After going to
the Adirondacks, I was struck how my conceptions of time and space were
greatly altered during my experience in the park. On more than one
occasion I lost track of the date and time; I also felt very separated from my
academic and athletic obligations. The
Adirondack Park has a way of suspending time and capturing individuals in
specific moments, and this aspect of the park has made it attractive to
tourists and visitors.
As I visited different places in the
park I became interested in and seemingly invested in the lives of each person
we encountered. Specifically, at the
Wildlife Refuge, I enjoyed learning about wolves, coyotes, and owls and at that
moment, nothing else seemed of greater importance. Yet, on our tour of Asgaard Farms, I noticed
that my thoughts shifted to farming. Why
do people farm? How do people run
successful farms? What is the most
reliable source of income? How much
money do farmers make? Consumed by
farming and the associated variables, I was convinced that nothing was more
interesting. This kind of infatuation came
with each place we visited in the park, from John Brown’s farm to the 1980
Olympic Hockey rink in Lake Placid.
Lake Placid captured my attention
more than any place we visited.
Strolling through the quaint downtown area, it was impossible not to
notice the USA Olympic attire in shop windows, the skating oval in front of the
high school, the toboggan run shooting out onto the icy surface of Mirror Lake,
and of course, the hockey arena, sitting up on a slight hill, tall flags
guarding the sacred site like soldiers.
Entering a kind of trance, I stood mesmerized by the town and its
history.
With
Christmas lights strung across buildings and trees and snow falling regally
from the sky, Lake Placid encapsulates the essence of winter and the
Adirondacks. It glorifies winter activities
and proudly promotes itself as a former Olympic site, spurring a sense of
patriotism and loyalty. The town does
this so well that time stops and is seems that the Olympics are still being
hosted there today. I was certainly
compelled to muse about the 1980 Olympic games and forget my academic and
athletic responsibilities. Moreover, I
felt connected to and a part of the town and its history and I believe it is
this intimacy and suspension in time that causes people to travel and return to
the Adirondacks.
While
I was in the Adirondacks, other concerns were disregarded as places like Lake
Placid brought the beauty and history of the park to the forefront of my
mind. Time became irrelevant as I focused
on each place we visited and person we met.
For me, this is what makes the park unique and what has made it so
attractive to Civil War veterans, Olympians, politicians, and families. The park is truly a separate peace.
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