We
rolled into Lake George Escape Campground on the Sunday of Memorial
Day Weekend and WOW was it wild! This is a HUGE campground in the
Adirondack Mountains and this place was filled! I mean, I have never
seen anything like it. There were so many cars. And kids on bikes
and pedal cars were everywhere in the streets with complete disregard
of cars. I couldn't wait for Monday when everyone would leave ;). I
like when there are lots of people in the campground but this was too
many and it was just madness.
That
aside, it was a fairly nice campground and the area where we were
assigned was the best, in my opinion. There was quite a bit for the
kids to do but unfortunately their season doesn't officially start
until closer to the end of June and all of the things like the
arcade, pedal cars, train rides and rec hall would not be open during
the week. And sadly, the pool was under construction and did not
open before Memorial Day as originally planned. An additional
negative was their laundry room...They had plenty of washers and
dryers but it was SOOOO dirty in there that I was wondering if my
clothes would come out cleaner than before they entered the washing
machine!
But Jordan was able to find a friend to play with every moment that we or they were not out
and they both had a chance to check out the pedal cars.
Our
first outing was to Lake George Village and I hate to be negative
again but it was really kind of depressing. We first went to Fort
William Henry.
This fort was occupied by the British during the
French and Indian War. However, they would lose control to the
French in 1757. One of the things this fort is known for is the
attacks of the tribes after the war was over. According to those at
the fort, when the British surrendered to the French there was an
agreement that the British soldiers could take many of their things
with them. This angered the Native Americans who fought with the
French because those were the items that they would normally receive.
When the natives went into the fort and found all was gone, they
killed the remaining people who had been too sick or wounded to leave
and then went to a nearby hospital and did the same. Still not
satisfied, they dug up the graves of soldiers who had died prior to
the siege and took their belongings. Unfortunately, many of those
who had died had perished from small pox which the natives then
carried back to their tribes nearly decimating them.
But this
fort was pretty sad. It is not a national park and I am unsure who
owns/runs it. It is in a poor state which is even more sad when you
learn that it is a replica built in the 1950s! The displays were
dirty with cobwebs and debris indicating that they really had
not been cleaned in a while. Several of the rooms were “under
construction”. It just felt poorly taken care of and lonely. It
is a living history fort but the living history parts only took place
during scheduled times (every 2 hours). This was basically a video,
discussion of the fort history, and musket and cannon firings. Only
one of the three living history characters seemed to enjoy being
there. I expected so much more especially since it was Memorial Day,
but not even on that day. Regular admission price would have been
$49 for our family but we had a Groupon for $33. Thank goodness!
After
the fort, we walked along Lake George in the little village. It just
felt past its prime with boring and cheap little shops. But I don't
really get why it is that way. The lake was really pretty as
well as the mountain views and so it seems like it would be a desirable
destination. But, we were ready to get out of there.
We left
there and decided to hike up Prospect Mountain. We had read some
very good reviews about it and took the challenge. It was SOOOO
hard! It was a non-stop rocky climb with an elevation gain of about
1600 ft.
It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to the top and
close to an hour on the way back down. The view from the top was
great but hazy. But the worst part of it all was that we discovered
that we could have just driven to the top!! True, it would not have
been the same adventure but that hike was seriously a killer!
We
spent most of the week at the campground doing the usual boring stuff
like grocery shopping and laundry but on Friday, the kids and I were
able to meet up with an old friend from high school and her four
children. I had not seen Erica in over 20 years! Facebook is great
for being able to keep up with old friends this way. We met at
Natural Stone Bridge and Caverns in Pottersville. It is home to the
largest marble cave entrance in the eastern US.
The
kids hiked and explored together while Erica and I tried to catch up
on the last 20 years. It was a pretty place with an easy hike. We
saw waterfalls and caves and enjoyed each others company.
Afterward,
the kids would buy a geode to cut open and then do some gem panning.
Check out Jacob's portion of the loot!
That
weekend, we would head to Saratoga National Historical Park. The victory
at Saratoga gave the Patriots enough credibility that would gain them
an alliance with France, then Spain and the Netherlands. It would be
called the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
We
toured the battlefield by car trying to imagine what took place
(the Neilson Farmhouse-Headquarters for Benedict Arnold and Enoch Poor)
then
returned to the visitor's center for more fun. They had a GREAT raised-relief map
that lit up to show where the forces were, where the battles
took place and how it all progressed. It was SOOOO very helpful! Every battlefield park should have one!
They
also had a nice area for the kids to dress in soldiers uniforms and
play in a tent.
And
another cool thing was that one of Greg's coworkers stopped by and
they were able to visit for a little while.
On the
way back to the campground, we took a little detour to the nearby
town of Bolton Landing (recommended by one of the soldiers from the
fort). There, we stopped to view the Sagamore
Hotel, whose “history dates back to the 1880s".
Pretending
like we belonged there, we just explored the grounds a little and
checked out the beautiful views.
While it seemed a little difficult
to maneuver through with our big truck, Bolton Landing really seemed
nice and like a desirable tourist destination. But our time was
short and we did not get the explore that further.
The Adirondacks were gorgeous and even though we didn't love Lake George, there were plenty of other beautiful areas to make up for it.
Our next
stop is Salem/Boston, Massachusetts!
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