Brown Tract Pond - Camping

This weekend, we packed up our van, threw the kids in the car, and headed up into the Adirondack Mountains for our first ever family camping trip (with our friends, the LaPlant/Ogden family). Let me just say, I. Don't. Camp. Every camping experience I have ever had has been miserable. From being kept up by exit signs while sleeping on a big cabin floor during girl scouts, to a family trip to Massachusetts when I was 12ish where the state received a record rain fall while were we there camping for my uncle's wedding. It just never works out. LOL.

With encouraging from Ron and our family friends, I agreed to give it another go. The Ls picked the place, Brown Tract Pond (near Raquette Lake) and as fate would have it... I had been there before. In June of 1977, my parents and my dad's best friend Harold (Uncle Harold to me) went to the same park. And... Mom was pregnant with me. I had seen there photo album from the trip dozens of time, but never noticed the name of the place they had stayed. My Dad dug the album out of storage for me and I thought it would be fun to do a side by side of then and now. I set out to retake the same photos that my Mom did back then. Better then the usual look-at-all-the-fun-things-we-did photos, right?

My Dad wrote me this note to go with the photos of their trip...

Kerry -

Looking back, this was a very exciting & adventurous weekend for us (as for you) - but no kids - except the excitement of you on the way - - -

We were the only ones at the campsite. We had to assess the Island to see if we could jump. We had a raft that leaked air & we left the pump on the Island. Had to race back to get it.

When you blog ?!!**? Make sure you mention the 1967 Super Sport Impala Convertible I bought for $3, there is a pic.




Looks like the took off the governor's name and added a distance marker instead. The road leading into the site is a rocky dirt road all curvy and hilly.




I think their tent would have been harder to put together then ours. Those poles all go at funny angles! Ours sleeps 6 and we got it on clearance at Target a few years back. This is the first time it has left our yard. I am sure my parents' tent has seen a few more places then ours too.




Dad said they had to "assess" the water to see if it was deep enough to jump into. My boys were fearless and just jumped in. Though Andrew did have to check things out from this higher location. There was 4 spots you could jump from... small, medium, large, and extra large heights. This spot the boys are on is the large one. Comparing the rock forms now... I think that Dad and Uncle Harold were on a different rock completely.




That is my Mom sitting in a tiny raft behind Uncle Harold. She was about 18 at the time. My parents married when she was 17... and she was 19 when I was born. On Saturday, the boys decided they would row us out to the island for our second day of rock jumping. A huge thanks to my friend Lindsey's Dad (who actually went to school with my Dad, small world) for lending us his canoe. I don't think we would have made it on a leaky raft, lol.





Yep, that is my Dad in the top photo... and Jacob in the middle one... then, me in the bottom one. Crazy huh? I couldn't get the canoe to hold still long enough to get the exact same shot, but I think these turned out very cool.




How they rolled... and how we roll...




The kids are very curious to know who paints this rock.




It was funny, when I took the photo of Dad's picture for this post, the back of the picture said "Browns Pond Mall". Dad was convinced it wouldn't still be there, but it was. It has been painted and boarded up... the gas stations are gone and the stairs too. It still has the same shell though.

If I was to write a note to my Dad about our trip I would say...

Dad -

I know I said I didn't want to go on this trip about 100 times, but I am glad I did. It is so cool to think that you and Mom and me walked on the same beach and the same rocks 32 years apart.

The kids loved every minute of the trip and couldn't wait to get on the phone to tell you about jumping off the rocks, just like you did. We let the kids row us to shore the first day and Andrew said "This is wonderful... isn't it wonderful?" And there was true wonder in the tone of his voice. I am glad they got to experience it.

Make sure Mom shows you all the other pictures!!

Love, Kerry

As for the "other pictures"... the look-at-all-the-cool-things-we-did ones... I'll share those ones tomorrow.