This photo sort of looks like the area where this young man was back in 1909 with his Franklin, and the roads haven't changed much as you can see.

Franklins were made in Syracuse. They were supposedly pretty reliable. Still quite a few of the barrel-nosed Model D's around.

My mom's family had a 1930 Franklin, and my granddad used to get a big charge out of telling the gas station attendant to check the water in the radiator. He'd struggle and twist, but he couldn't get the hood ornament off. Because the Franklin was air cooled! Very funny, Grandpa.

The last time I drove down this highway from Lake Placid to Wilmington was in the summer of 1964 (good grief, that was 47 years ago!), and the scenic view hadn't changed much then, since 1909 with the exception of a couple of roadside motels. I'm wondering how it looks today.

I wonder if any Shorpyite can provide a picture of what this scene looks like today? Has a modern highway and other encroachments from man altered the foreground significantly?

Now I understand why we call them "high beams" and "low beams"!

That hoodlum just stole the leather couch and loveseat set from the house up the road, and is now making his speedy getaway!

Oooh, it's the Machine from Gone-Away Lake!!

Looks like a Franklin Model D.

Franklin motors were air cooled. Like an old Volkswagen flat-4 or a Harley-Davidson V-Twin. Or your lawn mower, for that matter. The cylindrical engine quarters no doubt aided airflow past the motor.

since Franklins were built in Syracuse. About 195 miles from Syracuse to Lake Placid today, probably a bit more back then.

A Model D Touring, $2850 as shown. This fellow didn't go for the optional extension top for an extra $120. At this time Franklin offered all eight of its models in any color the customer wanted, as long as it was Royal Blue.

Imagine driving the Adirondacks in one of those early autos! One can think twice in a modern car; and by the way your cell phone probably won't work.

Nice video of the Franklin cars here.

The odds that any farmhouse near this area would have a newfangled telephone mandated that this driver be prepared to change a flat and deal with a temperamental carburetor or finicky spark coil ignition system. Dirty or stale gasoline, and wet conditions played havoc with the fuel and spark systems of these early Grand Dames of the road.

Just a man and his Franklin on the road to high adventure. Jack Armstrong at the wheel!