Adirondack Family Time™

Young visitor at the wheel of Lois McClure ©Lake Champlain Maritime Museum By Diane Chase Part of the Farm, Forestry and Fishery Tour, the 88' wooden schooner Lois McClure and Urger tugboat will offer free tours from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 on October 15-16 at the Crown Point Pier. This tour has been raising awareness of the importance of "sustainable agriculture, responsbile foresty and clean, healthy waterways."

By Diane Chase* There are a lot of festivals that happen around this time of year, Harvest Fest, Oktoberfest and Pet Fests. What sets the North County Life Flight Pumpkin Fest apart is that this fundraiser benefits an organization that we all want to have available to us though we hope we will never require its services. This festival is a pay as you play type of event with plenty of activities for your money. It’s nicely set up in that you can choose what you or your children participate in. There are easy games of chance, pumpkin decorating, a hay ride and face painting. My favorite event is always the cake walk. Area restaurants and local chefs donate the cakes so you don’t have to worry about getting one of my lumpy cakes.  

By Diane Chase Now is your chance to put science to the test, make a catapult and see if your invention can out distance your neighbors.  Punkin' Chunkin ' will take place this Saturday as part of the Long Lake and Adirondack Center for the Arts' Oktober Pet Fest. Each participant will receive three pumpkins with a misfire being treated as a foul. Each pumpkin will weigh approximately 8-10 lbs. so plan accordingly. No cannons, ignitables or explosives, if that is where your mind is running. Eye protection and hard hat is provided. “We have been working with the   Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts   to make this an event for everyone,” says Long Lake Event Coordinator Denise Gagnier. “It is the third year for the Pet Fest and we wanted to work with our neighbors at The Center to provide an active event for the Columbus weekend.” According to Gagnier, the  Long Lake Oktober Pet Fest  will host a variety of unique activities geared toward pet owners. There will be

Look for This Tree!  It is the only deciduous   conifer *   It's needles will turn yellow in autumn. This tree is mostly found in swampy places

By Diane Chase The Goodsell Museum in Old Forge is free to the public and open all year. Visit the Floating Letters exhibit until October 31 st  or enjoy the other items that provide an historical blueprint of the area. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. At the Goodsell Museum children are encouraged to mix and mingle throughout the various exhibits. On the ground floor there are glass cases and cordoned-off taxidermy animals but a pack basket set to the side is marked with a yellow circle, handprint and “OK.”. Children know anything marked with that symbol is fair game. My children examine all the animal pelts gingerly and even try on a few fox collars. Upstairs they examine some medical equipment in a different “please touch box.”  

By Diane Chase My mother read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to me and I started the same tradition with my daughter. I thought as we read that we could duplicate the activities the Ingalls family was experiencing. Since we are not pioneers or living a homestead life I quickly realized that my attempt at a summer full of fun activities was getting complicated right from the start when “Pa” built a log cabin. We did collect sticks and attempt to notch them to comprise a log dollhouse. We eventually had to skip the house to continue to the story and enjoyed some homemade bread. Most people have heard of the “Little House” books that preserved a personal account of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s frontier life. Translated into over 40 different languages, the Laura Ingalls Wilder series glimpses into a time that has disappeared but that clearly demonstrates how settlers like the Ingalls and Wilder families built our country.

All Hands Hoay! Argg... you survy dogs September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day so ” Blow me down” and “Shiver me timbers." What? Can't be bothered talkin' like a pirate? Then prepared to be keel hauled, and it will be Davy Jones’ Locker for ye. Whether ye be scallywag or landlubbers. Whatever ya fancy, belay yer bellyachin’ and get out an have some fun! I can't think of any more pirate speak. My children are at school. Since they tend to break into fluent Pirate every day of the year, after a few rounds of "You can't tell me what to do," I can usually glean a few sassy pirate words for the record. Perhaps I can add a few more when it's time to do homework. Q: Did you finish your homework? A: Arrgg...

The Kiwanis Club of Lake Placid will host its 20th annual Teddy Bear Picnic this Sunday, September 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the renamed Teddy Bear Park on Hillcrest Ave in Lake Placid, located near St. Agnes Church.  Bring your  bear. There is a parade at noon. Children and parents are encouraged to dress up. There is a costume contest and decorated wagon "float" contest. Food and beverages are available. This a great family-friendly event that will bring out the child in all of us!

Hunting for treasure whether on the trail or at our home still seems to hold some fascination for my children and, to be perfectly frank, for myself as well. If Jed Clampett can strike “liquid gold” in his backyard, why not me? (My husband feels obligated to remind me that The Beverly Hillbillies is a fictitious show, not a documentary.) Fine. Well, if you visit Kasey and Kean Riley’s Twin Crystal Rock Shop , treasure takes on a whole new meaning. The store shelves are lined with beautiful jewelry, most of which is handmade locally. There is a room dedicated to florescent stones, a sandbox for treasure digging and shelf dedicated to old-fashioned candy.

All sorts of businesses have stepped up to help those in need. Don't worry if you can't attend an event. You can donate online for the Keene/Keene Valley Recover Fund  or mail a check for the Jay/AuSable Flood Recover Fund   b y sending a check or money order with the notation “UJFR” to:  Town of Jay Irene Relief Fund – P.O. Box 730 – Ausable Forks, NY 12912 Today in Lake Placid, September 14, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.  This event is open to the public with a $10 donation suggested. The Whiteface Lodge will be hosting The Hurricane Irene Benefit with Silent Auction, Below are just a few of the Silent Auction Items: -Tivoli Lodge- 3 Nights Stay -The Sky Lodge- 2 Nights Stay with 2 Signautre Massages -Msoaic Hotel- 2 Nights Stay -Lake Placid Pub & Brewery $100.00 Gift Certificate

By Diane Chase G ood grief. Finding out that September is Head Lice Prevention Month was not the welcome message I expected from my inbox this morning.   The picture above is not an animation of some upcoming Hollywood blockbuster but t wo lice viewed under an electron microscope. Note the claws used to grasp onto individual hairs.   Photo Credit: Center of Disease Control (CDC).

© Diane Chase, author of Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities) for the towns of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Jay/Upper Jay, Wilmington, Keene/Keene Valley which is available online or bookstores/museums/sporting good stores. Diane is currently working on the second guidebook in the four-book series of Adirondack Family Activities.

In History: The Battle of Plattsburgh, (September 11, 1814) 15,000 British soldiers invaded New York from Canada supported by the Royal Navy on Lake Champlain. The purpose was to reach New York City and split the nation in half. With only 1,500 men led by General Macomb (32) and a small flotilla commanded by Commodore Macdonough (30) the two armies fought valiantly in the village of Plattsburgh. The Americans were overwhelmed and outnumbered but a lack of wind gave them the advantage to overtake the British fleet. The ground troops were withdrawn after the defeat of the British ships. It was an unexpected victory but with a great loss of life. The American victory scuppered the British plans to control Lake Champlain which is said to have a direct effect of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812.