ASP Aministration Building

Day 29: the Administration Building in the Red house area of the Allegany State Park, always looks so stately, sitting atop a knoll overlooking Red House lake. Built in the depression, stepping inside makes you feel like you’re in the middle of the Adirondacks with all the dark wood accents and twin stone fireplaces. I only have one memory of Allegany State Park that I am certain of... I can remember drinking Spring water from the Sweet Water Spring, on the way up to the summit. I remember the water flowing freely out of a pipe into a stone basin. My Mom handed me a metal cup and told me to get a drink. Holding the cup into the forceful flow of water, I almost lost my grip on it. It filled to overflowing almost immediately and I could feel the cup chill with the cold spring water. The sign said “Sweet Water”, so I had a little bit of an expectation... I was surprised when I took a sip, that it didn’t taste sweet, put rather more like... water.
I’m not sure when the Park decided to plug the Spring... I feel a bit of regret every time I see the old stone basin with the words Sweet Water written across the front. I guess these days, drinking water flowing from the earth, is a health hazard. When I was growing up, I learned that the best tasting water flowed from the side of a hill and was gathered in an old metal cup.
“ASP Administration Building” Watercolor/ Colored Pencil 3”x5” $125

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