Just Drivin' to the Grocery Store!

One the things I love most about living here in Keene Valley is that even running errands is an extraordinary experience. The views take your breath away. I met a man last week who has lived here all his life and he still pulls over to the shoulder of the road to stare at the beauty. I hope I never get used to it either.

I thought I'd take you on a trip to our grocery store. Enjoy!

As we begin our climb out of the valley, we pass huge cascades of ice clinging to the cliffs along the road. Unfortunately, most of them are in rather dangerous spots so it's hard to get a picture. This was the best we could do . . .

Interestingly, many of them are blue ice. Not sure why yet.

A little further along we come to a beautiful stretch of road where giant mountains rise out of the fields. Everytime we drive through this area, we see "Destiny Ranch" all over it! This is the area where we would eventually like to buy land and build the ranch.

Another future Destiny Ranch scene - Yee Haw!

Yes - that's a dogsled team! We have now reached the village of Lake Placid (about a half hour from our home) where you could take a dogsled ride on Mirror Lake until last week. The lake is still frozen over, but they've stopped the rides as a precautionary measure. It was neat to watch the dogs fly along and to hear their barks echoing over the ice.

Do you have this kind of view from your grocery store parking lot? The mountain in the distance is the backside of Whiteface - the Olympic ski mountain, boasting the highest vertical drop in the East. Believe it or not, almost all of their slopes are still open for skiing in mid April!

On the drive home, we look forward to this view as we crest a rise in the road and look out over the High Peaks. This picture was taken about 5 miles from our home and provides a great view of our "back yard."

Keene Valley is called "Home of the High Peaks" because 36 of the 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks are found here.

We're back home now. Gotta go put the groceries away.

Winter Wonderland

I know everyone is getting spring fever, so I thought I'd better post these snow pictures before it's too late and I get myself in trouble. You all know Wayne's great love for snow . . . if you don't, well . . . let's just say it borders on legendary. Since Keene Valley averages about 100 inches of snowfall a year, he should be happy!

We arrived to about 3 feet of snow on the ground. The locals tell us that they had no big storms this year - just a lot of little ones. Since the temperatures stay cold, the snow never melts. Just keeps stacking higher and higher. This is a win-win since the roads stay bare, but the countryside is covered in a beautiful blanket of white. As Wayne says, "This is how winter was meant to be!"

Here are a few snowy pictures of our property. Enjoy!

Wayne in his glory . . . no one had cleared the porch roofs all winter so he decided to shovel some of it off. The last thing we need is a roof collapse!

This is Wayne's barn and I have to admit, as barns go, it's really cool. It has two floors in it - perfect for an office, bunkhouse for Expeditions and maybe even a cow. (Wayne keeps threatening!)

When I first walked around our barn and saw this scene, I literally gasped! It is a frozen waterfall cascading over a huge rock wall (perfect for summertime rapelling for those of you who like that kind of thing!). There is no way to adequately capture it - at least with our camera - but I thought I'd try.

This is the view from all of the windows on the back side of the house - the kitchen, the library, our bathroom and CorrieAnne's bedroom. Can you see why it's hard to get anything done?!

When you come to visit (hint, hint), you too can enjoy this wonderful view from all three of our guest rooms!

One late afternoon, I went out on the side porch to get firewood. I picked up a few logs, turned to go into the house and . . . wow! Standing only about 20 feet away was a beautiful doe. I said, "Why hello there!" She just kept watching me, completely unafraid. I stood there until I got too cold. I went back in the house and she went on with her business.

Almost every evening, between 4 and 5 pm, two doe come out of the woods in front of our house and spend 20 minutes or so nibbling on the bushes along our driveway. It is fun to watch them - probably won't be so fun when they're nibbling on our garden this summer!