It’s been a long-time goal to see this fabulous museum. As a student of medieval history and art, visiting this museum — one of North America’s most extensive collection of medieval art and manuscripts — was one of my big travel goals.

The Cloisters is an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, situated on four lovely acres in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan’s beautiful Washington Heights area. There are several footpaths, paved and unpaved, that afford splendid views of the beautiful gardens and magnificent Hudson River.

It’s a popular area for joggers, parents with children and couples to enjoy a little greenery amidst the “concrete jungles” of Manhattan Island. The park is so beautiful and elegant.

As for the building, The Cloisters is constructed of a handful of European abbeys, including the Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville. These building were meticulously disassembled piece by piece and rebuilt on location from 1934 and 1938.

The architecture is simply… words fail me. I love medieval architecture so I was reveling in the glory of it all. And despite the muggy heat outside, the building was marvelously cool.

Visitors are allowed to wander on self-guided tours. You can rent a small audio device that offers pre-recorded narrative of the building and its contents.

The Cloisters has an interesting history. The artifacts and works of art were once the private collection of an American sculptor and medieval art fanatic, George Grey Barnard. After World War I, Barnard opened his collection for public viewing in his Washington Heights home. Barnard sold his collection to Manhattan tycoon John D. Rockefeller, who then donated the art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rockefeller purchased several thousands of acres of land in New York and New Jersey for the construction of a building to house the art, as well as for a park. His land purchases in New Jersey ensured that the extravagant views cross the Hudson would forever remain unspoiled.

The Cloisters currently maintains over five thousand European medieval works and manuscripts, most of the items dating from the 12th to 14th centuries. The museum itself is also an ancient work of art, too!

We wandered throughout the museum haphazardly. I felt a little lost navigating the museum, as the halls are rather labyrinthine and the rooms were glutted with crowds of visitors. We pushed our way through two enormous wooden doors with fantastic iron work. This was the entrance to the chapel.

Up atop one of the columns I perceived two heads, sculpted in an unusually clear and recognizable form. Was this King Henry and Queen Eleanor?

All the art in the museum is religious. Medieval Europe in the 12th century was very Catholic, although from what I have read, religious duties were largely left to popes and bishops and priests, while the laity did as they pleased.

We made our way to (I think) the Langon Chapel, a semi-circular room with several stone effigies. Oh this was so rich with history!

Here lies young Jean d’Alluye in mail, a lion guarding his feet. His sword in in its scabbard and the shield rests at his side. Young people were often portrayed at rest in a position of prayer.

This is the head of an “effigy of a lady,” presumed by many to be the resting place of Margaret of Gloucester, wife of Robert II who was baron of Neubourg. The detail of her face and clothing were stunning.

There was much, much more to see! I’ll show you more in the next post. Thanks for reading!

HAHA! I liked that last sign. It alludes to the old Burma Shave road signs, popular in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s when Americans hit the roads in droves. It was a time of great optimism and prosperity. The road trip was king.

Burma Shave was a shaving cream, manufactured by the Burma-Vita company. Sales for the cream were less than enthusiastic, so the company started an advertising campaign that later entered the annals of American culture. They placed signs with brief snippets of limericks along roadways. At first the signs were pure advertisements, such as these:

A shave
That’s real
No cuts to heal
A soothing
Velvet after-feel
-Burma-Shave

You’ve laughed
At our signs
For many a mile
Be a sport
Give us a trial
-Burma-Shave

Later, the signs became little stories or humorous admonitions against speeding and driving drunk. Always, the last sign said simply “Burma Shave.”

Hardly a driver
Is now alive
Who passed
On hills
At 75
-Burma-Shave

Past
Schoolhouses
Take it slow
Let the little
Shavers grow
-Burma-Shave

If daisies
Are your
Favorite flower
Keep pushin’ up those
Miles per hour
-Burma-Shave

The actual shaving cream was never as popular as the company’s advertising campaign. Sales declined and Burma-Shave was sold to Philip Morris in 1963. The company pulled the ads and thus ended another quirky icon in American road trip travel history. A shame.

But there are a few of us who still remember Burma Shave! It was nice to see that the Window King of Holland Patent remembered.

In the previous posts, I yakked on about the Adirondack hermits, Adirondack stuff and paraphernalia (aka, junk) that previous campers and residents left behind for us to ooo and aaa about, and I talked about the wonderful methods of transportation back in the ‘ol days (and you think modern potholes are bad, check out the old plank road!). For this post, I’ll talk about the modern Adirondacks– the Winter Olympics and Smokey the Bear, woo hoo!

Twice, Lake Placid in the Adirondacks has hosted the Winter Olympics, in 1932 and 1980. I remember watching the 1980 games on TV and feeling that tremendous surge of pride as a New Yorker. Lake Placid (where we hope to visit very soon) is a wonderful little community of sports enthusiasts. Dozens of winter athletes have come from this little town, including Jack Shea, winner of the 1932 gold for speed skating and his grandson Jimmy Shea for skeleton sledding in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

The museum has a small section devoted to Olympic history. This is the sled on which Francis Paul Stevens won his silver medal in 1932.

A little bit of trivia– did you know that the Lake Placid High School is the only school in the United States to have been issued an alcohol license? During the 1980 Olympics, the school served as a private bar. Lake Placid was also one of the first communities in the U.S. to build a golf course, in 1898.

Moving along, we wandered through another very large building dedicated to the various industries in the Adirondacks. Logging was the biggest, and there was so much to see and learn. We all found it extremely fascinating, with many old tools, displays, plaques and stories of the loggers and their families. What a tough, tough job. I’m amazed at the strength of these guys.

This is one of the many gigantic piece of equipment the loggers used. It’s a Barienger brake, a huge piece of machinery that controlled logs (and horses and men!) as they were transported down the steep slopes of the Adirondack mountains.

Men also transported logs by the many waterways of the ADKs. I loved this diorama.

After spending over an hour in this one building, we ventured outside to the old Whiteface Mountain fire tower.

The view is so cool.

Obviously, these fire towers could make or break a community. To heighten awareness of the threats of fire to visitors, Smokey the Bear was invented by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1942. This is a genuine old Smokey suit. Did you know that Smokey was named for Smokey Joe Martin, a New York City assistant fire chief?

The last moments of our visit were spent enjoying the various outbuildings. Many were reproductions of typical ADK cottages and summer camps, all sporting unique and quirky objects, like chain rain gutters, rustic playhouses and furniture made from twigs.

Giant Adirondack Chair.

TV, Adirondack style!

Before the sun set and the museum closed, we scampered over to the back of the museum to take one final glimpse of Blue Mountain Lake. As dusk approached, a couple of loons trumpeted over the lake. It was absolutely beautiful. I miss it so much.

Thanks for reading. If you are ever in the Adirondack region, check out the museum. It’s a blast!

In this article, I highlight the best apps for hiking, skiing, and enjoying the many outdoorsy destinations in Upstate New York, particularly the Adirondack region. I’ll be writing additional articles on apps for New York City travel and another on apps that help you traverse through the thousands of small towns and cities of New York State. So keep an eye out for those.

Must-Have New York Nature Adirondack Travel Apps

ADK46erNow
By far one of the coolest apps for Adirondack travel, ADK46erNow is a must-have app for any traveler who strays into the glorious High Peaks region of upper New York. If you are like us, you have probably climbed an Adirondack Mountain, breathlessly exulted the view, swirled around in awe… and wondered what the heck all those other mountains are.

Our photo taken from the peak of Blue Mountain. Not every mountain can have a big "Hollywood" sign on it, so there's the ADK46erNow app.

ADK46erNow solves the dilemma. It’s a great app for both the novice and 46-er. This app displays the peaks and their names and elevations within a five mile radius. If you have cell service, the app displays satellite images of the High Peaks region. The app displays a topographic map if there is no service. While breathing in the crispy ADK air, you can look up mountain elevation, ascent, and even log your journey as you clamber up each of the coveted 46 ADK High Peaks. The app currently costs $4.99 in the App Store. I am definitely using this app the next time we hike the Adirondacks.

EveryTrail
I have this app. It’s like a Facebook or Twitter of travel apps. You log in and allow the app to track you while you travel. Along the way, you can snap a photo or jot a note, and the app adds the data to the GPS coordinate location. It’s a terrific app for a travel blogger, enabling you to track your course and go back to see your journey. You can upload the trip to the EveryTrail site to share with others, or delete the trip. If you love armchair travel, peruse the journeys of other EveryTrail travelers. There is a free version and a paid version for $3.99. You can peruse the EveryTrail website and see a very good video demonstrating the features of the app.

Trails
This app covers hundreds of thousands trails in the United States, including a healthy amount in New York State. When you open the app, it detects your geographic location by nearest city and latitude/longitude, displays current weather conditions, elevation, wind speed, a compass, and sunrise and sunset times. Wow! Touch the “trails” icon to see a
listing of trails nearest you. You can choose a trail and the app displays basic information such as trail distance, skill level, elevation gain and (in some cases) estimated duration. You can see the trail on a map and zoom in for details. Save the trail to your favorites, or rate it. You can log in to Twitter or Facebook and more. I love this app!

Be aware that the app offers elaborate trail guides, to which you must subscribe and are very costly ($50). You do not need to subscribe to use use the app, however– only the trail guides cost money. I noticed that many reviewers complained loudly at the App Store about this cost, but you do NOT need to pay a dime for the app. I use it for free and I love it! To avoid the $50 subscription cost, simply avoid purchasing the trail guides feature.

WikiHow: How To and DIY Survival Kit
This app is the Swiss army knife of survival apps. From delivering a baby to administering first aid to controlling a spooked camel, the app blends resource with humor. Even if you never have need to use it, it’s always good to have a survival kit. It’s even better when you’ve got one that’s fun to read. What other handbook has such endearing tutorials on “How to escape from Handcuffs,” “Run Up and Over a Wall,” Survive a Kidnapping,” “Deal with Party Crashers,” and “Fight Off Multiple Opponents”? I love it!

WildLab Bird
I’m not an avid bird-watcher, but I am curious about the wildlife in New York. This app fits the bill, so to speak. The app shows a pretty good inventory of birds and their characteristics, including terrific sound recordings of birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology of birds. I like this– you can identify their calls as well as see their images. It has a built-in map and camera where you can snap a photo and report a sighting of the bird.

I do wish the inventory was larger, however. There’s a paid version that offers more features. The bird species are organized by ecosphere (wetlands, grasslands, coastal, etc). I’m not too fond of the organization, because sometimes I spot a bird and I have no idea if I it belongs under grassland or forest, or whatever. Still, it’s a worthy app and it’s TERRIFIC for freaking out your cats.

Audubon: A Field Guide to North American Trees
If trees are your passion, the App Store abounds with apps. The best one I have seen is the Audubon guide to trees in North America. It’s a bargain at $10. There’s a $30 Audubon guide that includes trees, birds, and mammals, too. Of course, you can always look up a tree on Wikipedia using the free Wikipedia app, or do a search in Safari browser, but a

Planets
I have saved one of the best for last. This app is nothing short of spectacular. It displays a 2D and 3D planetarium view of the sky, in real time at your geographic location. It shows current visibility conditions for the sun and planets. It has stunning, animated images of the sun and planets. Best of all, it tells you the location of the stars, constellations, galaxies and planets in a 360-degree view, in real time. It’s just stunning. I can’t express it in any other way.

These are the jewels I have found so far. I’ll soon be posting additional apps for all sorts of travel, so stay tuned! If you have discovered any terrific apps, please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks for reading.

The Iroquois Indian Museum is unlike any of the other places I visited. The artifacts and art displays mingled Indian culture and it’s development with the history of the Iroquois. In case you have never heard of the Iroquois, allow me to briefly introduce you. The Iroquois Nation consisted of five (then later, six) tribes of the Eastern Woodlands natives of North America: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, and later, the Tuscaroras from Carolina. These tribes make a peace agreement with each other and were allotted tracts of land stretching across the untamed wilderness of what we now know as Upstate New York– the Mohawks were the “keepers of the door” near Albany and the Senecas maintained the other end of the land.

What made the Iroquois so unique was their form of self-government. When other tribes across the land were still hunting and gathering and slaughtering buffalo and each other, the Iroquois made a pact and recorded it with wampum (a belt of beads made from seashells).

The Iroquois Indian Museum is an amalgam of modern Indian art from local artists and artifacts discovered throughout New York State. Oh, how I remember as a little girl, digging in my yard looking for arrowheads!

An old Mohawk pot, reconstructed from shards.

A modern work of art crafted from a deer antler.

This is an amazing sculpture from a moose antler!

Indian beadwork from the late 1800s. The ladies of the Iroquois nations still make such lovely beadwork. I saw many such items for sale at the New York State Fair this year.

Wampum beads. It was difficult to tell what articles were new and what were historic.

Iroquois women used to decorate their pottery just like ladies still love to do, today. The placard said that you could always tell what tribe pottery came from because the designs were unique to the groups.

The Iroquois Indian Museum has two levels. One is filled with such amazing artifacts and art work. The lower level is for kids. There’s a big turtle pond that my son loved– the turtles were rather friendly and swam up to him. Or maybe my son just has this *knack* with turtles, I don’t know. There are “hands on” activities, tables with coloring sheets, a few televisions playing Iroquois-related documentaries, and a booth for dressing up.

We did not take advantage of it due to the cold, rainy weather, but the Iroquois Indian Museum has 45 acres of wilderness trails in the back. The area is a real wilderness, with a stream, lush forests and wildlife. It’s a popular place for birdwatching, beaver watching and searching for Natty Bumpo and Uncas. Haha, kidding about that last part, although my kids are CONVINCED we’ll find them someday.

There is an admission fee to the museum, and the museum closes January 1st. It reopens in May and is open every day except Monday until November.