The Koles are going for some extended family visits in Ohio and camping in upstate New York. I'll be back to hit the campaign trail with a vengeance on Wednesday, August 16.
It happens that both my mom's and Ame's mom's birthdays are the same calendar day- August 13th. Plus, two of Ame's grandparents are sharing a 90th birthday party. So, there will be plenty of candles and cake & ice cream.
Many family members are going to Adirondack Park for Ame's mom's birthday. Ame & I will get there ahead of the gang so that we can camp at Long Pond, our most favored camp site in the Adirondacks, near the very small town of Speculator, NY. With any luck, NYC friends will meet us there.
Alex with New Yorkers Steve Wainstead and Greg McNair, as we prepare to bushwhack our way to the top of the granite mountain we jokingly refer to as "Mount Wainstead". It has an expansive plateau at the top, and tons of wild blueberries, which will be ready for harvest. July, 2005.
Greg, Mike, Ame, and Steve freeze while posing at Long Pond, in Fall 2003.
This will be Isabel's first wilderness camping experience. I suspect it will be more trying on Ame & I than on her, as we try to keep her safe. She's very independent and curious- a good thing, to be sure! Alex is 14, and can handle a full-sized pack, which makes the adults smile. This will be his fourth trip to Long Pond. I think this will be my 10th trip here.
We positively love it here, especially once black fly season is over. This particular location is very isolated- it receives fewer than 200 hikers/year! Without any light pollution, the stargazing is phenomenal. We really hope an early start fosters an enjoyment in nature in Isabel.
Mike & Alex strike the Age of Exploration pose atop the granite mountain, well above our campsite on Long Pond, seen in the background. The dogs will stay in Indiana this time. July 2005.
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