Days 301 - 304 - ADK — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $36, daily high temperature 93°f

On Wednesday we had a special treat. We went to Lake Placid. Lake Placid was the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games. The 1980 games featured the “Miracle on Ice” when the US college team beat the professional Russian team 4-3. They still talk about it as if it happened yesterday.

Lake Placid is also the site of one of only three bobsled tracks in North America. The other two bobsled tracks are in Park City, Utah and Calgary, Canada. The Lake Placid track is the most challenging in the world with two 170° turns.

I have been watching bobsled events on TV my entire life but I never gave much thought to where the name bobsled came from.

Here are your choices; I will post the correct answer later in the blog.

1. The bobsled was invented by Robert (Bob) Badrutt in Park City, Utah in 1903.

2. At high speeds the heads of the sled team bob side to side.

3. In the early days of bobsledding the teams started by rocking back and forth.

4. The original bobsleds were designed based on sleds called bobs that were used by loggers to move logs out of the forest in winter.

Another highlight of the Plattsburgh was having a “Michigan” for dinner. A Michigan is a hot dog smothered in meat sauce with buried raw onions. The chopped onions are under the meat sauce. You never forget your first Michigan.

Trivia answer – The bobsled was named for the way the crews bobbed back and forth to start the sled down the hill and increase speed. In later years the running start was implemented.

On Friday we drove 4.5 hours back to CL. She held up fine for the two days she was all alone. We stopped at the Adirondack (ADK) Museum on the way. The Adirondack Museum displays life in the mountains of New York in the early 1800’s and 1900’s.

Nothing says ADK like a giant moose head.

The Adirondack canoes are built by hand. It takes 500 hours, 2,000 screws and 4,000 fasteners. A 14′ canoe weighs only 70 pounds.

Canal locks lift all boats – Priscilla Simons

Bonus photo

Carl ( (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“A sailboat is a fickle mistress. You’ve got to buy her things. You’ve got to understand everything about her. What you don’t know she’ll use against you.” -Captain Larry