Adirondack Family Time™

This week's craft is brought you you by Lauren at Goody-Goody *Handmade . She takes a simple piece of wire and shapes it free form to make this creative craft. This is something that can be done with children of all ages. You can use recycled materials and really let the creativity flow. Have  fun! Materials - paper wrapped wire (how about reuse: take an old wire hanger  - fabric scraps, cut into strips at least 1" wide. Length doesn't matter much. - glue gun - buttons, bits, beads and baubles - cord for hanging 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.

We haven’t been back to Adirondack's Marcy Dam since Tropical Storm Irene hit in late August 2011. We had climbed Marcy just a few days before the storm, resting at the bridge on our way back to our car, snapping pictures that now show an area changed by the storm. We couldn’t have known that it would be the last time we’d see Mt. Colden’s reflection in the pond at Marcy Dam.   A few days later Irene hit, the wooden dam breached and the bridge washed out changing the iconic area forever. The snow is still plentiful as we drive in the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Adirondack Loj area and park at the far lot. We enter past the tent platforms, which looks like a ghost town in winter, using the Old Marcy Dam Trail.    Adirondack Family Time™ guidebook series: Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and the High Peaks with over 33 easy hikes, 19 swimming holes, snowshoe, ski trails trivia, maps and four season activities.  The beginn

(as seen in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise) By Diane Chase We seem to be the family that tries to do it all, a little bit of First Night Saranac Lake ($12 for buttons purchased in advance, free for children under 13 years of age) and a tad bit of potluck with friends. The one thing we did last year that will be added to our New Year’s Eve tradition is “Skate into the New Year” at the Lake Placid Olympic Speed Skating Oval. The eighth annual Skating into New Year will take place on Thursday, December 31   at the Lake Placid Olympic Oval from 10:30 pm – 12:30 am for those searching for a healthy non-alcoholic event. Admission is a modest $5 fee for adults (children and any student with a valid ID are free) and request of a nonperishable good all benefits the local food pantry. There is music, a bonfire, hot drinks and sweet treats all in a substance-free setting.