Goodbye Tupper

Tupper 2010 is over, thanks to some cold and rainy weather. Cabin quirky is the word. Oy, we were busy this year! And enjoyed every minute thanks to the best weather that we can recall. We always enjoy the loons, the mergansers and the mallards; at least 2 distinct blue herons on the lake; the Eagles; kid fishing was good; lots of humming birds; and in September we had a few bear sightings. And of course our favorite visitors, Lily and Asa

were here for long weekends and a week at the end of July. Their friends The Finns joined them for 3 days. Aaron flew in to Saranac Lake on Cape Air and spent Memorial Day and July 4^th weekends with us. Beth and Sahna joined us for a weekend and they shared The Ice House. Mike was here with Abby and Devon and he took the catamaran back with him. Mary and Janet were with us for 3 days early in the season. Crista and Troy were here - the new guy needed to see Tupper. Our old friends Kathy and Jay visited with their grandchildren – 9 year old Marley and 6 year old Hawk.

And more old friends Karen and Kurt spent a week. So, yep, we had company; and I probably forgot somebody.

Early in the summer we went to Montreal for a few days, and treated ourselves to a stay at The Fairmont - The Queen Elizabeth, dinner at Gibby's and a carriage ride back to our hotel; walked and shopped around Old Montreal, and had a great time. We made a return visit to Canada in August and visited Ottawa, toured the historic capital buildings on Parliament Hill, hung out at the Byward market and enjoyed the cuisine. However, we “cheaped out” and stayed at The Days Inn...yuck, yuck, yuck – do not go there.

We did the fourth of July dinner cruise on Raquette Lake with Aaron and went back again when our friends Kurt and Karen visited. We toured The old great Camp Santanoni by horse and carriage and had a picnic lunch with champagne and caviar. So, lots of fun stuff to keep busy and interesting. We even made a habit of going to the Sinfonietta in Lake Placid on Sunday nights. And Lily joined us for a local performance at The Wild Center.

Lots of paddling on and off the lake. Our newest paddle this year was The Oswegatchie, a remote wilderness paddle, a favorite of the beavers, forcing us to carry over beaver dams. Lily got her own kayak this year, but swimming and fishing took first place since the weather was just so wonderful.

And, a Hudson River rafting trip was an adventure extraordinaire, as you can see by this picture of Jay. A day on the river with rapids, warm weather, blue skies, a mediocre lunch.

My high peaks goal has taken a back seat this year, thanks to the really warm weather. But really, my hiking partner Mike Kramer has either been off to Austin on business, busy with his hoop house on the farm, or just plain not feeling well this year. So, I hiked a lot locally, doing small peaks with Jay and many by myself. I hiked Ampersand to kick off the season to test my right knee which had been given me some trouble since ski season. No problem going up, but going down is problematic. BUT, Mike and I did finally hike Wright Peak from The Loj and I will admit to being slow. It felt great and once again motivated me to pursue my love of hiking the Adirondack peaks. Another hike up Ampersand by myself to “keep on hiking” and I do hope to get back on track and continue my quest. I will say that a few extra pounds does make a difference, and...is it possible that one slows down a bit at 63? - I think not!.

We ended the summer with a seminar at The Adirondack Loj in Lake Placid with Jane Desotelle on collecting wild mushrooms and have determined that there are 5 varieties local to the Adirondacks that we are comfortable consuming.

So, our project for this summer was a new and bigger porch, but, alas, we only got as far as the footings. We were expecting Brother Mike in September to put it all together, Well, hopefully next Spring we can get back on track. .Other than that, always lots of maintenance and small stuff. We did improve the main camp with new interior “paneling on one of the walls. The property is looking nice with more landscaping and rock stuff. And, a composting toilet is seriously in the planning/researching stages, since our septic system is pretty much kaput; perhaps a small building which will accommodate the washer and dryer also.

Back to Vermont and The Green Mountains.

Toodleloo for now.

Jeannie