I often post photos from my varied Adirondack commute on my personal social networks. The reaction from my friends is typically gratitude, and sometimes misplaced jealousy for those who call the region home but now live far away.

Regardless, I always insist that it's very hard work - stopping the car, getting out and skillfully aiming my phone at a mountain, lake or piece of wildlife - all for the benefit of the online universe.

Today was the coldest of the winter so far (though I realize winter has essentially just begun). According to the National Weather Service online, this morning it was minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit at my house in the Lake Champlain Region, and about 18 degrees below zero at my destination; my office in Lake Placid. So I decided to take photos all along the way - and took a slight diversion from the shortest route to drive by Whiteface in Wilmington.

My first stop was at the NYS DEC boat launch in Westport on Lake Champlain. Because the air is so cold, the water was doing its transition-to-ice thing. I could faintly see a number of ducks floating in the haze.

As I drove from Elizabethtown toward Keene, the moon was clearly visible against the bright blue sky. This view is from the bottom of Spruce Hill where 9N meets route 73.

Instead of heading directly to Lake Placid on 73, I took a turn to drive through Upper Jay to Whiteface.

I stopped to snap a couple shots of the ski mountain itself, of course. The sun was so bright that the photo, like my bare hands taking it, is a bit overexposed.

As I finally headed into Lake Placid, I took a shot of the cross country ski trail formerly known as the Lake Placid Club Golf Course.

At last - at my destination, I took this picture of Mirror Lake near my parking spot.

It's amazing how different these locales can appear from day to day. The greens, blues, browns and sparkling whites of winter all change with the angle of the sun and the weather. 



No worries; despite the tremendous hard work and sacrifice, I'll commit to commute another day.

-Kim RIelly is the director of communications for the Lake Placid CVB/Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.