Posts

Adirondack Hikes: Skipping stones on Lake Champlain

Image
By Diane Chase Skipping stones. I wouldn’t think that would be enough to keep my child entertained but I am proven wrong. We enter Pont au Roche Park and follow signs to the playground. It is officially off-season so parking is free, a bonus we didn’t expect. I try to get the kids to walk the one-mile bicycle path to the nature center, but they see the unoccupied beach and want out. The car is hardly in park when they start running to the beach as if wild dogs were chasing them. What is the hurry? I just sit and watch the water lap over the sand in its season finale. I turn to get the lunch. I am in charge of the food. Everyone wants to eat it but it has become my role to worry about having it. Perhaps it’s a mother’s obsession but like some kind of magician I have been known to pull the makings for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of my bag. So it’s certainly no surprise my family expects me to have provisions on demand. The kids are in a self-made competition to contrib

Adirondack Great Camp Tours: White Pine Camp Paul Smiths NY

Image
“It is not every day we get to visit the summer White House,” I inform my children. We park our car at the main gate and walk the ¼-mile on the Main Entrance Road of White Pine Camp toward the tennis court where our tour will begin. The kids have already started in with the “arewethereyets.” We are here and this is it. We are taking a turn back in time. White Pine Camp, originally built in 1907, became the Summer White House in 1926 for President Calvin Coolidge. Situated among 35 acres of land, White Pine Camp houses 18 buildings and an interesting architectural history. We walk past the single story guest cottages with asymmetrical rooflines and marvel over the trees growing through the covered decks. My children run outside and then back in to confirm that the trees are indeed alive. They are not as interested in the brainstorm siding (rough-hewed clapboards) as in the bowling alley, boathouse and footbridge to the Japanese teahouse. Stuffed animals have a different connotatio

Hiking Noonmark in the Adirondack's Keene Valley

Image
“You’re a fast hiker,” my daughter says to me on our way up the trail from the famed Ausable Club toward Noonmark (3,556’). I can say with complete assurance that no one has ever said that to me before. I have always been the last in the pack. I enjoy hiking and backpacking and my family knows that I will eventually show up on top. My camera will be filled with pictures of tracks, plants and trees to identify once I get home. Now that my daughter is able to amble up the trails I am no longer left wandering alone. We are starting up Noonmark via the Stimson Trail, named for Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War under Roosevelt and Secretary of State under Hoover. We split the group letting the faster hikers park the car at the hikers’ parking lot on the Ausable Club property off of NY 73, while the slower ones (my daughter and myself) are dropped off at the trailhead opposite the golf course. This is all private land so we are respectful and stay on task. When the trail begins we fol

Malone Country Fair

I have always been partial to fairs. Not really the huge amusement parks (though we have gone to a few of those) but the traveling carnivals. I am not, however, much for the fast rides. A lifetime ago a cousin once challenged me to an "eat and ride-off" at one such visiting fair. Yes, immature, I know. So we ate carnival food and rode on the fastest rides. I lost and to be frank so did anyone else that was riding "The Zipper" with me. My cousin went on to consume more food and enjoy many more rides. I woefully handed over all my tickets and sat with my head between my legs. Interestingly enough my taste for carnival snacks never diminished, just the jostling rides. The Franklin County Fair in Malone, NY, is the largest annual, long-standing event in Franklin County. The Franklin County Agricultural Society was formed in August 1851. For over 150 years the Society has continued their purpose of improving agriculture, horticulture and the inclusive mechan

Plattsburgh (NY) Bike Trails: The Air Force Base Two-mile Bicycle Loop

We are visiting friends in Plattsburgh and always attempt to get some wiggles out before gracing them with our presence. We have heard of a two-mile pedestrian path alongside the lakefront of the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base (PAFB). We are familiar with the museums at the former Base so know right where to go to find the beginning of the path. We park the car in the lot overlooking Lake Champlain and ready ourselves for the two-mile trek. One child is on his two-wheeler and the other in the No Longer a Baby…Jogger while my husband and I rollerblade. We gingerly cross the bridge over the railroad tracks and head north. Be careful; this bridge is one lane. We find a few drivers surprised by and not watching for walking traffic. My son is developmentally in a black and white stage where events have to be someone’s fault. As in, it would be the driver’s fault if a car hit him. Yes, I agree, but it will still hurt. Logic does not always play a part. Once we are on the trail it is sm

Lake Placid Summer Fun: FREE Sinfonietta in the Park

Image
It has been touted that listening to classical music makes children smarter (though watching videos cancels it out) and “music soothes the savage beast.” So then it would only make sense to partake in the Lake Placid Sinfonietta’s concert series . Watching a taped performance is no substitute when a live one is available so the video issue is solved. We see a peaceful change come over our children when we join other patrons during the Wednesday evening Pops Series so the beastie issue is temporarily pacified. Once again the Lake Placid Sinfonietta will be holding its free community concerts (Wed. 7:00 p.m.) at the Paul White Memorial Bandshell. This is also the first year that children 18-under will be admitted free to the Sunday Symphony Series at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA). That series starts at 7:30 pm and is followed by a reception where guests can mingle with the performers. What an amazing opportunity for children and adults. Another midsummer treat will be

Malone (NY) Museums: Just Beyond the Adirondacks is the Homestead of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy

This Saturday, June 21, the Almanzo Wilder Farm is having a 75th anniversary celebration of the publication of Farmer Boy; the book based on the boyhood experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s husband. From 1857-1875 the Wilders made Burke, NY their home. Most people have heard of the “Little House” books that preserved a personal account of frontier life. Now translated into over 40 different languages, the Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series glimpses into a time that has disappeared but that clearly shows how our country was built by the resilience of pioneers like the Ingalls and Wilder families. We are indeed fortunate to have one such location nearby. The 84-acre farm/museum will be hosting a series of events during this celebratory day. The hours during this special event are 10:00-5:00 with docents available to answer questions regarding the vast property and its special connection to the book. There are quite a few events that center around the Wilders as depicted in Farmer Boy

Rain or Shine it’s Carnival Time

Image
My children are not quite of an age where I can hand them a few bills and send them off for a few hours. Thankfully most of us are eased into parenthood so these changes are gradual. I am always so grateful to find places for them to gain some independence but still be able to find me if necessary. I have never attended the Lake Placid Elementary School annual spring carnival and silent auction, but it seems the perfect place for the whole family to spread their wings, games for all and a silent auction for me. A long-standing tradition, the carnival is a fundraiser for FRIENDS (an acronym for Friends Really Interested in the Educational Needs and Development of Students), which raises money to provide funds for field trips, supplies and other student needs. Taking place this Saturday, June 7, from 10:00am-2:00pm, the carnival will host a mixture of games, activities and events. There is no fee to get in but some events range in price from .25-$2.50. Just a few activities to look forwa

A Wild Mother’s Day

I do not know what is in store for me for Mother’s Day. That is the point, I guess. To let the wee ones hatch elaborate plans that involve waking me at 4:00 a.m. with tea and toast. They have hatched some sort of plan, the two of them and have been hiding things from me. At first I thought it was more sticky candy wrappers I occasionally find under the couch or perhaps an accidental spill cleaned up with my best tea towels. After a small slip of the tongue I have been led to believe that it may be something a little bit more. My son is itching to tell me what he has planned. When he comes to hug me he always mentions how he loves giving surprises as much as getting them. Then he follows with a few hints. It is not alive. (Whew! I am a bit alarmed when presented with the gift of life in the manner of snakes or ant farms.) I can’t eat it; which may be a mixed blessing. I can’t wear it; so I am assuming that I am going somewhere. For anyone wishing for ideas the Wild Center in Tupper Lak

Burlington VT's ECHO Museum

Image
We have ventured from the woods and across the pond. We are compelled to see the exhibit, “Attack of the Bloodsuckers!” at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center located in Burlington, VT. I am not known for a fondness for anything of the horror genre so I usually abstain from anything that will cause two small children to crawl into bed with me at night. But I’m willing to go anywhere to learn more about my nemesis, the black fly. We have not gone to ECHO (a place to view the Ecology, Culture, History and Opportunities of the Lake Champlain Basin) before and enter the buildings to the sound of running water. The children rush up the stairs while my husband and I consult the brochure. I grab a Discovery Trail (flyer with scavenger hunt) but find it unnecessary. There is plenty else to do. We find our children at the tide pool petting starfish and anemones. We turn the corner and attempt to excavate some Beluga Wale bones. I do an on camera weather report while my son ventures i

Elvis has left the building

Image
There is something about a parade that can take away the winter blues. Perhaps it is the eagerness of those that participate. Perhaps it is the friendly competition of costumes and floats that make one anxiously look around the corner to see who is coming next. Each group taking part in the parade is no more or less important than the next. Each process is different. For Petrova Middle School it has been a powerhouse of participation. With over ten dedicated teachers and 40-80 students, their contribution to the 50’s celebration will be fabulous. The art room at the middle school is filled with parade goodies. Cardboard cutout electric guitars rest against the wall and oversized record albums highlight hits from the 1950s. A giant jukebox ties all the elements together. Students slowly filter in throwing names out with familiarity built around weeks of work. A few students grab Lucy while others wrestle with Howdy Doody. The room is tight and gets smaller still as Marilyn and Elvis jo

Easy Tupper Lake/Saranac Lake Hikes: Where the Raquette River meets Stony Creek

Image
Raquette River - Stoney Creek loop Distance = 1 mile loop Elevation - n/a Vertical ascent - n/a Snowshoe = yes Cross-country ski = yes The first words to end peace in the family are “Are we there yet?” Gone are the years when we can just tell the kids we are almost there. My son can pinpoint landmarks like he is channeling a GPS. If we end up turning around and detouring, my son lists the waypoints necessary to obtain the final destination and yes, he is usually correct, we are not almost there. We spend an inordinate amount of time going in circles; to school, pre-school, store, work, back to school, pre-school, store and work. You can either remember those times or you are still so in it that you don’t realize that you are going in circles. Sometimes going in circles is frustrating while other times it is a peaceful journey. My husband piles the kids into the car and asks me to escape my work for a moment. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going. He kept saying, “You’ll enjoy

The Magic of Snow

Image
For a good portion of the year this white winter water surrounds us all. I am not sure if anyone else ever feels the weight of responsibility each shovel full brings. Is it only me?  I am sometimes consumed by the need for extra hat and mittens tucked into the backpack. I am sometimes overwhelmed by the necessity to clear cars, paths and driveways. I am sometimes challenged by road conditions, road salt and road kill. This isn’t even a particular challenging winter and I am bogged down in the removal of snow rather than the enjoyment of it. Though I only need to look at my children’s cold redden cheeks to be reminded of uninhibited joy that comes with snow. My husband recently saw a former camper, a visitor from North Carolina. We were returning from seeing a movie and a light sugar dusting was floating down. The young man was just standing outside his door, quietly watching the snowfall. We joined him for a while, catching up on the past and peacefully avoiding the future. We