A couple of weeks ago, my parents and I took a very short trip up into the Adirondack Mountains (which is just a 4-hour drive from where we live). I’ll get to that trip in a minute, but when I logged onto my blog this morning, I also realized it has been over a year since I’ve posted anything. And boy, what a year it has been! So at the bottom of this post (after all of the Adirondack stuff) is a mini-life update as well.
My parents and I were looking for a quick, easy trip to take between a few different obligations this summer. Although we used to go to the Adirondacks more often when I was a kid, it’s been a while, so we decided to check out a new-to-us part of the Adirondacks. It was just a 2-night, 3-day trip.
On the first day, we drove up in the morning, checked into our campsite (Little Wolf Campground in Tupper Lake, NY), then spent the afternoon at The Wild Center.
The Wild Center was really cool! There are various trails you can explore, plus the Wild Walk, a walk that takes you through the treetops and provides views of the surrounding mountains. As you walk along, there are lots of information plaques that tell about the various wildlife that can be seen. I think the Wild Walk was our favorite part of the center, but we also really enjoyed the Forest Music area (you walk through a trail in the woods while listening to music playing from speakers that was specifically composed for the walk) and the museum’s Hall of the Adirondacks.
That evening, we set up our campsite, ate dinner, then my mom and I took our kayaks out on Little Wolf Pond (our campsite was right on the water) just before sunset.
Our second day, we hiked to the fire tower at Arab Mountain (and then climbed up the fire tower- it was a windy day, so that was a bit scary!).
After lunch, we walked along Tupper Lake at the municipal park, where there are plaques along the lakeside that tell about the town’s history. We also drove up to Saranac Lake and walked around the town. We enjoyed another night at our campsite before heading home the following morning.
And now for a little life update:
The past year has been quite the year. After March 13, 2020, the school I work at went fully remote for the remainder of the school year. We were fortunate to go back to school with most students face-to-face in September, and besides a few days when we had to close for contact tracing purposes, we remained face-to-face almost the entire year. Students could choose to remain remote, however, so we taught both remote students and in-person students simultaneously all year. It was challenging, to say the least. My fifth grade classroom was in the school library for the entire year, and I also rotated to the other 2 fifth grade classrooms each day, which were in the school cafeteria and school art room. I’m hoping that the coming school year will be more “back-to-normal”!
Obviously, all travel plans had to be put on hold, and although I was able to make it to Tennessee once, I’m itching to travel further abroad soon! My sister has been in Australia since March 2020 (you can read more about her time there on her blog), and I’m hoping she’ll be able to come home to visit sometime in the fall.
In more exciting news, I bought a house last October and moved in last December! It was my grandparents’ house, and I’m slowly making it my own. I have quite a few house projects I’m hoping to complete before heading back to school in the fall. In the meantime, I’m grateful to have this beautiful house that’s perfect for me, and I’m enjoying kayak trips down the river in my town and spending time with my family.
The Oke Den 