Hiking, Bobsled, and Skeleton In Lake Placid NY

One has to wonder if you looked at the choices, hiking, riding the bobsled down an icy track, or navigating a sled during a skeleton ride which of these choices would give someone a bloody nose?
The answer seems obvious, skeleton! You are inches from the ice with your head bouncing occasionally off the ground, if you picked this one you were wrong! Hiking the least obvious choice was the culprit. Hiking through the snow a twig–no joke, a twig managed to find Dave’s nose and puncture the sensitive tissue of the nose causing quite an event.
On the other hand the bobsled and the skeleton where an amazing and exhilarating ride down an ice-covered track, while not as long as a real Olympic event for us amateurs still quite the ride. Check out Lake Placid winter fun .

Winter Carnival Gala Parade


A sure sign that the carnival is winding down is the annual Winter Carnival Gala Parade. This year the theme was Prehistoric Park. We had lots of new and entertaining entries and some classic moments by the “Lawn Chair Ladies.” I knew I was in the north when we had a group dressed as Union soldiers who were firing their classic rifles. Bring on spring now!!!

Kathy & Dave

Kathy & Dave consider western New York to be our home. We love to hike and travel, exploring the world around us. Dave retired from the National Park Service after 30 years and had the opportunity to live in National Parks like Redwood, Shendandoah,Death Valley, Biscayne, American Memorial Park (in Saipan/Guam), and others. His last park before retiring was the Blue Ridge Parkway where he was actively involved with establishing the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Kathy has extensive experience in the medical field, from pushing papers to working with patients.

After working for the same hospital (Dave as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and Kathy in the Revenue Cycle Division as the Director of PFS), they sold their home and began a 10-month trip around the world, visiting 20 countries.  Then, COVID hit. 😒  After 78 days and only 3 countries, they had to return to the US.  But where in the US, since they had sold their home??

First, it was back to the wide open spaces of the Adirondack Mountains.  There is no place better to ride out a global pandemic than Saranac Lake! Then, they finally bought a log cabin on 2.3 acres in western NY.  It is good to be back near family again!  Kathy went back to work working part time for her old hospital in North Carolina (remotely) and Dave is doing a smattering of per diem jobs, from being an EMT for the County Health Department to teaching CPR at the community college.  Dave also started a new career as a Travel Agent!  Check out Daves Travel Agency if you are interested in booking a trip.

Winter Palace Saranac Lake, NY


Winter Carnival is in full swing. The dinosaurs are on display, the maze has some new twists, and the miniature arctic golf challenge was a “beast”.

On the second hole, Dave tried to circumvent the tube that the ball needed to go through to get to the other side of the course. Whacking the ball with some force, Dave caused the ball to go flying over the hill and outside the course, landing in a pile of deep powdered snow. Just to make it interesting his ball was WHITE.

Jill came to the rescue after all of us looked and looked. She managed to find the ball and get Dave back on the course.

We climbed a “volcano” made of ice and walked on Lake Flower. Good times at Winter Carnival.

Winter Carnival – 2019

 

Events: Winter is upon us and as we bundle up against the cold we look forward to seeing the Winter Palace take shape! Visit the Winter Carnival

Trips: Past trips are being remembered and future trips planned. Stay tuned and be part of our exciting adventures.

Volunteer: Volunteer travel is a unique balance of travel and volunteering. Currently we are exploring several options and look forward to sharing with you our choices.