#20 Lake George

#20 Lake George

We only traveled about 47 miles to Lake George.  What a beautiful area!

I chose to stay at an older park.  The newer ones wanted over $100 per night.  The park was close to our friends in Queensbury and to the Lake George Village. 

Here we found more of the long term campers with their decks, swings, flowers and fencing.

Lake George is nestled in the Adirondack Mountains.

We met our friends Jackie and Glenn in Chula Vista last Nov.-Dec.   We decided to come to Queensbury for a visit since we were passing by so close.  Little did I know how much we enjoyed the visit and their area?  Jackie loves to cook and invited us to dinner our first night there.  She out did herself and prepared a feast all of us.

Afterwards Glenn led us to Martha’s, a truly awesome experience!  Martha serves soft ice cream with infused flavors.  Our maple walnut cones tasted delicious.  We could not believe the people here on a Monday evening.  Martha also serves food and provides an outdoor eating space.

 Glenn got a doggie ice cream for Cloe, their sweet dog, complete with a milk bone.

Our second day the rain poured from the sky in big buckets.   I sat in my cozy home and watched these poor people across the road take down 3 tents in the downpour. They were able to change clothes in the trailer before a big truck came and took the trailer away. Then they left in their van.  I wrote blogs and enjoyed being indoors.

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On the third day the sun returned and we went to Lake George Village for a cruise on the lake.

The Minnie-Ha-Ha steamship with its bright red paddle wheel took us on the cruise.  Like so  many tourist sites, pictures are taken and available for purchase.   Lynn bought the pack and shared with us.

The engines are powered with steam.

When the tour has finished the excess steam that has built up is vented with the steam caliope.  As it vents the pipes play a variety of seagoing snippets.  Great Fun!

Derrille and I sat next to the railing looking out of from our seats on the side.  Lynn and Jay sat at the stern. I didn't think about a photo until we were leaving....so these people are not and of us by the way.

Lake George goes down to a depth of about 195 feet, with an average depth of 70 feet .  The entire lake measures 32 miles long by 3 miles wide.   We chose the one hour tour.  You can take one that travels almost the whole 32 miles. In the winter the lake freezes 2-3 feet down from January to April 15^th or so.   

The Lake George holds the record as the cleanest lake in New York, the 5^th cleanest in the United States and the 10^th cleanest in the world.   Glaciers formed in back in the Ice Ages. 

The Last of the Mohicans and other James Fennimore Cooper’s work were based on this area. Data collection buoys take samples from the lake to maintain the health of the lake.

The Wiawaka Center for Women is a retreat location for women.  Although our tour guide said sometimes men are allowed in the company of a woman.   I believe the white buildings behind the trees are the retreat buildings.

And here come the houses that occupy the East shore.  Notice how many homes include a deck on top of the boat houses.

I thought this might have been a houseboat:  However looking at the identical paint on the house, can see this yet another boat house.

St Mary’s of the Lake provides a retreat location for the Paulist Fathers out of New York City, I think. The Paulist Fathers officially are The Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle.

These photos represent how the edge of the lake originally looked.  This rock base may be 1.1 billion years old.  The depth at this point is recorded at 100 feet straight down.

Look carefully at these houses and notice that the boat house designs look like the main house.

A little cabin on the lake????  Note:  triple boat house parking.

A few more summer homes.

Many islands rise out of the lake.  Lake George islands provide 387 shoreline campsites on 44 state owned islands. Some islands are privately owned.

Millionaire’s Row resides on the West shore of the lake.  Our tour guide told the history of who owned what, but I didn’t remember all those names.  People like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Roosevelts and business moguls visited here and/or built themselves huge mansions.

Just a neighborhood on the lake!

This mansion added on and built houses by the shore to rent. I saw the top of the house in the last photo.

More of the big houses…

This house came with its own islands. Apparently there is a tea house on the other side.

         

 On this island you can find a small little house with its own awesome swimming hole.

Beyond the big houses come time share places and then motels.

Two beaches provide places to swim in the lake.  This one is on the west side by the motels.

Million Dollar Beach sits on the south shore.  It is so named because the state of New York spent One Million Dollars bring sand in to create the beach.

Lake George played a big part in the French and Indian wars and battles between France and England.   This wooden sculpture sits on the walkway in Lake George.

Fort William Henry Museum and Restoration are available for touring, but we have seen many real forts and chose not to see this one. France and England fought over this land for several years.

  

Lake George Village represents what most ski resorts look like in the summer time.  Lots of things tempt the tourists.

This was an ice cream stop after the cruise.

Here is a sign that caught our eye!  We wonder how it can be enforced.

Our ride on the Minnie-Ha-Ha presented us with a calm, peaceful, ride on the water. We really enjoyed our time here.   This would make a great destination wedding or honeymoon or anniversary location, or just a plain vacation.  Many activities are provided for a range of age groups. So glad we came!

However, this was Lynn’s birthday so we finished off the day at a restaurant called The Log Jam.  The rustic restaurant provided an incredible salad bar with equally incredible selections of bread. We enjoyed our tasty dinners.  It was quite a day! We ALL enjoyed Lynn’s birthday!

On to Massachusetts