The Adirondack Mountains

Splendor overflows in Northern New York State especially in the Adirondack Mountains. Every season offers so many ways to experience breathtaking scenery and Mother Nature. Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain held the the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Having grown up only 40 miles from Lake Placid, I still am amazed that such a small town successfully handled an event so global and complex.

Seasonal sports, hiking, camping, snow skiing, mountain climbing, swimming, boating on the many lakes and during the Fall it is hard to beat the intense and brilliant foliage.

In 1987 I moved to Atlanta, Georgia for my job. Quite a culture shock for me. In New York, my home town had about 300 people and 8 miles away was Plattsburgh with about 20,000 people. It took me less than 10 minutes to get to work. So in Atlanta, when I began my daily commute of an hour with bumper-to-bumper traffic in an area of 2 million people, I wondered if I had made a huge mistake. Of course, I hadn't and within a couple of months I was settled in, traded my manual transmission Mustang for an automatic sedan, and learned how to cope.

Well, getting back to my point, my first visit back the the Adirondacks was eye opening. I grew up here and realized that I never really saw the beauty of the fall colors, the snow capped mountains, the lakes and rivers. I began to understand that growing up in this area was a gift to be appreciated. The winters can be harsh. You may have caught Saranac Lake on the Nightly National News or the Today show since it's frequently the coldest place in the country.

I went on to live in Omaha, Nebraska, and Baltimore, Maryland. When I finally moved back to the North Country in 2008, I hired a moving company. When the driver got here, he was so in awe of the area, he made a point to tell me that he had to call home to let everyone know how beautiful it was here. Once you hit Albany, New York, the drive north to Plattsburgh on Interstate 87 brings you through the entire length of the Adirondacks and it is a spectacular drive. Over the years people would ask me where I wanted to retire to and I always told them I was going home to the Adirondacks.

The Adirondack Park Agency has done a good job in preserving this place that we all love. Sometimes the APA is hard to take since our feelings are if we own the land we should be able to do what we want. In fact, along Interstate 87, there was no cell phone service north of Lake George until you got to Plattsburgh. The APA recently allowed towers disguised as giant pine trees, thankfully. But it cannot be denied that this preservation is worthwhile.

If you love the outdoors, you will love the Adirondacks.

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