North Pole Resorts, Saturday, April 19

4 Rialtariders today! We leave the campground around 11:00 and drive to High Falls Gorge. It is $12.00 each to walk the trail, so we decide to move on! We drive to Whiteface Mountain and take some photos. There is still a bit of snow on the trails!

We drive to the ski jump sites used during the 1980 Olympics. These are now used for training and various events. The elevator to the top of the jump will open next weekend, so we move on, but not before we marvel at the height and steepness of these jumps!

We visit The John Brown Farm, a State Historic Site . A very knowledgeable guide tells us about John Brown's life. He was active in the abolitionist movement 16 months before the Civil,War began, in 1849, he bought 250 acres of land in this area and set up a farm. He had 2 wives and 18 children! He was away from home much of the time, working with the abolitionists. In October, 1859, he attempted to incite a slave riot by attacking the US Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and was arrested. He was hanged on December 2. His body now rests on his farm. The guide explained that this event was like a tree which has blown over. The leaves are still intact, the tree is still alive, but the roots have been exposed, and the tree is now vulnerable. So it was with slavery. It still existed, but John Brown and his men had exposed its roots, making it vulnerable to change.

We drive to Lake Placid and have lunch at The Farmhouse Cafe. . .good food and reasonable prices! Then, we shop till we drop! There are lots of stores along the Main Street! I buy myself a new outfit for golf! Surprise!

We return to the campground and Sandy and Ed make dinner for us. . .lentil tacos and salmon burgers! Feeling spoiled! But the best is yet to comeLæs mere