Adirondack Canoe Classic
In the beginning of September we flew back to NY so I could participate in the
Adirondack Canoe Classic, a 90-mile canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. I have done the race a few times before, but this year we arranged to have all four Millspaugh siblings paddle together: Me, Philip, Robert, and Emma. We all converged in Old Forge from Montana, Wisconsin, Buffalo, and Rochester, and were ready to go. The race is split over three days and we camped overnight in between the stages.
Diana helped out with Mom and Dad as the pit crew, following us throughout the race and relaxing with us at the campsites.
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| Pre-race Picture! |
Day one started out with us getting used to paddling together... and within 5 minutes of practicing we flipped the canoe. At least it was a very hot day. Once upright again, we were off covering the 35 miles from Old Forge to Blue Mountain Lake. It was a hot and tough day with long portages, but we were in second place in the mixed C4 event at the end of the day.
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| Off for Day 1 |
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| Coming through Brown's Tract |
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| Over the Beaver Dam |
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| Coming into the Finish at Blue Mountain Lake |
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| Coral, the other member of the "pit" crew |
Day 2 was cooler with rain. The stretch down long lake was increasingly windy with rolling waves. As soon as we got off the lake onto the river, the rain started and lasted most of the rest of the day. We finished the day one spot back into third place in our class. Fortunately, the rain let up after the racing and we were able to enjoy a nice dinner and fire at the campsite.
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| Line of Canoes on Long Lake |
Day 3 started off with a fog delay, but turned into a beautiful day. Boat 98 was ready for a battle, and our mascot the flamingo was ready to go. The top three boats in our class were neck and neck the whole stage. We tried our best to put time into the competition to finish in a higher spot. All three boats crossed the finish line just feet apart and we ended in 3rd place, less than 10 minutes off of first place.
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| Everyone knew the flamingo boat |
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| Team Millspaugh Ready for Day 3 |
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| Off to the Start |
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| Running through the Portage |
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| Beautiful Scenery of the Adirondacks |
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| Sprinting into the Finish |
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| The whole crew at the finish line |
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| Team Millspaugh, paddling together for 20 Years |
North Face Trail Run
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| Me and Cassie! |
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| Cassie and Diana! Great support! |
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| Coming into the finish |
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| Post-race Cassie picture! |
Miscellaneous
This summer we did some landscaping in our backyard. One addition was a "Butterfly Bush" that really did attract a lot of butterflies. Diana was able to get a good picture of a Monarch enjoying the flowers.
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| Butterfly Bush |
At the end of August, Cassie celebrated her 4th birthday and we got her a nice vanilla ice cream cone. She loved it.
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| Happy Birthday Cassie! |
Here are a few more Cassie pictures.
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| Cassie likes to check in on us in the morning to see when we are getting out of bed. |
Last week we had friends visiting who have a great dane/bullmastiff mix, which is a huge dog. Cassie was a little cautious at first, but they became good friends.
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| Cassie and her new friend |
Diana also made some more wall paintings for one of her coworkers. The theme of this set was butterflies.
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| Creative Diana! |
Diana also put together a nice fall centerpiece for our dining table using some flowers from the local farmer's market.
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| Fall Centerpiece |
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| Farmer's Market Flowers |
