Autumn in New York ~ by Jennifer Daniels

Today is a beautiful Fall day, a time of the year here in the

Adirondack Mountains where things change. I love the changing colors of the leaves. This year it started off looking like we had a lot of reds but now most of the foliage is orange. I love the cooler nights and the warmer days, but as October is passing us by, we are needing a sweatshirt most days. I also love the smell of the air, it's so crisp and fresh, odd considering the leaves are now falling to the ground. Fall makes me so excited because I know my favorite holiday is just around the corner. (Sorry, but I love Christmas!)

The other day my son had a doctor’s appointment and on the way

home we decided to stop and take some pictures. This road we

travel often so we knew it was the perfect place. There is even a cute little babbling brook. It was so pretty to see the colorful leaves slowly falling around and floating downstream. The water sounded so peaceful as it lazily took the leaves on the water current, depositing them elsewhere.

When you take the time to stop and enjoy the moment, you really find so much in what you see. My son found a little rock wall right next to the brook up on the bank. Of course, his mind went straight to how cool that would have been to have had a fort there when he was younger. And as he's talking, I was thinking you would never  have played near this water… Nevertheless, we had a nice car ride home enjoying nature.

Today, I was outside with my pup, Kera, and it’s another gorgeous

day out there... Sunny and warmish--around sixty degrees, perfect for a long sleeve shirt. Peaceful. I live on a dirt road so I have very little traffic. As we walked around the yard, I couldn’t believe how many trees were leaf-bare in just one week. Yet everything is so colorful with all the leaves laying peacefully on the ground.

Many people go for drives up to Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, NY. It’s one of the highest peaks of the Adirondack Mountains and the summit has a 360-degree view of the Adirondacks. It’s a gorgeous site to behold. In the winter months that is where most people go to ski, but the drive alone is amazing.

So, with that, I leave you with the peace of Fall and wish you all a very beautiful and very spooky Halloween.

A Killer Vacay You Won't Want to Miss ~ by Andi Lawrencovna

Photo: Google images

My family own camps in the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Now, when I say “camps,” I really mean homes that are made out of wood and that we call “camps” but that are pretty high-end pieces of real estate – absent air conditioning. These cabins reside on the banks of a small lake. Not directly on the lake, but each house has a golf cart, and the lake is less than a half mile away from the front doors, so we say “on the lake” and no one really argues it.

I always loved/love going up to the cabins. It’s a yearly ritual that I feel incomplete without completing.

Of course, now days, I go with a bit more trepidation than when I was younger, but…it is what it is.

I should probably explain.

As a child, I was oblivious to anything else around me but Disney movies and my Barbie doll. When asked: “Where you going?” I would respond and walk away without waiting for the resulting questions or, as I now have come to expect, shock when I spoke my answer.

You see: “Where you going?” was answered with: “The camps in the Adirondacks.” “Oh, where at?”

“On Crystal Lake.”

Let me repeat…I’m oblivious, and I watch ONLY Disney movies…mostly.

But I definitely do NOT watch horror movies, and yet would routinely get a “horrified” expression in response to “Crystal Lake.”

As it turns out, Crystal Lake happens to be the setting for a horror

Photo: Google images

movie.

Jason, whichever one he is…I don’t really know, never watched it, you see?...is a serial killer who worked or lived or whatever-ed at Crystal Lake in Upstate New York…

Yes…MY Crystal Lake. The one where I spent an idyllic childhood completely unaware of the horror that had ensued there sometime during the 80s.

Because, despite the “Friday the 13th” movies being fictional, apparently most people believe that Jason really did commit those dastardly deeds up at Crystal Lake.

It doesn’t help that there really was a boy’s camp up there at one point…just like in the movies…

Oh, and that one of my relatives actually bought one of the dorm houses that the boys used to camp in and converted it into their cabin…

Okay, you caught me, all three of my relative’s cabins were originally boy’s dorms! FINE!

I have never once found a remnant of blood or gore or chainsaws or knives or the like anywhere near or around the camps…but it’s still the first question people ask when they put one and one together: “Crystal Lake? Like from the movie?”

Why oh why can’t it be a movie about a romantic heroine who gets caught up in a love affair and she and her lover escape to the camps where they defend themselves by growing giant mega-crocodiles that eat-- wait, that’s Lake Placid, never mind.

I’m getting them confused.

I should probably point out, though, that for the thirty plus years I have been going to the Adirondacks, I have never once met a serial killer nor been threatened by anyone except the gas station attendant who was not going to let me get a lotto ticket without seeing my ID.

Finding a place to get away from the everyday, to relax in nature, enjoy time with your family, that honestly is the moral here.

No matter that Crystal Lake has this invented history of horror, it

Photo: Google images

has been a place that will forever be for me linked with good times and great memories. It’s where my Babushka (not the scarf, this is the Grandmother) went down to the rec hall and because she had to use a walker, sat down in a chair and danced the night away all while sitting. This is where my uncles taught me how to fish, and I had more fun rowing the boat across the lake than learning how to bait a hook. It’s where we sat around one night before the bonfire and passed around a Kindle and read “Meg” to each other, because why the heck not? The voices were epic, and the story was fun. It’s the place that someday I hope I can take my kids, blocking their ears from whispered tales of men with axes, so that they can go to the lake and run in the sand. So my uncles can tell them “the water’s so clear you can drink it,” even as I know WAYYY better. It’s the place where on the 4th of July, we’ll pack up the cars into a caravan, making seats where there most definitely are not seats so we can take as many people as we can with us over to the Dude Ranch where they set fireworks off after the rodeo and the little kids can have hotdogs on the house because it’s a celebration and it’s family but way more than family too.

It’s a retreat, and it’s a home, and it’s a vacation, and it’s work.

It’s crazy, and the people there are crazy, just not serial-killer crazy.

And I wouldn’t change it for the world.

My family own cabins in the Adirondacks. We try to go up once or twice a year, usually at the beginning and end of summer. The waters of the lake are so clean you can see all the way to the bottom twenty feet below, and that’s why it’s called Crystal Lake. The people are friendly, though some are a bit standoffish, but they’re family, and it wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without traveling to that place where the internet doesn’t work, but the TV does, and someone’s always got some sort of game going and you go home more tired than when you got there because there’s something going on somewhere every minute.

I hope you get a chance to visit someday, just remember that if you hear noises in the woods coming after you in the night…

…it’s probably just a bear.

Upstate New York- The Rustic Adirondack Mountains ~ by Author Jennifer Daniels

Star Lake

If you are looking for an escape from the hustle and bustle of life, try coming to the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Born and raised at Star Lake, NY there is so much you can do in the surrounding areas.

Summers are always very busy in Upstate, NY. Many Retired and Urban folks come to stay at their cottages during these months. For us that live or grew up on the lake know of the sandbar. This is where everyone goes on their floating docks, kayaks, paddle boards and boats. You name it, that is where the action is. It’s a place to catch up with old friends, fire up the grills, and have a drink.

Another sight to see, is Lake George (where the Great Escape Fun Park is.) The whole family can come and enjoy all of the many rides they have to offer, then to cool off at the Wave Pool or Lazy River. Those are my favorites, but there are lots of dry and wet rides to enjoy.

A must do, is Parasailing! It is amazing. My husband, son and I did

this about six years ago and was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. The view is remarkable, although my son was not a fan. If this isn't your cup of tea, slow down and take in some history, check out Fort William Henry, or go on a guided tour and learn about the French and Indian War.

If you get the opportunity, visit the Thousand Island Region, Bolt Castle or Singer Castle. It’s accessible by one of the tour boats that is offered for a day cruise or you can do an extended tour and enjoy a dinner cruise. Depending on your visit you might find yourself in a themed weekend... for example, Pirates weekend. But it’s not only busy during the day, you can wind down with a double feature at one of the nostalgic Drive-in movie theaters.

Camping is huge here in the Adirondacks and there are campsites everywhere. One campground that my family enjoys is Higley

Flow State Park in Colton, NY. They do many fun things with the kids. As a family, you can take short hikes around the park. Then, to end the evening, enjoy a meal cooked on the fireplace. For dessert toast yourself up a S'mores and look at the night sky. Simplicity at its best!

In the Fall you can enjoy site seeing. The leaves are a rainbow of

colors... Bright orange, red, yellow and green. The smell of the leaves are so crisp and enjoyable to see, however, you know that winter is around the corner.

Lake Placid, where the Winter Olympics took place in 1932 and again in 1980, is in the area. During your visit, stop by the Olympic Center and museum. There are several places to hike in the area. When you need a break, stop at the various shops to pick up souvenirs. In the winter bring your snow shoe gear for the many trails you can explore or bring along your skies and enjoy the slopes of MT. VanHoevenberg.

Saranac Lake host’s a Winter Carnival and the focal point is the amazing Ice Castle constructed from blocks of ice harvested from

the Lake. At night the castle is colorfully lit. Concluding the first day of the festivities is an amazing firework show. Throughout the week there are different activities you can participate in or just take another tour of this iconic Ice Castle.

Among these activities there are many ski resorts that are fun to try

out for a long weekend. The frozen lakes and trails are busy with  snowmobiles and ice fishing. Snowmobilers are always a thoughtful group, helping one another with any break downs along the trail or pointing you to the next town, restaurant, or pub.

This is just a small piece of all the fun that can be had here in the Adirondack Mountains. I hope you will come visit.

Jennifer Daniels lives in upstate New York with her husband, son, and fur baby. You can reach out to Jennifer at

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