Adirondack Family Time™

By Diane Chase, from my weekly Adirondack Almanack post Being an active family, my kids seems to outgrown their sporting gear before I’ve finished tying up the laces. For other parents looking to outfit their children for the winter ski season, a ski swap is a nice starting place. A ski swap can also be a much-needed opportunity to clean house Generally the ski swaps are consignments where you drop off your gear, helmets, and winter clothing a day before the event. If the gear sells then you will receive 80% of the set sale price. Usually the funds generated benefit a special organization like ski clubs or ski patrols so the 20% commission goes to support the sport. It is best to ask what each ski swap's arrangement is, as it varies with location. Keep in mind no “collector’s items” like wooden skis and only clothing in good condition.   Lake Placid: November 5, 9:00 a.m. – noon In Lake Placid, the   Lake Placid Ski Club/NYSEF Ski Swap   is asking for any winter gear from

Join authors for a reading Thursday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m. at TREES Adirondack Gifts and Books!  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.

Now that our kids are all jazzed-up on sugar, it may be time to take a long hard look at all the hard won treasure. Some local dentists will buy back the candy for a $1/lb and donate it to troops oveseas. Other organizations will take the unopened candy and donate it to nonprofits that send care packages to overseas troops. All in all it is a nice start to thinking about other people. Want to get rid of your leftover Halloween candy?  Donate that as well!  Halloween Buy Back  and  Operation Gratitude  are two organizations that can help send care packages to those brave men and women serving our country! My children were excited to find out about a candy buy-back program and to do something for the troops. It didn't stop them from making sure their personal favorites are well hidden in our candy bin. Though they aren't exhibiting the altruistic behavior we were hoping for it was a nice segue into helping out other people. Click Here for a Listing of Adirondack Candy B

If your children are just learning to ride a bike try any of the smooth paved roads of the Adirondack Campgrounds. These paved pathways are a perfect learning spot for that young rider.  According to the Barkeater Trail Alliance' s Founder Matt McNamera there are easy trails on their network that get that new rider out into the woods.  The Hardy Road trail system in Wilmington  is a smooth wooded path with no significant climb.  To get to Hardy Road from Route 86 in Wilmington turn south onto Springfield Road for about 3 miles. Turn onto Hardy Road for another 1.2 mile, parking will be on the right and the trailhead across the road.   “The benefit to the Hardy Road trails is its location to the road,” assures McNamara. “If kids overstep their comfort level it is a quick trip back to the car or a quick hike to Good Luck Ledges.”

For Halloween, make this easy felted candy corn tote and or felted bat. It is an easy pattern to follow and a great starting place to practice your knitting, crocheting and felting skills. Gauge is not essential for either craft which makes it a good activity for all. The free Felted Candy Corn Tote pattern is from Lion® Brand Lion® Yarn. Final size of bag = About 9 in. (23 cm) long after felting and not including handles.

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!