind.  The area around Glens Falls (including Lake George and Saratoga) will always be my “home town area,” even though it was no longer my home yet.  August is a zany time for the area, and I wanted to have Lee experience this with as little interference from tourists as possible.  Once we’d had a decent breakfast, it was time to enjoy the scenery of Lake George.

The best way to view Lake George was from a high elevation, and the easiest (most laziest) way to do that was drive up Prospect Mountain.  I’d hiked it a number of times, both with Scouts and about a year before coming to Austin, but I didn’t want to spend all day on the trail.  We didn’t pack that type of footwear to start with.

The road to drive up Prospect Mountain was easy to find, because it was close to where Chuck Luce’s parents’ lived.  (I’d driven down there a number of times when Chuck and I were at Adirondack Community College together.)  Once the access road crosses the Northway, you’re on the backside of the mountain.  While the views are okay, it’s much better once you reach the parking area at the top.

Yes, that snakey-looking thing in the picture is Interstate 87, also known as the Adirondack Northway.  The few developments visible are parts of the town of Lake George (the rest is obscured by the terrain).  Near the parking area are the remains of the old cable car which used to bring visitors to the top about a hundred years earlier.  We then headed to the actual summit to reach the very top of Prospect.

There is another road there, but that’s for the shuttle to take you up, or you could go to the other side where the walking path was.  I believe we took the shuttle up, so Lee could enjoy the scenery more.  This allowed us to use the panoramic feature on the camera to get a nice shot of not only the lake, but the mountains around it.  Okay, we got some trees in the way, but it was enough to be able to retain the memories.  I confess that I miss the large mountains that New York has to offer.  The Texas Hill Country is nice, but not as majestic.

We walked back down to the parking area, and headed back towards Argyle.  This gave us a chance to soak in other areas.  Once back at my parents’ place, we presented them with the presents we’d snuck on board the plane in our carry-on luggage (a bottle of Llano wine for Mum, and a six-pack of Lone Star beer for Dad).  As usual what happens with my family, an impromptu dinner is planned, and those who are in the area come down to hang-out.  Between Dean & Laurie, Donna & Mark, John & Shirley, and Shawn & Veronica, we had a grand ole time hanging on the back patio.

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