T minus 90 days and counting until we begin our Round the World Trip!!!!
Today, we got to be tourists in our own backyard. Right on time, Tristan, his sister Beverly, and his brother-in-law Tony picked us up in front of our apartment. We drove to White Face Summit, a peak ~~4600 feet that seemed to be the most popular destination in northern NY. The drive meandered through Lake Placid, passed the North Pole, and through Wilmington. Traffic came to a crawl as we neared the summit and then a dead stop approximately ½ mile before the gate where we paid our outrageous fee (or what I thought was an outrageous fee—I was wrong) to get through the gates.
After a nice lunch overlooking the beautiful views of Lake Placid we set out to conquer the summit of White Face. The elevator which usually takes the masses of leaf peepers to the top of the summit was broke. So we set off on foot to climb the craggy rocks which took the more adventurous to the top of the summit. The uneven boulders and steep climb up to the summit gave us ample excuses to stop and enjoy views. The top of the summit was worth every penny and I would have paid more to enjoy the views. Whiteface summit gave the intrepid trekkers who braved the slippery rocks a 360 degree view of the amazing beauty of fall in Northern NY. The joy in seeing the vivid red, bright yellow, and sunburst orange leaves, interspersed with splashes of green from the pine trees, was nature at its finest. As we count down to our trip around the world, I am reminded that some of the most beautiful sights are right in your own backyard.
