Adirondack Family Time™

This Adirondack Mama always thinks that I have stumbled upon the deal of the century, only to find that everyone is already in on the family fun. So just in case I am not the last person to find out that New York State is once again offering the FREE Ski and Ride Passport Program to all third (3rd) and fourth (4th) grade children, I’m here to let you in on the secret. The program was first established in 2000 to introduce children to skiing and promote a healthy lifestyle choice. The passport offers free lift tickets to 31  New York ski mountains including 7 Adirondack ski resorts and other discounts like soft drink coupons. Personally, the beverage option seems to cancel out the healthy lifestyle choice. On the other hand, perhaps it may help encourage a child to get off the couch and onto the slopes.

By Diane Chase, Adirondack Family Time™ There are so many options for families and kids to hike in the Adirondack woods. Though my husband is a  Adirondack  46er a couple times over and still enjoys hiking the High Peaks, he also likes to share simple trails. One  favorite  place is  the Ausable Club's  “Ladies Mile.” My first thought was he was joking. There is such a thing as a ladies’ mile? Have I been walking a man-mile all this time and not knowing it? I am going to run a 5K and I’m not in shape. So if a ladies’ mile is shorter, I plan on requesting a few of them.  No such luck.  The Ladies’ Mile is a beautiful path, part of the private Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) and  Ausable Club . Though the public has permission to hike in the AMR it is still private land and has strict rules to follow in order to have access. No dogs, camping or swimming. (Please do not leave the trails and carry out anything you bring in.)

The Lake Placid Film Forum performed quite a coup in grabbing Gabe Polsky's film "Red Army" before its official national opening in New York next week. This award-winning film will be shown at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts for this weekend only, before being released to all major commercial movie houses.  Director Gabe Polsky, “Red Army” goes behind the Iron Curtain and tracks the Soviet Union’s hockey team domination to its unraveling at the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympic Games to its ultimate demise.  Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kathleen CarrolI first saw the ”Red Army” at a film screening during the New York Film Festival. She knew immediately that this would be an important film to show in Lake Placid with its focus on the Cold War Russian dominance of hockey, ties to the 1980 Winter Olympic Russian hockey team and the United States Olympic gold medal win, dubbed “The Miracle on Ice.” “I knew this film’s conn

(Saranac Lake) This year’s Rising Star Productions has found a new home for its fall children's musical at Pendragon Theatre . Over 30 area kids will be on stage to dance and sing their way through the pages of the classic 1945 Swedish book series “Pippi Langstrump” by Astrid Lindgren. This family-friendly show is a fun kids' activity, appropriate for all ages. The book series was adapted for the stage by Sebastian and Staffan Gotestam and became “Pippi Longstocking: The Family Musical.” This two-act play is directed by McCayla Quinn and focuses on the free-spirited adventures of the red-haired, self-reliant character Pippi (played by Robyn Rutgers) who lives with her horse and pet monkey in the Villekulla Cottage while her sea captain father (Simon Thill) is out at sea. “There are all sorts of hijinks throughout the show,” says Quinn. “Pippi stops thieves from stealing her pirate gold. She takes over the circus where she is stronger than Mighty Adolf, the strongest

Halloween is all about being scared so here are five ideas from mildly scary to an Adirondack fright night for all ages to enjoy! Enjoy these ghoulish ideas!  Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve is one of my favorite events. I love seeing all the costumes and creativity that goes into dressing up for a holiday that holds its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Some sources state the name Samhain originating from two Gaelic words, “sam” and “fain” meaning “end of summer.”  The harvest festival was to bring an end to the harvest and gesture in the beginning of the cold of winter. With superstition and religious undertones, Halloween was also a time that people thought the divide between worlds thinned and the dead could return to cause mischief such as crop failure and famine. All Hallows’ Eve also precedes the Christian festival honoring its saints. Now we celebrate with candy, costumes and a bit of the harvest with numerous activities, some for the brave of heart, bu

Cathedral Pines Distance  0.1 mile Dedicated to the memory of  Malcolm L. Blue ,  a young navigator of the 8th  Air Force ,  is a plaque affixed a stone monument. The walk is relatively level with a few uphill treks but no significant gain/loss in elevation. Watch out for roots which are plentiful. The monument is just a few minutes’ walk from the highway.  This hike isn't just for  kids, but is an easy Adirondack family hike is  a quick wooded walk for all level of hiker including grandparents or with your dog. The plaque reads: “This tree, Created by God and  Old When Our Country Was Born , Fine and  Straight-Grained Like  the  Boy Himself , is Dedicated in Memory of 2nd  Lt. Malcolm L. Blue , Navigator of a  Liberation Bomber With Eight Air Force . Killed in  Action Over France June  2nd, 1944.  Few Men Have Earned  so Fine a Memorial.”  The treasure to look for is a small monument dedicated to the memory of a World War II navigator of the 852 nd Bo

The Rainbow Bridge:  Norse Legends, Lost Pets and Natural Parks When our family dog, Ella, had a stroke she didn't magically disappear and reappear a few weeks later as a puppy. She died on a sidewalk at 8 pm during a busy weekend in Ocean Beach, Fire Island. There was no way to cover up that she had passed on. She did so right in front of my son. It was horrible and uplifting all in the same moment. My husband and I had to make quick decisions because the vet was off island and we had to bury her in my mother-in-law's yard that night. The police grabbed table clothes from nearby restaurants and got a trolley to wheel our dog to our house. My children and I followed behind while people shielded their own children from the site of our beloved Ella. My children were beside us when we wrapped her in the cloth and put her in the ground. My children got flowers from the neighbors and we walked to the beach and threw flowers into the ocean waves lighted by a full moon.

Silver Lake Mountain Ascent = 900’ Distance = 0.9 mile We were all getting a bit antsy and looking for something to do before a trip to Plattsburgh. We wanted a quick, easy climb with a beautiful view. Well, that isn’t too much to ask for, is it? Not in the Adirondacks! With the same ascent (900’) and distance (0.9 mile) as Saranac Lake’s own Baker Mountain, Silver Lake Mountain is certainly a family-friendly option. Located in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest, the trailhead to Silver Lake Mountain, as outlined in my second Adirondack Family Activities™ guidebook, Adirondack Family Time™: Champlain Valley from Plattsburgh to Ticonderoga: Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities ) is easy enough to find. We plan on making this a quick jaunt as my kids are old enough to make fast work of these smaller hikes.

What is the cause for all those beautiful, fiery colors that make people drive the Adirondack highways and seek out the fall leaves? Those Adirondack Leaf Peepers may not care but if your family is anything like mine, they question everything. So if you are taking kids for a walk or hike why not share a few tidbits about the process.

Loon Lake Mountain (Fire Tower) Vertical Ascent  = 1,642' Elevation = 3,335' Distance = 2.8-miles A friend of mine was describing her journey leading a group of boys up Loon Lake Mountain. She had gone in early summer and had experienced a wet trail and lots of mud. Though challenging, she described the trail with such joy that I had to bring my daughter along this rediscovered path. It may not be easy but Loon Lake Mountain is a great Adirondack family hike.   The 2.8-mile trail is accessed from a parking area on CR 26 in the Town of Franklin, north of Loon Lake. With an elevation of 3,335’ and a vertical ascent of 1,642’, the trail is well tagged with yellow trail markers. The path zigzags from woods to logging roads before reaching the base of the mountain. Even in late summer the trail is swampy in places. We discover that the most difficult part of the trail was about ½-mile from the summit. After crossing four plank bridges the trail started gaining

Suicide, depression and the effects of both are challenging and frightening subjects to discuss.  I know.  I was in my early 20s when I found a friend during her attempted suicide. What transpired was tragic and emotional, but she eventually received the help she needed. Not everyone is so lucky. This week, September 8-14, is  National Suicide Prevention week  and two Clarkson students are trying to do their part to raise awareness and funds by  climbing all 46 High Peaks . Adirondack 46ers Kolby Ziemendorf and Catherine Zarnofsky are currently in the Adirondacks to climb all 46 High Peaks again, this time to honor those lost to suicide. This time their goal isn't a patch, but to climb all of the High Peaks in one week to help raise awareness for suicide prevention. “I lost my friend Greg Lombardo when I was in high school,” says Zimendorf. “We played hockey. No one knew that something was wrong. I remember looking around at all the people at his funeral and thinking tha

It isn’t just nature, hikes and water activities that keep me active. It is an overwhelming interest in its vast history. Every summer I try to schedule in one of Historic Saranac Lake’s walking tours. Each Thursday a different section of the Saranac Lake story is unfolded. My daughter joined me last week for a tour around the American Management Association (AMA) property.  During school she’s learned about the contribution Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau made to the community and was interested to learn more about his influence. There is always so much more information given on these tours and not enough space to write about it. I learned from Margaret, our wonderful volunteer guide, that the AMA space was originally the Trudeau Sanatorium. Sanatoriums were institutions geared toward those that couldn’t afford the private cure cottages in town.   

Camp Pendragon, in collaboration with   Pendragon Theatre , is hosting a special  presentation of “the musical "Little Shop of Horrors”" by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Winner of a Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical,  Drama Desk Award for Best Musical, Outer Critics Circle Award  and Evening Standard Award for Best Musical, "Little Shop of Horrors" has become a cult phenomenon.   When “ a luckless florist shop worker, Seymour, starts raising a strange plant that feeds on human blood and flesh he starts becoming famous. Trying to impress Audrey, the woman he loves, Seymour keeps feeding the plant. (The musical is based on the low-budget 1960  black comedy  of the same name.) Chaos ensues as Seymour must find unorthodox ways to keep feeding his plant.    WHEN :  July 22 at 7 pm  and  July 23 at 1 pm WHERE : Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. COST :  $10 for Adults, $5 for Students