The winds today were very calm so we put in at South Creek and paddled across Middle Saranac Lake to Weller and Little Weller. We found what must be an abandoned loon nest along the way toward Little Weller.
There were lots of rose pogonia orchids around.
And lots of pitcher plant flowers.
We stopped at campsite 85 at the north end of Weller for lunch.
While looking for paddling ideas for this season I discovered I never did a paddling summary for last year. So here it is.
Deer River Flow
Follensby Clear
Forked Lake
Lake Placid
Little Tupper
Long Pond - W only
Lower Saranac Lake
Piercefield Flow
Rollins to Square
Round Lake
Second Pond to Lake Flower
South Creek to Weller - W only
For the night time part of the exhibit we chose a warmish evening. We got a pretty good parking spot in the main lot and were amazed at the many school buses full of people being brought in from the parking lot across Route 1. That parking actually wouldn't be too bad since the buses drop you right at the entrance.
Since we have memberships that allow us to get into Longwood Gardens any time, we chose to see the inside part of the Christmas exhibit right when they open at 10 AM. That worked perfectly since we got a close parking space.
We have subscribed to concerts by the Philly Orchestra on some Friday afternoons. We take a bus from Crosslands with other residents. This is the view from our seats.
They were mowing today and that seems to have scared the praying mantis' out of hiding. This one was on the walk toward the center and decided I was a safe haven. By the time it got up to my knee I decided I'd better shoo it away.
Last evening we heard the a cappella group VOCES8 which was outstanding. They sang a variety of pieces and all were good, but I especially enjoyed the classical works.
The chrysanthemum festival is going on in the conservatory so we took the opportunity to walk through most of that as well. We decided there is not enough lighting in the evening to really show off the flowers. Daylight is much better. But there were some neat ones.
We drove back home on Tuesday, October 3rd. The leaves were just passing their peak so it was a good time to leave. One of the reasons we came back so soon was to attend yesterday's Philadelphia Orchestra concert. It was marvelous. Daniil Trifonov played Gershwin's Piano Concerto and it was definitely the hit of the afternoon. There was also a piece"This Moment" by young composer Anna Clyne and William Grant Still's Symphony No 4. We went to the talk before the concert, given by assistant conductor Austin Chanu. The only issue with the afternoon was the bus ride. The bus going in was so uncomfortable on the bumpy road that I was concerned about my spine. Fortunately we had a different bus coming home and it was better. We saw friends there who did not take the bus. Instead, they take the train to Suburban station and walk the 0.6 mile to Kimmel Center, stopping along the way for lunch. That may be a better way to do it, especially since the train is free. But we are committed to the bus for this season.
