A Winter Visit to the Indian Echo Caverns
There’s nothing like a friend visiting from out of town to remind you of what’s in your own backyard.
Entrance to Indian Echo Caverns
There’s nothing like a friend visiting from out of town to remind you of what’s in your own backyard.
Indian Echo Caverns is in Hummelstown, PA which is about 30 minutes from my home, and in the 10 years I have lived in Lancaster, I had yet to visit. Having visited Penn’s Cave as a kid and watched The Descent, I thought I filled my quota om caves, but when my friend suggested it, I thought, why not?
So we headed out on Saturday morning, sunny and still snow-covered, and booked the first tour of the day at 10:30am. Our tour group was only four people not including the guide, which seemed like the perfect size to me. In the spring and summer seasons, their tours can swell to include up to 28 people.
We hung out in their large gift shop waiting for the tour to start, browsing racks of dream-catcher earrings, gemstones, and pocket knives personalized with names. The tour begins about 71 steps above the entrance to cavern with warnings and pleas not touch the rock formations because the oil in our fingers prevents new formations from growing.
We climb down the stairs covered in salt and the cold morning air is still; the Swatara creek and snow glittering in the bright sunlight. We are told that the cave stays at a constant 52 degrees, year round. While 52 degrees would undoubtedly send me running back to my car in search of a sweatshirt in the summer, it feels positively balmy in the winter.
Standing in the “entrance room”, our tour guide begins his spiel which is informative and lively (can you say stalagmite), but peppered with jokes and observations that were so family-friendly and corny that I couldn’t help but picture Truman (played by Jim Carrey) telling the same jokes in The Truman Show, if Truman was giving tours of caves, of course.
For example, “You’ll have to use your imagination for this one, If you look at the rock formation above you, it looks like the New York City skyline– upside down! [Long pause] I said you had to use your imagination!”
"Good afternoon, good evening, and good night!", my friend.
The cave is dark (obviously) but outfitted with electric lights that the guide turns on and off in different parts of the caverns during the tour, the effect being that the guide has the chance to give you a “Wow” moment. My “Wow” moment on the tour was standing in the Indian Ballroom in the dark when the guide hit the lights and I was suddenly staring up forty feet above me at a wall of stalactite, stalagmite and column formations. The beauty and the grandeur of the formations is stunning as was the realization that it is naturally hidden from the world, in the complete dark most of the time.
The tour continues to different “rooms” like the Blue Room and the Wedding Chapel– each impressive and visually complex in their own right. They are linked by a series of narrow, wet passages which met my personal cave authenticity requirements. If it’s not a little dirty, a little wet, and a little claustrophobic then you probably shouldn’t call it a cave. The rocks that the most tourists have banged their heads off are helpfully indicated by red lights or pointed out by the guides with such names such as “Headache Rock”.
After the tour was complete, we emerged from the cave into the bright winter morning, blinking and squinting as our eyes adjusted and then started our climb back up the parking lot. I mentally checked off Indian Echo Caverns from my long list of places to see, subcategory: In my backyard.
Verdict: Go and check it out with your family, but I recommend seeing it in the off season when you can have the cave (almost) to yourself.
A week in the Adirondacks
We are sitting by the campfire as dusk fell and the temperature drifted down into the low 60’s. The radio was playing hits from the 80’s softly in the background and occasionally the hysterical cackle of a Loon would sound from the direction of the lake.
OOOOOOuch!
We are sitting by the campfire as dusk falls and the temperature drifts down into the low 60’s. The radio is playing hits from the 80’s softly in the background and the occasional hysterical cackle of a Loon echoes from the direction of the lake. Full from a dinner of chicken kabobs, roasted potatoes and Vidalia onions, I had just reached out and to take a swig from my bottle of Saranac Pale Ale, when the wind shifted and orange sparks from the fire shot in my direction and burned through my favorite black yoga pants (my favorite because they were still relatively clean).
In short, the joys of camping in the Adirondacks.
It’s hard to believe that just a couple of months ago, the very spot I was sitting was covered in two to three feet of snow and I was breaking in a pair of snow shoes. It seems like whenever I talk to someone about traveling to the Adirondacks, they always shake their heads and shiver as if they can’t help imagining the cold blast of wind off of the lake even in the suffocating heat of summer, “Too cold! I could never live there!”
But I’m here to tell you, if you ever travel to the Adirondacks in the summer, you’ll find yourself thinking that maybe the winter would be worth enduring for the summers here– brief though they are, temperamental though they are. It’s nothing short of beautiful.
So here is my trip to the Adirondacks, broken down for your skimming pleasure, into the following categories:
My God that was good!
Silly me, I thought when we established we were going to go camping that I was going to live off a diet of corn chips and granola bars for a week. Happily, that turned out to be completely untrue. When we weren’t cooking on the campfire (more on that shortly) we were hitting our fair share of restaurants, sandwich shops, and farmer’s markets that totally destroyed my diet. These are a couple of my favorites:
Eat N Meet | 139 Broadway, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Get in your car, drive about seven hours to Saranac Lake and thank me the later. Everything is fresh and delicious and God-- just MMMM. I don’t have words. The fish tacos are my personal favorite and have ruined me on all other fish tacos. I now have an insatiable craving that cannot be filled.
Lisa G’s | 6125 Sentinel Rd, Lake Placid, NY 12946
Located within walking distance of downtown Lake Placid, it’s perfect for lunch and dinner. I personally like going in the middle of the afternoon– it’s not really vacation unless you decide to stop for a late lunch of Calamari, Greek Wings, and Switchback Beer around 2pm. Would that all of my 2pm’s could be spent that way.
Big Mountain Deli and Creperie | 2475 Main Street, Lake Placid, New York 12946
Yum! Most of the time, we were making our own breakfast on this trip, but we had to stop at Big Mountain Deli and Creperie for their breakfast sandwiches. Their sandwiches are named for mountain peaks and local features. The 12 year old inside of me wanted to order the “Nippletop”, she really did. I personally recommend the Upper Ausable Lake which is eggs and smoked salmon with lemon caper cream cheese and red onion. My mouth is watering thinking about it.
In a world where 2 flavors are better than one, and fifty are better than two, Donnelly’s soft-serve ice cream has a refreshing take on the situation: they serve one and only one flavor per day. We stopped on a Monday, which was nut surprise, and got a cone and dish respectively, of pale green pistachio ice cream twined with vanilla (all flavors are twisted with vanilla).
Just a small hut on the side of the road, there’s always a crowd out front.
Are we almost there?
Whiteface
I did my first high peak! While some might say that I was cheating by driving up it, I maintain I took the more direct, time efficient route. After driving up 99% of the mountain, there is a parking lot and "castle" with a gift shop, bathrooms, and cafe. You must continue to the summit by elevator or by following a dizzying trail composed of rock and concrete another 267 feet. The views are spectacular: you can see Lake Placid, the high peaks, and on clear days our fair neighbor to the north, Canada. I highly recommend.
Saint Regis Mountain
2,874 feet in elevation and 3.3 miles to summit is a walk in the park. Unlike my previous attempt (which you can read about here) I didn’t want to kill myself at any point during this hike: I got to wear my new shirt which was insect repellent, the summit was beautiful, and we ate a hot dog afterwards. All in all– a great morning. The summit includes views of the St. Regis Canoe Area, some large lakes, and some of the High Peaks. The trail itself was busy but not crowded and I recommend as well.
Agh!
Look, the joys of camping are not completely lost on me. Sleeping outside, picking wild raspberries, cooking over a fire– there’s a romance to it that I can’t deny. However, going to the bathroom in the woods holds as much appeal to me as watching a Real Housewives episode– I don’t like it and I find it completely unnecessary.
So, bearing in mind that a campground with clean bathrooms was essential to my happiness and well being, we booked a lot at Buck Pond Campground. It has a secluded, remote feel to it with a long drive back to the entrance and wooded lots that make you feel like you’re not on top of your neighbor.
Still within a relatively short drive of civilization, Lake Saranac and Lake Placid, Buck Pond pretty much lived up to my best case scenario of camping. My recommendation: Yeah, I would stay there again.
Come Again?
It’s hard to believe that the Adirondacks are this pretty, but I am proof-positive that such places exist within driving distance of Lancaster, PA :) You can check out some more of my photos below from the Saranac Lake and Lake Placid area below.
