Adirondack Family Time™

It doesn’t happen that frequently so I want to take my bows when I can. In a clairvoyant moment I decided to get all the children’s winter gear out of storage to check for sizes. It was a bright sunny day and the youngsters huffed and puffed about having to wiggle into ski boots, helmets and snow pants. We made quick work of it and as much as I would like to squeeze another season out of the ski boots, my son’s feet just keep on growing. The children’s reaction to waking up to snow was so different from my own. They quickly got dressed and put on their winter gear. (Thank you very much, Clairvoyant Mom!) They threw a few soggy snowballs and attempted an angel. I on the other hand wonder why I can see only into my children’s future. I didn’t occur to me to grab a jacket for myself, let along hat and gloves. Now that I have organized my children’s gear and requested that the next growth spurt be in spring, I eagerly await the annual Ski and Skate Swap! Items need to be dropped off at the

Hiking with children does not have to be complicated. Below are a few tips to help you on your way. Check back as I am will be adding tricks as I learn them from my own children! Always remember the point is to have our children enjoy the outdoors. Learn from them and take our time. Sometimes the goal doesn't have to be getting to the top, its the journey along the way! Before you go! • Always check your gear before departing. • Dress in layers for the season. • Make sure you bring plenty of water for each person • Bring healthy snacks like GORP, granola bars, fresh or dried fruit • A first aid kit, flashlight and compass. • Be prepared to stop frequently. Autumn Hikes: • Bring rain gear no matter the weather. It can serve as a wind shield on top • Although trails are clearly marked, it is always best to carry a detailed map. • Hiking in late autumn can be tricky. Leaves can be wet and slippery and it is not unusual to experience small patches of ice. • Wear

Bald Mountain Fire Tower was restored and reopened in 2005 Bald Mountain (Rondaxe)  Location  = Between Eagle Bay and Old Forge (NY) Distance  = 1.0 mile Elevation  = 2,350' Vertical Ascent = 390' By Diane Chase My son plans on giving me the Adirondack Kids ® version of a climb up Bald Mountain. There are nine books to date in the middle reader series by father/son authors Gary and Justin VanRiper. I am getting the synopsis and walking tour all in one climb to the summit. Looking down from the top of the Bald Mountain fire tower! My daughter isn’t interested in the book tour; she is on a quest of her own. Sometimes I believe she is channeling my grandmother with her apron over a charmingly old-fashioned dress that is only suitable for the very old or very young. Her floppy hat and purse complete her walking outfit. The beaded handbag causes a bit of stir but she has managed to fit in a granola bar and bottle of water. She flings it over her shoulder and st

Here is my latest post on Adirondack Almanack. I wonder though how many children really know what the origin of a harvest festival is. My children are not required to tend the field and therefore do not require a celebration from such backbreaking work. Their idea of the harvest is face painting and jugglers. The only items my children harvest are the occasional pumpkin or basket of apples on a school field trip. Read more

By Diane Chase We meet at the Paul Smith’s Visitors Interpretive Center ( VIC) to be led on an adventure by naturalist Lydia Wright. My children are acting like they have never been outside. They stand stiffly near the gazebo at the head of the Barnum Brook Trail (.8 miles). I ask what is wrong. I reexamine my words, “We are going to look at nature. It will be fun.” Nothing unusual there, sometimes it takes a bit for them to warm up in a group setting and this activity is full. We are each handed a magnifying glass, which my daughter promptly turns into an accessory, my son a weapon. We are going to start looking at all the changes of autumn. Wright points to a line of trees in the distance and asks the group to identify them. I can only say in my defense that I do need new glasses. I didn’t know the Tamarack was one of the few conifers that lose their leaves in fall and with that said looks nothing like a Birch. Each does have those lovely golden leaves. “Needles,” my son whisper

This year we will be hunting space aliens in Gabriels. Yes, crop circles have been found in the Adirondacks, though this time they can be proven the direct result of human effort, not the paranormal. For the fourth year in a row the design for the maze at Tucker Farms is from the artistic work of Scott Rohe. He didn’t even have to perpetuate any crop circle myth by going out in the dead of night to complete the large-scale land art. He just came up with the design so the Tuckers could plant the corn in a grid-like pattern. To read more

The last weekends are approaching for the Historic Saranac Lake walking tour. The 45-minute walk may be a stretch for the very young so for my excursion, I indulge in some alone time. Mary Hotaling, now the Architectural Historian, leads my tour. We meet at the bridge overlooking Lake Flower and from then on local facts and history are dropping like rain. Thankfully Hotaling encourages questions, thrives on them actually. I won’t give a blow-by-blow because taking the tour and then going to the museum is half the fun. Even for someone born and raised in the area would find some interesting tidbits in Saranac Lake’s multidimensional past. The tour is only available one more week, October 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Harrietstown Town Hall, for a small $5.00 donation. It is worth a walk around town to see how an industry arose from an illness. As we walk Main Street I am slowly taken back in time as Hotaling peels away the various architecture to its bare bones and shares glimpses of empty field