Backroads ~ A Family Reunion

We had a terrific and fun week at Montana's Glacier National Park.    We had a family reunion and we all participated in an active travel vacation through 'Backroads'.  The 'Backroads' staff put up and took down our tents.  They cooked and did the dishes for us.  They were superb guides.  They cheered us on!!  They played games with us and were positive, knowledgeable, personable and energetic all the while.  They really did their best to accommodate us!

We traveled cross country by train to get there.

In the park we toured by boat.

We hiked.

We biked.

The kids went horseback riding.

We participated in skits.

Some went whitewater rafting.

We played games.

We ate

and ate.

We socialized.

We never got our fill of the magestic scenery.

Some slept in tee pees.

We all slept in tents.

We saw moose.

We saw bear.

We saw elk and

...mountain goat.

After our goodbys...we boarded a plane back home and brought back with us priceless memories.  Thank you Craig and Lori for making this trip happen!!

The Adirondack's...We Had A Wonderful Time At The Dartbrook Lodge

   

Thank you Susan from A Southern Daydreamer for hosting another fun Outdoor Wednesday. 

I would like to share with you an earlier post.  I posted this in June...before I had the pleasure of participating in Outdoor Wednesday's. 

Please schroll down and read about one of our visit's to Keene, NY and our stay at the Dartbrook Lodge. 

On the babbling brook in Keene, NY is the Dartbrook Lodge... 

Posted on 6/22/09

Hello! I hope your last week was lovely! We had a great trip up in the North Country. The Dartbrook Lodge in Keene, NY is where we spent the bulk of our nights. I can't get enough of this lodge. It's rustic. The staff is gracious and the grounds and decor are beautiful with wild flowers amongst the pine and birch trees. From the property you can see the Adirondack high peaks and hear a babbling brook. Yes...there really is a brook at Dartbrook Lodge! Please enjoy the pictures below of the main lodge and its porch. I hope you can see through the pictures how special this property is. It's like stepping back in time except with all of the amenities of today.  Craftsmanship at its best.  Tomorrow I'll show you pictures of the inside of the cottage we stayed in and some of the other cottage's that they let me peak inside. I hope you enjoy a warm and sunny summer day! ~amy

An outside view of the main lodge.

Notice the bark siding.

Plenty of places to sit, relax, read a book and just take it all in.

Pretty lamp on the reception desk in the main lodge.

The front of the reception desk. Look at all of those twigs.

Bench in the reception area.

These stars hanging from the porch ceiling light up at night. They were so pretty!

Checkers anyone?

Some more rustic furniture on the porch. These were big rocking chairs.



If you're interested in seeing the inside of the cottages I posted earlier of the Dartbrook lodge...please follow these links...

Inside Dartbrook Lodge 6/23/09 
&
Inside Dartbrook Lodge 6/24/09

Pink Sidewalks

My post is simple today.

This is how I envision the sidewalks of heaven to look like.

Have a lovely weekend! ~amy

Adirondack Dreaming...Another Step Closer

Thank you Susan from A Southern Day Dreamer for hosting another fun Outdoor Wednesday!

I mentioned in a few posts back that it is our dream to build a small vacation home up in the Adirondacks.

Well...way up north in the high peaks of the beautiful Adirondacks is a parcel of land we can now call our own. This past Friday Kurt and I closed on a piece of land that some day we would like to build a vacation cottage on. We've drawn up a rough house plan and now we wait until the time is right to build. Below are a few snippets of our parcel of land. We spent Labor Day weekend up there enjoying the perfect weather and dreaming. So far we searched for the right piece of land. Purchased it. The next step will be to get utilities on to it...then to build our cottage. One step at a time. Did I mention that the weather was purrrrfect? ~amy

Not The Kind Of Pothole That You Think

Thank you Susan from A Southern Daydreamer for hosting this Outdoor Wednesday. Below are a few pictures from our visit to High Falls Gorge in Wilmington, NY. While on our hike along the gorge we saw beautiful trees, flowers, wildlife and rock. We even saw potholes. Not the kind of potholes we are accustom to in the Northeast from plows and salt trucks removing snow off the roads. The potholes at the gorge were formed over long periods of time by a whirlpool along the shore of a fast flowing stream. At first...the sand carried by the water will slowly grind away the rock until a small hole is formed. As the hole grows in depth and size...it is able to trap larger pebbles. These in turn continue to grind away at the rock. Eventually...the hole is big enough to trap larger stones. If the water flow is fast enough these will swirl around until they also become round as they grind away at the sides and the bottom of these holes. Click on the images to get a closer look.

Maddie, Christina and me on the trails. Notice we have our jackets on. It has been a cool and wet summer in the East. Can you see the moss on the walls and the cedar tree branches?

Over 600 feet of fierce falls. Notice the trails extends over and from the sides of the gorge.

A visual on how a pothole is formed.

Some of the potholes I took a picture of. Look how round they are. Click on to the picture to get a closer look.

This Is My Town

Last evening I took a leisurely stroll through town and took some pictures. I had so much fun snapping pictures of spots that I admire and talking to old and new friends along the way. I'd like to show you some pieces from my town. ~amy