Adirondacks (Still Waiting for Mongolia)

While we wait for visas, we have decided to take one last pilgrimage to the Adirondacks, land of more water and vegetation than we will see again see for another year. As on other important journeys, a trip to the Adirondacks is made by passing certain traditional landmarks, and on this trip we stopped to note of a few of the more important ones: The steer in front of Joel's Frontyard Steakhouse; the picture of the buffalo head on the Buffalo Head billboard which has looked exactly the same for decades; and the real gateway to the Adirondacks, The Wigwam, which can be recognized at a distance by the airplane fuselage embedded in its roof.

Our quick getaway started out in wind and drizzle on Saturday afternoon as we set up camp on Raquette Lake, but the weather cleared and the wind died enough for an evening paddle up an inlet that we have crossed for years without stopping to explore. Perfect weather again on Sunday, for a trip starting at Utowana Lake, over the canoe carry to the Marion River.

On the way home Monday morning our curiosity finally got the best of us and we decided to seek out the home of that cute buffalo we've been looking at all these years. His name is Buffalo Bill.

A half hour after arriving home that afternoon, our visas arrived. We are going to Mongolia.