We’re used to the kind of fire towers you usually see in the ADKs: run down and abandoned. We were expecting the same on Blue Job Mountain, but when we got near the top of the stairs we heard someone say “Come on up!” It was a fully functional, manned fire tower! And the dude was very excited to have visitors. He showed us how the whole operation works with range finders, maps, triangulation, radios, and everything! Then he walked us through a 360° tour of the horizon, pointing out every peak and tower we could see.

We even spotted a fire while we were up there! It was a structure fire and out of his jurisdiction, so he didn’t call it in. Cool nonetheless. Also, I would’ve expected they’d see a fire once every week or so. This one, the guy said, was the fifth he’d seen that day!

He gave the kids Smokey Bear coloring/activity books and bracelets, pointed us toward a cool pond, and we were on our way.