Lake George, NY / Altamont, NY

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 20:01:22 -0500

We we up to Lake George, NY . They were having a ATV weekend . We took part in their poker run. Sponsored by Trail pass , who is trying to make money through fees and the use of private land for ATV use. The organizer is VERY full of himself and how important he is, he should have spent more time marking the trails and a better run layout. Lots of confusion on the trails and they made two way trails out of intermediate trails that should be only one way. Otherwise, it was a lot of fun and muddy. Sadly, we didn't win the $500 first prize.

I also got the chance to try out our NEW second seat for the atv. It worked out well but, needs some foot pegs.

We headed out to the snowmobile grass drags. It was supposed to be going on till 6pm. We arrived 4pm and no one was there. Only one team sitting around drinking beer. This was a pretty poorly run event all the way around.

Our next destination of the day was Altamont Fair Grounds for the Irish Festival . The main attraction , Natalie MacMaster .

Diamond mine hunting

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:56:00 -0500

Hunting Herkimer Diamonds at the Ace of Diamonds , Diamond Mine

We got up and headed directly to Ace of Diamond , Diamond mine. It's rustic looking place.

We paid our fee, rented some hammers and got some tips from the guy behind the counter.

TIP: bang on porous looking rocks. They hold the diamonds.

We just started banging on rocks.

It didn't take long before we started finding little diamonds. I split a big rock and was picking out the little diamonds and then noticed the big dirty diamond. Can you see it?

The rock pit is just a big pile of rocks with many people banging away on rocks.

Everyone was finding diamonds. We found about a dozen and several people found very big diamonds. Much different than the Herkimer diamond mine , where few people find diamonds.

I recommend you skip Herkimer and go directly to Ace of Diamonds. It's not as commercial and you can find diamonds easily.

After severely agitating my injuries, we left and headed off to The Secret Caverns . We have both been to Howe Caverns a few times and wanted to see the other Caverns.

As you get close to the Caverns you get bombarded by Secret Caverns billboards. Each billboard more interesting then the previous. This place is run people who think different.

Just a look at the building will tell you that.

Secret Caverns has the corner on humor compared to Howe Caverns.

The tour is done on foot. You descend 103 stairs to the bottom of the Cavern. It's more primitive than Howe. I personally like Secret Caverns much more than Howe Caverns. PLUS, the one hundred foot water fall under ground was awesome.

We left the Caverns and headed home. We ate dinner in the storage lot while we cleaned up. Another great trip.

Erie Canal Cruise

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:50:04 -0500

Cruising the Farmous Erie canal, New York State

We took the Erie Canal Cruise in the early afternoon. Tours Run at 1pm and 4pm.

The cruise starts out just west of Lock 18 . You first have to pass through the flood control.

The flood control consists of a fixed damn, moveable damn and flood gates.

The fixed damn doesn't move.

The movable damns are just that. They move up and down and go all the way down in the winter. New York State does this so, they can't be sued for flooding someone's property. If the damn is all the way down it's the natural flow of the canal.

The flood gates are closed in winter and during high water. In winter they drain the lock section by lowering the flood gate. They do maintenance in the winter. During flooding conditions they close it as the water level must stay at a constant level. No lower than 13 feet and no higher than 15 feet.

This is a picture of the flood gate (far end), Fixed damn (middle section), movable damn ( nearest section).

Flood gates.

Note: Movable damns are used in only two places in the world. They originated in Czech Republic and New York State used the Czech design. The Czech Republic ones are no longer working and are historic sites. New York State has the only working movable damns in the world. They are ALL in working order through the Canal system .

Entrance to Lock #18

Lock 18 uses all original equipment, Circa 1911. It's all still in working order except the hydro electric system which is being repaired.

You enter the lock on a green signal. The lock master then closes the lock and has to walk over 300 feet to other end of lock to open the other end. They do this so, he can not accidentally open both ends by mistake, (guy in blue is lock operator).

The water level then goes down.

The lock doors seals are made of ash. Here you can see water coming out around the seals. This means the wood seals need to be replaced in winter.

In winter they close the lock doors and use this metal beam to seal the doors tight.

They place it here in this notch and pump out the closed lock. They can then do repairs as needed.

On the way back we saw a Bald Eagle flying around. This is the very first one I've seen in NYS. They seem to be making a comeback.

We headed up the road towards the Herkimer Diamond mines. We checked at the Ace of Diamonds mine for camping. They have a VERY small campground but, the fee is 13 dollars for electric and water hook ups. We decided to try the KOA which scammed us with the 3 day min. nonsense. We asked to stay one night this time. SURE NO PROBLEM THEY SAY. What no 3 day min. ? Not even a mention of it.

We made camp and checked out the store. The Herkimer Diamond mine is VERY commercialized. The Ace of Diamonds appears to be run by the good ole boys.

While in the store they announced the second winners of the day. Yikes, we got there around dusk and only two people found diamonds. Not good odds. I read a review on the internet about both mines. It said the Ace of Diamonds mine offered more chance of finding diamonds.

The KOA in Herkimer NY is not a real good one. The water had a strong sulfur smell and the electric was a steady 95 volts most of the time.

Camping World

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:48:16 -0500

We got a late start today but, still managed to beat the Labor Day traffic. We tried booking two nights at the KOA across the street from the Herkimer Diamond Mines but, the sleezeball owner wouldn't let us. First it was okay then he wanted a three day minimum.

WELL, now you lost two days of campers. We stopped at the Camping World in Amsterdamn , NY and stayed overnight for free.

Surprisingly, the parking lot was empty. It's was always packed when I drove past on previous dates. We'll see what happens late tonight.

Herkimer Diamond Mine

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:46:52 -0500

The trip plan is to go to the Herkimer Diamond Mines in Herkimer New York.

We're going to stay at the KOA across the street and do the Herkimer Diamond mines and the Ace of Diamonds diamond mine.

Then we'll take an Erie Canal Cruise. If we have time we'll take a trip on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad.