Adirondacks Picture Overload

We went to the Adirondack area of New York last week.  I had never been there, or even heard much about it before we were planning our trip.  What an amazing place!  It is a beautiful part of the country that has been kept mostly wilderness.  There are lakes everywhere surrounded by mountains and shear awesomeness.

The first day we were there, we rode the gondolas up to the top of Gore Mountain and went hiking.  On our way there, we saw this place called The Barking Spider, and I had to take a picture for my Dad.  It made me laugh.

Our hike on the mountain was a lot of fun.  The kids ran around the whole time.

There was a rock maze that they each did quite a few times.  Tanner tried, but just wanted to climb over the rocks.

We had a picnic on the top of the mountain on a chair lift they turned into a park bench.

Tanner enjoyed being able to roam around and explore.

Every now and then, he would stop to just enjoy the view (for about two seconds).

The other kids found boulders, bushes and puddles and declared their own lands.  They played in Stephenland most of the time.  Mostly because he claim almost the whole mountain to be his.

We hiked across the ski trails and the forest areas in between them.  Looking at the kids, you might forget and think it was winter in Arizona because this is what they would probably be wearing there, but it isn't.  Just a nice Lake George summer.

Here they are at the entrance to Stephenland.

And the Lord of Stephenland surveying his vast expanse.

Tanner made sure all the flowers were thoroughly inspected, and picked enough to keep the population under control.

Then we enjoyed some cold treats at the lodge back at the bottom.

This picture is for their cousin Hudson.  They thought it was pretty funny there was a Hudson River- you know like our cousin baby Hudson!

The place we stayed was a condo on Tripp Lake.  The subdivision has a private beach with boats, sand toys, and of course a life guard.  All the beaches in New York have life guards and are only open during certain hours.  I'm surprised the kids were allowed to have toys in the water- most places here you can't.

Most of our days there were spent playing in the sand and making new friends.

The boys found two brothers just their ages and had a great time setting traps for the Lake George Monster and planning their attack for it.

Blake did A LOT of paddling that week.

Tanner had a blast running, stomping, and splashing at the beach.

Stephen's favorite thing was the double kayak.  This picture is just him in the single with Blake.  I must not have gotten any of them in the double.

Brady loved playing frisbee.  He wanted to do it every day we were there.

Tanner thought it was pretty fun too!

Berkeley was a bit of a water baby most of the time.

There was a playground right on the beach, so that was really nice.  The kids were able to have a fun thing to do when it was too cold to be swimming, and Tanner loves swings.

Stephen and Brady made their own "canoes" out of boogie board and pool noodles.  They paddled them around the swimming area over and over.

Tanner walked up and down the lounge chairs for a long time.

He would rest a bit, then start over.

He absolutely loved being outside so much!

He did not, however, love it when I left him to go on the boats with the other kids.

Berkeley really wanted a picture of her and her water lily she picked on our kayak ride.

Eventually, Tanner wore himself out and couldn't play any more, so we went home.  Well, we were leaving anyway.  

We had such a great time! Everything was so fun and low key.  I think it might be one of my favorite vacations we have gone on since we had kids.  We liked it so much that we might stick around New York after graduation for a month or so next summer so we can go again!