Our first full day at the camp this year

We arrived at the camp in the late afternoon and the temperature had dropped from 90 in NJ to 56 here in the woods.  It started to rain as we drove through the long private road to the camp.  It is five miles from the main road straight into the woods.  The road is very curvy and you might see a car or truck or two but not many.  We crossed railroad tracks that had been washed out last year and now were back in order.  A deer ran across our path just far enough ahead to avoid hitting it.  A big black bird flew by the car and the wind whistled through the trees.  The rain was coming down and the leaves were all turned inside out on the trees that grew near the road and some even branched over the road.  We parked at the parking lot across the tracks from the path to the water.  We got a four wheel wheel barrow and loaded up our bags, in the rain, and proceeded down the path.  You can't see the lake from the parking lot so it took a few minutes walking down the rocky path to the lake.  Our friend was just coming across the lake with his pontoon boat so we could all get over in one sweep.  We used to use a boat that was .5 horsepower and had to make many round trips.  The few camps dotted on the waters edge looked just like I remembered them from 25 years ago.

Our drive to the Camp

We left NJ and started to the camp.  As soon as we get off the main roads we will be traveling through the woods.  The winding roads, streams, rivers and forests make it a pleasant drive.  The temperature is getting cooler.  It has been in the 90's and now already it is in the low 70"s.  Beautiful wild flowers dot the landscape between the roads.  As we get further North, the traffic is thinning out.  The trees are changing also, thicker foliage, lots of maple trees. 

The Camp - The Woods - Mt Arab

The first time I heard about the camp was when Bob and I were dating.  He told me he had a camp in the Adirondacks and all I could think of was little children running around and living in little cabins and we would be the counselors.  Wow - did I find out about the camp - the first time on our honeymoon.  In 1965, the end of July, we drove up to the camp, through the north woods, deeper and deeper into the woods.  We went through many of the lakes like Lake George, Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake and then Tupper Lake.  The town of Tupper Lake was small with about 7900 residents.  There were a few stores, restaurants and a gas station or two.  We picked up some groceries and proceeded to Mt Arab.  It was a long ride from Tupper through Faust, and then Piercefield, Conifer and on to the Mt Arab Road.  As we passed Piercefield, I was shown the dump which was one of the outings we would be taking to see the bears.  The Mt Arab Road was unfinished and had dirt and stones and was very windy.  I was told that when we turned a corner we were to beep the horn and someone would meet us.  We didn't beep this time as Bob wanted me to see the lake without anyone else around.  We drove to the parking lot, got our bags and food etc, and then proceeded to walk across the railroad tracks.  We walked down the dirt path to the lake and what a view.  Mt Arab is a spring fed lake, very Pristine, not many camps could be seen from the dock.  We got all our bags and food into the little boat proceeded across the lake, very slowly as the motor was a .5 horsepower.  The lake was just beautiful and we could see the camp from half way across. 

To The Woods

"The Woods"