Fall Excursion #1

We have several short trips planned for the fall. This week we spent three days in the Adirondacks with good friends. Bob and Tracy spent two days backpacking to Phelps and Tabletop Mountains. Cathy and I dropped them off at the Adirondack Loj on Sunday about noon and picked them up late Tuesday morning. Their views were much more colorful than ours. Here are two of the many photos of the stunning scenery Tracy captured on their hike.

Cathy and I had much nicer accommodations than a backpacking tent, but we didn’t have views like this.  We had a great time, nonetheless, shopping, eating out, and a wonderful visit to The Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

The Wild Center is a natural history museum of the Adirondacks. They have wonderful interpretive displays,  several river otters, and a collection of birds that are being rehabbed. We enjoyed seeing this small falcon and hearing about the falcons in the area.

We also listened to a talk on loons . . .

and took a walk with a naturalist down to the Racquette River.

I loved the details on the bridges.

About a year ago I saw (but wasn’t able to get a good photograph of) a Wood Duck at a local pond. They are so beautiful and I had no idea why they’re called Wood Ducks. Now I know. They actually have claws that allow them to climb into trees and to find food on shore. It’s hard for me to imagine these ducks sitting in a tree.

When we picked up the guys, I walked down to Heart Lake by the lodge. In the two days we were there the colors became much more vibrant (though not to the extent they had changed at the higher elevations). Here are a few of my favorite images.

Tomorrow we’re off to the Finger Lakes and the Ithaca Farm Market. We’re meeting Tracy’s cousin and her husband at the market, hope to visit Cornell’s ornithology lab, and then do a bit of antiquing on our way home. It was very hot here today, nearly 90°, but tomorrow’s high is expected to be only 62°. Fall and its erratic temperatures is here!