Notes From Lake George

I have always loved Lake George. Ever since my friend Matt Berkelhammer introduced me to the "queen of American lakes" back in the late 60's, I've had a love affair with this spectacular body of water, surrounded by the towering, green Adirondack mountains.

We two Matts would drive up the NY State Thruway to Albany and then beyond, using the Adirondack Northway. We'd exit at Lake George Village, a honky-tonk town of motels and cheezy attractions and quickly head up the western shore for about 10 miles to the less developed, tiny hamlet of Bolton Landing. There, we would stock up on provisions at the grocery, rent a canoe at the Lamb Brothers boat yard and paddle out into the Narrows, a section of the 32-mile long lake that was studded with islands. Out on an island, one could pick one's own campsite complete with its own dock, a platform for pitching your tent and even its own outhouse. Signs would inform you that "Lake George is drinking water." That's how pure and pristine it was - and take heed, you should take care to keep it that way.

What fabulous, natural beauty! I was so impressed with its cool, clear water and the tall, dark, evergreen-covered mountains rising from its shores. I've never forgotten those trips to this most beautiful of alpine lakes. So it was with great excitement that I looked forward to a trip to Lake George that Stacey and I had planned for just after Labor Day. We rented a house and Dani and Erik were joining us for a week at Lake George.


Dani and Erik, hanging out in our Lake George rental house.


On a bike ride the first morning, I snapped this view of a cloud-laden lake looking north from Lake George Village.

It seems that humans have always done battle with Nature. Thus, does Lake George bristle with a history that goes back to the earliest machinations of the Europeans who occupied the "new" world and claimed vast areas for the kings and queens on the other side of the ocean. Overpowering the native inhabitants, and then using them as warriors to aid their own armies, the French and the English fought each other for control of Canada and the colonies to the south. The waterways of New York and Vermont were filled with warships of both countries as battles ensued between the warring parties. Today's Lake George has dozens of wrecks of 18th century ships, laid waste during those contests. Later on, the American revolutionaries fought the British in numerous battles on Lake George.


Lake George is a history buff's paradise, witness as it was to many fierce battles between the French, English and American revolutionaries. The small sign in rear reads: "Warship Row. Here on March 17 the British fleet of 300 warships (bateaux and sloops) was burned by the French raiders."

.......

We've had a fun time hanging out with Dani and Erik. During the day, unfortunately, Erik, who was to be off this week, has been called back to work, training for a new job. But that's only a half-hour away so he's back to the vacation house quickly for dinner and board games each evening. Dani has two months to go before giving birth and making us grandparents. This was a week away from home and a chance to just relax with family in a beautiful surrounding.


Dani at T minus two months. Checking email at Lake George.


Stacey, preparing dinner for the hungry hordes.

I brought my bike with me. Stacey left hers home, naturally wanting to stay and spend time with Dani. On my first morning out the roads were empty. This was the day after the Labor Day weekend and what was mobbed yesterday with eager tourists was empty today. Many sShops were now closed for the season, motel after motel advertised vacancies and the lake returned to a more natural and quiet status.

Lake George Village, as I stated earlier, is a town built on tourism. But what used to be grand and eloquent at the turn of the 19th to 20th century, has devolved into garish and noisy in the 21st. Also, downright weird. There are Frankenstein Wax Museums, Wild West Villages, miniature golf courses, water-slide amusement parks, endless gift stores whose windows are filled with chazerai and t-shirts emblazoned with vulgar statements, a giant Kon Tiki night club where one can see "Polynesian shows," and so on. What all this has to do with the natural beauty of America's "Queen of Lakes" is anybody's guess, but there it is and here they come! It seems that yesteryear's assaults on nature have taken on other forms today.


The House of Frankenstein (taken by photographer, Weinstein.)


After Labor Day, Lake George Village becomes a peaceful ghost-town. Here, a few straggling visitors take in the lake's magnificent beauty.

Tooling around on my bike the first day, I discovered that the local politicos have done some good things. Eager to attract tourism, which is the bedrock of the local economy, they've constructed a network of beautiful bike paths. So, on the second day of our visit, I decided to bike on one that takes you from the lake some 10 miles south to the old Hudson River paper-mill town of Glens Falls.

It seems that in the old days, before the advent of the automobile, folks would take the train from New York City. At first, they would transfer in Glens Falls to a stage coach that would take them the rest of the way to the Lake. There, they would board steamships that plied the waters of Lake George, delivering their human cargo to various, elegant hotels that dotted its shores. Later, around 1882, an additional rail spur, belonging to the Delaware and Hudson line, was built to take passengers directly to the steamboat terminals at the southern end of the lake. What an elegant way to travel!

Ultimately, the car won out and the train line was abandoned in 1958. But to think that in its heyday, five trains a day made the trip between the big city and the lake during the height of the summer. One could board a train at Grand Central and be relaxing at Lake George by day's end. Nice.

The bike path follows the route that the D&H train used to take and is a good illustration, once again of the contrast between the natural beauty and the trashy attractions that have beome a hallmark of the locality surrounding the lake.


Santa in August. Yep, at the Magic Forest on Route 9.


What's that I see there? Santa and a gingerbread house!


And if that's not Uncle Sam standing there amidst the mountains, why then, I'll be a monkey's uncle. (There are monkeys there as well! Um, not native to the area though.)


And then there's beauty...the bike path seen from my handlebars.


The path crosses a wetlands filled with beautiful colors - a precursor to the autumn season about to explode.

This bike path is quite beautiful. And quiet. I'm taking my time, reading the various signs that have been erected to inform the rider of the history of the area: There's Bloody Pond, so named because some 200 French and Indian bodies were disposed in it during one of the many battles that ensued in the 1750's. And here, it says, was an interurban trolley that once made its runs between Glens Falls and other outlying towns. Trolleys, it's said, were once so ubiquitous that you could make your way from NYC to Albany by switching from one line to another. Thanks, GM!

Finally, I arrive at my destination: Glens Falls, a very pretty town with fabulous old architecture. Look magazine, in 1944, gave the town national recognition, dubbing it "Hometown USA." I want to peruse the back streets and photograph some of the old buildings but Stacey and Dani have taken the car and are meeting me on the main street (Glen Street) at an antiques store. I've got to meet them - no time for photos. So more, perhaps, tomorrow. See you then?


A sample of Glens Falls charming old buildings: the Home For Aged Ladies on Ridge Street.