Peace and Love

I would like to start by saying, I don't think I've ever learned so much in 6 days. I might just be as smart as Kim now!!! Just kidding Kim, much love my dear. On a serious note, I feel much more aware of what is going on in this world, but I could definitely be more informed. I will be checking out rechargenews.com for sure and reading some of those books from the Klein Library. I want to stay revved up on these topics and become more knowledgable because when I try to get others to wake up and smell the pollution they think I'm a crazy loon. Once I know and understand more of the science behind the proof they will be hearing about it and then they'll be the crazy loons if they don't believe me! Tough MuDdEr in T minus 10 hours (on "ish" time) so this is Mal signing off, thanks for an amazing experience! Over and out :)

Camp Sagamore

I'm really glad we chose to go to Camp Sagamore today because it was neat to be able to see the transition of William West Durand, design wise from Huntington to Uncas to Sagamore. It was very apparent that Sagamore was the last of the three because it was definitely the most extravagant. I enjoyed the accounts from our guide and it made sense why the buildings in Sagamore were so much bigger and more lavish because he wanted to stick it to J.P. Morgan when he had to give him Uncas. I also thought it was cool that today the actual land is considered private land but once you dipped your toe in the water you were in state territory. I wish we got to take tons of pictures though because the blacksmith shop and main camp were so cool!!

Ascending Blackbear

It was so peaceful eating lunch atop Blackbear Mountain and looking out at all the mountains and trying to get our bearings to decide if we were looking East or South. Then climbing up to the other summit to see an even better view, in my opinion, of a lake and river, though I couldn't tell you which one, but hey. While I love hiking and the outdoors, I sometimes forget about the impact we have on the land, even just hiking up a mountain and carrying our trash out and disposing of things appropriately, its impossible to leave no trace. I have many things on my bucket list, the purpose of many are to challenge me physically, I recently crossed a marathon off my list and if my lifetime I would also like to climb all 46 Adirondack high peaks (I think I've done 8 so far). I didn't consider it at first, but now I understand that this has become a bit of a trend among many tourists, which means that the land, plants, and animals are going to be impacted. I will try to do my part and counteract this to the tiniest degree I can by making my friends and family that I hike with, aware of the implications and leave the places we travel as close to the way we come across them, as possible. 

Healthy & Creative Leisure

Today on our museum excursions, I was moved by an Adirondack native named Bennie Arnold who's work (800 carvings) was donated by his wife and recognized in the Adirondack Museum. Bennie Arnold became ill as a child and while sick in bed, spent his time carving a miniature wooden chair. Later in his life after he retired, again struggling from health issues, he returned to carving. I was so inspired by him because I think many people would have wallowed in their misery or turned to an unhealthy or unproductive hobby but instead Bennie chose to do something productive and creative. He spent the next 25 years carving and selling hundreds of miniatures, but never an original, he always carved duplicates of whatever was desired by a customer. I admire Bennie for not letting his success or the demand of his carvings, make his hobby become more about money and less about enjoyment. He took pride in his work and often spent several days carving a small piece. I like the picture hanging in the museum of he and his wife because you can tell how proud she is of him and also how modest he is, I love that! 

Becoming a Realist AKA a Gloomer

I consider myself part of the population that truly does learn something new everyday. Maybe I'm just behind the learning curve, or maybe our society, including all you 1%ers should be more openminded to new ideas and ways to makes it to the year 2050! I have been vacationing to the Adirondacks for at least 18 years now and am just learning about the severity of the environmental issues it has been facing and is going to continue to face until some HUGE changes happen. I'm not just talking about little changes here and there to try and remedy the damage that has been done, I'm talking about changes in thinking and not just to Adirondack natives, but to other vacationers, policy makers and like I said, that 1%. Yes, I am embarrassed about my own cluelessness about the endangerment of a place I claim to love, but I know now and you can bet I'm going to spread the word!