Our Golidlocks camping adventure in the Adirondack Mountains: Memorial Day Weekend - Paid + Free campsites.

"All of our expensive stuff is breaking!" 

I shrilled as Dave opened the back of the jeep to load up our Walmart grocery haul.

Emerald was wiggling in my arms in the backseat, while, in my mind,

I transported to the Victorian Era where my carriage toppled and all my jewels were stolen.

The glass shattered across the parking lot.

Okay, maybe not across the whole parking lot,

but across the back of our parking spot.

It was enough for the surrounding people to stare. 

I was emotionally acting like all of the diamonds in the world suddenly went spilling across the asphalt. 

Really it was a single bottle of maple syrup.

It was in one of those glass containers used for extra virgin olive oil.

From the sound of it, I thought all of our spices went crashing. 

This is why regular people use break resistant containers when camping. 

I'm not regular. 

It was one bottle, no big deal. 

Thank goodness 

Before the parking lot fiasco 

I had spent 3 hours trying to book us a camp site,

last second, on the Friday of memorial day weekend in the Adirondack Mountains.

The whole entire website used to book camping spaces went down,

I figured there was no way one of the amazing free spots would be available. 

We wanted to camp, the woods was calling us,

so I decided to call Reserve America and book one of the very few sites left with a water front view.

The lady was extremely nice. The best customer service I've experienced in a really long time.

I even did the survey at the end of the call because she was so great. 

Whew, 2 nights reserved at Fish Creek Camp in the Adirondacks,

water front view. I felt like the CEO of last minute planning. 

Most people would have used break resistant containers and booked things in advance.

Like I said, I'm definitely not regular. 

The rush was on. 

Of course carrots had to lightly boil for our delicious carrot dogs,

I also whipped up some egg free mayo and added Sriracha to make spicy mayo,

then I made chick pea salad so we could have something with crackers that didn't require a camp fire.

I packed everything as quickly as I could while Dave finished working and drove home. 

It wasn't long and there we were

Making plattsburgh, New York sticky again! 

I don't know what it is but that was the second time we've found ourselves in a sticky situation since moving here. The first was the great honey spill at the North Country Food Co-op back in December and now the parking space of Walmart. A few people were watching as if they never experienced such a thing.

We picked up the glass, cleaned as best as we could, loaded the cooler, and off we went. 

That feeling has come to be one of my favorites since moving here.

The one where you go around a certain curve as you head up in elevation towards the mountains.

The town fades and freedom, calm, and adventure replaces the sounds of the people. 

It still amazes me how many miles we can drive on the main mountain road and not see another vehicle, even on the Friday of memorial day weekend. We thought it would be bumper to bumper. 

"I hope we have a secluded spot, away from everyone." Dave said as he was driving to camp. 

"Well, I doubt we will babe. It's memorial day weekend and this camp is one of the most famous ones in the area. Everything was reserved already. I called all of the places and checked."

I responded as I recalled the lady on the phone saying we got one of the remaining three spaces available.

There are about 320 sites along the large the pond.

I highly doubted secluded was going to be in our review description. 

Fish creek camp

Is one of those vacation spots that becomes woven into someone's childhood and grows into a tradition.

It was established in 1920.

For over 100 years people have been flocking to this pond to create summer memories.

As a matter of fact before online booking or Reserve America, people endured long over night line ups along route 30 just to wait for the front gates to open.

It began as first come, first served and it was highly sought after.

The current $22 a night fee is well worth the ability to reserve a spot instead of having to camp out on the road as if it were a Black Friday big screen sale. 

It began as one of the first official campsites due to the rise of the automobile.

What started back then as a small clearing with a lean-to and a few fire rings has now turned into the largest campground in the Adirondack Mountains as well as all of New York State. 

After about an hour and a half

Of driving from Walmart, away from the sticky spill we pulled into Fish Creek Campgrounds.

We checked in with the young lady at the front and our eyes grew big when she said,

"you'll drive for about 2 miles and your spot, 309 will be on the left."

I didn't have a chance to do research on the Campground before we left the house.

All I knew at the time was that it had a long history.

We drove for about 2 miles like she said.

Spaces here and there were empty, maybe waiting for people that hadn't shown up yet. 

Overall the place was packed. It felt like the whole city was in the mountains.

Our little bit of solitude by the water was quickly drowned

by the sounds of people creating summer memories instead of the loons and the peepers. 

On one hand it was nice to see so many people wanting to camp and enjoy being out in nature,

on the other hand being cramped so close to other people that even a whisper could be heard wasn't our idea of getting away. 

People have different perspectives 

Some people love the community that comes with busy campgrounds, they love going back to the same place year after year, maybe even meeting the same families as the years before.

Then there are people like us that want to stretch,

feel like we are alone, and hear nature instead of people shouting,

"YOO-HOO!" 

Apparently, that is a camp tradition there.

We thought the teenagers next door were just being extremely loud and disrespectful.

We didn't realize they were participating in a long taught tradition.

People would yell, "YOO-HOO" across the pond to one another to signal the approach of the quiet hours.

For some I'm sure it is nostalgic hearing their children do the same things they probably grew up doing, along the same shore, possibly even the same site.

For us it made it feel like we were in the city and not the mountains. 

We set up camp

Luckily, the site next to us on the left stayed empty, and the people in the camper to the right didn't come out until the next day. We had the illusion of feeling kind of like we weren't on top of other people once the sun said goodnight. 

"We can make do, it is a busy holiday weekend, if we don't find something better tomorrow we can just chalk this up to an Adirondack traditional experience."

I tried to get Dave to relax a bit as we fell asleep. 

I woke up in the middle of the night, I was hearing someone snore.

It wasn't Dave.

This was from the teenagers who previously had been shouting across the pond.

Now they were snuggled in their tents and I could hear them snoring which was wild because there was a whole camp spot empty between us.

It was a reminder of how close the spaces are. 

It felt like being crammed into a closet with a beautiful view.

It wasn't my idea of camping, the feeling of getting away all of a sudden felt like we did the opposite.

Still, it was nice seeing the beautiful sky above us as Dave and Emerald slept and I quickly drifted off to dreamland as well.

Sunrise, 

Despite the evening before we woke up to the sounds of birds.

Everyone else was still sleeping, no one was out of their tents, at least not the ones near us. Dave stretched and talked about how refreshed he felt. The sunrise was beautiful. Emerald still slept and we laid there for a while so we wouldn't disturb anyone else. 

It didn't take long

Generators were humming, people were biking by, conversations were happening all around and it suddenly felt like down town. We made breakfast, the addictive banana mash bowl that has become a quick favorite for us, made coffee, and played with Emerald.

We decided to pack up

Dave said the tent is easy enough to put up and down, it would be worth seeing if we could get a free spot that is more remote and private. It isn't that we don't like people but we both like our solitude more, especially when we are camping. 

I walked Emerald around a bit, said good morning to many of the campers that were doing the same walk.

It seemed like most families were bickering, grumpy, and moody.

It wasn't even 9am yet. 

The clouds were rolling in and rain felt like it was on the way as we drove out. 

"There’s Floodwood road that we stayed at last week. I loved that spot, maybe we can get lucky there."

I was trying to be optimistic but this was a busy holiday weekend.

Floodwood road was nearby, we drove over and it was all full. 

Even with each site having someone in it, it was spread out enough that it wouldn't have felt cramped at all had we stayed there. There was one spot in the woods with no view, the same spot that we debated on last weekend.

We gave it up again. We wanted a water view.

Eventually, we found ourselves at a pizza place.

Little Italy in Tupper Lake 

Mainly so we could have cell service to look up options.

Emerald "colored" on the children's menu sort of,

mostly she held the crayons in her tight little fists.

I watched her sitting in the high chair, thinking how that moment marks another first.

First time holding a crayon.

The pizza was delicious.

We found some places to check out, debated the weather, and decided to stay in the Saranac/Tupper Lake area instead of going to Moose Plains River, the place we keep anticipating exploring!

A long long dirt road named, Corey's road

Led to the most incredible camp spot!

There were a few sites along the dirt road but the one at the very back,

we almost missed because it was down a turn off,

was a dream come true spot!

We couldn't believe it was vacant. 

The river it was fast, it was gorgeous, it was secluded, it was perfect! 

Then the attack happened 

Not black flies but the mosquitoes. For something so delicate and dainty just drifting through the air they really can be a terrible experience. Bite after bite. We explored the area and kept talking about the weather and how the spot would be perfect if the pesky inhabitants weren't home, those mosquitoes were relentless. Also, with the rain coming in that area would be really muddy.

We soon realized why the spot was empty. 

We took photos, got bit, laughed, and finally decided to check out another spot. 

Green is my favorite color, we even named our daughter Emerald.

When we found Little Green Pond with free spots it seemed like the exact fit. 

Our Goldilocks adventure for the perfect camp space was dwindling down because once we turned onto the small side road lined with neon green trees we knew,

"this was it!" 

The spots were spaced out, deep into the woods so you couldn't see the road, and had a water front view! 

We did it,

well, Dave with his determination did it.

We found the spot we wanted.

Memorial Day weekend and we landed a top notch space to pitch our tent. 

Away from the sounds of buzzing generators, generations of the traditional "YOO-HOO" chanting, and away from the bickering families debackling over tooth brushing. 

We set the tent up,

got the blankets all fluffed and set, Dave lit the fire and built a lean-to with the tarp.

Rain was on the way and we decided to take a little walk before the weather changed. 

The neon green trees kept amazing me

It was so vibrant, so green, so electric. 

No wonder they call it little green pond. 

We walked, talked, and took photographs of various plants.

Emerald let us know she was sleepy with her restlessness.

We went back to camp, sat by the fire, and enjoyed the evening. 

Dave took a quick dip in the water to rinse off before bed.

Cold water therapy is such a magical thing. I thought about how I've stopped doing a lot of the spontaneous things I used to do like that. I think for the longest time I was chasing life and now, since Emerald and Dave I've been able to slow down and feel the moments.

I've kind of let some of my wild antics rest. Maybe next time I'll take a robe and do something a little crazy again.

I recalled when I was struggling with things a few years ago, I walked to the waterfall close to my hometown, it was winter. I didn’t care. My mind was full of thoughts and I was spiraling so I got under the waterfall, the cold water stopped my mental breakdown and I felt so much better afterwards. It really can be such a beneficial experience.

Even when we are safe, calm, and content it is good to shake things up a bit. 

I climbed into the tent with Emerald 

Dave kept poking the fire

Eventually we were all tucked in and falling asleep, as we drifted off the rain came. 

It rained, it rained, it rained 

All night and into the morning 

We had a little break from it so we got ready and then headed into Saranac Lake for a coffee and breakfast.

All of the food I had prepped to cook over the fire was quickly turning into meals to have at home once we got back from the trip. 

Breakfast was amazing.

We went to Origin Coffee Co. In Saranac Lake.

It's adorable, hipsterish, and was fantastic for escaping the rain. 

Then we wondered into the next door, Loon Center.

It was so neat learning about the Loons.

I didn't catch the young guys name in there, but he was so excited to tell us everything he could about Loons.

We loved it, it was so refreshing hearing someone from the younger generation actually excited about birds, nature, preservation, and the outdoors in a true genuine spirit. 

We made our way back to camp

Emerald napped, Dave loaded everything up and we slowly made our way back home.

It was Sunday but the rain wasn't going to give up so we decided to call it a good weekend.

On the way home Emerald discovered how to clap! She clapped, clapped, and clapped.

It was so adorable. 

These Adirondack weekends are growing roots deeply into my soul.

Each weekend we go it typically doesn't turn out how we planned but it still gives us something magical, something worth remembering, and something to keep going back for. 

The Gallery

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