Into the Wild

I am just back from ten days of travel by train to New York.
In Albany, NY, I met up with several other Climate Ambassadors connected with the Catholic Climate Covenant. We were asked to participate in a Climate Summit at Paul Smith College which is located in the Adirondacks near Lake Placid.
It was my first time in New York and no, I did not travel "into the big city." (That will have to happen some other time.) This time it was a trip into a gorgeous area that has played host twice to the winter Olympics but which this year does not have enough snow to attract the cross country skiers who usually play a major role in the area's economy. We stopped at the Olympic Center Friday morning on the way to the college. The cross country parking lot was empty.
There was however, a skeleton competition in progress. Skeleton? What's that? A very very fast head first sledding event down a very very slick and icy track. I had never heard of it before so if you haven't don't feel ignorant. The lodge at the site featured antique bobsleds along with information regarding the sports of skeleton, bobsledding and the luge. Apparently the skeleton competitors can reach speeds over 130 miles an hour all while going down hill head first. (For the fun of it we tried to take pictures as the sleds whizzed by but there was no luck among any of us in getting more than a small tip of a sled coming or going.) 
After leaving the Olympic site we traveled by van up to Lake Placid where we stopped to get a bite to eat before taking some time to stretch our legs. We walked around Lake Mirror... or better we walked on the Lake. It was my first time 'walking on water' and it made me feel a little uneasy even though there were many people on the Lake including several teams of youngsters involved in ice hockey practice.  (see Pictures below) Clearly the people of the region identify with outdoor activities and the beauty of the region. They are also very concerned about the effect that the changing climate is having on their way of life.
On Saturday evening, March 5, the Climate Ambassadors had been asked to give a presentation at Paul Smith College regarding our work integrating science and faith with the topic of climate change. The crowd that gathered was large and diverse. There were elders as well as young students from area high schools. Some of the people came from faith backgrounds but many did not. The opportunity to dialogue regarding ways that we could all work together to care for Creation was exciting. People stayed for an hour longer that we had anticipated in order to ask questions, share stories and encourage one another.
I will write more in the coming days. I am exhausted now and need to transition from travel to the work day ahead.