Friday, June 14, 2013

Adirondack Family Time HIGH PEAKS Guidebook: LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK

Check out the first in a new four-book series of Adirondack Family Activity guidebooks for the Adirondack Park, published by Hungry Bear Publishing.

Tri-Lakes/High Peaks edition covers the towns of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Wilmington, Keene, Keene Valley, Jay and Upper Jay

GPS coordinates for each Adirondack Family Activity
• Adirondack Trivia
• Seasonal sections with events and activities
• 33 mini-hikes
• 19 swimming holes and beaches
• maps of each town
• maps of 33 mini-hikes/ski centers and 33 trails to snowshoe/XC ski in winter
• map of 21 Historic and Olympic Sites
• 18 games to play either inside for a rainy day or outside on the trail

Click on the upper right corner for a preview of what's inside!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Learning Roadside Signs

Did you know?
There is not just one system!
• The US Highway numbering system was established by the federal government in 1926.
• Interstate Highway numbering system was established in 1956 by the Federal Aid High Way Act during the Eisenhower administration.
• Regional roads are numbered under individual state and county systems


How to tell where you are going!

5!Interstate Highway signs North to South
• Are marked with a blue and red "shield" shape
North-South routes are assigned odd numbers  i.e. look for Interstate 87 throughout the Adirondacks or Interstate 95 traverses the east coast from the Canadian Border outside Houlton, Maine to the southern tip of Miami, Florida.
• The numbers are lower in the west and increase from west to east.

Interstate Highway signs from East to West
• Are marked with a blue and red "shield" shap
East-West routes are assigned even numbers i.e. look for Interstate 90, which crosses USA from Boston, Massachusetts (MA) to Seattle, Washington (WA).

Interstate Branches
• branches off long-distance routes are given 3 digit numbers.
• The last two numbers indicate the parent route, and the first number indicates the road's function
• The same number may be assigned to roads in different states.
• There are also exceptions to this rule, i.e. I-238 or I-99 in Pennsylvania.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Adirondack Coast Free Museum Day Schedule June 1-2, 2013


For the 6th year, the Adirondack Coast Cultural Alliance (ACCA) and Press Republican have pulled together a free passport to 14 participating museums, cultural centers and historical societies for the first weekend in June. 

Make sure to ask about the ACCA Passport. Though this weekend offers free admission, each passport can be used to collect the necessary stamps from each venue throughout the summer. Participants must collect one stamp from each venue by September 12, 2013 in order to be eligible for prizes from Ausable Chasm, Titus Mountain, Parker Family Maple Farm and more.   


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Building and Placing A Bat House

Do you want to help bring back the bat population to the Adirondacks? White-nose Syndrome has killed more than 5.7 million bats since it was discovered in a single New York cave in February 2006

DID YOU KNOW?


• There are cave bat species (Northern Bat, Little Brown Bat, Indiana Bat, Eastern Pipistrelle, Big Brown Bat) and tree bat species (small-footed bat, red bat, hoary bat, silver-haired bat,  in New York State

All cave bat species in New York State spend the winter hibernating in caves and mines where they live off stored fat reserves. 
• According to Bat Conservation Internationala single bat can capture 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour!
• Bats are the only mammal that can fly! (Flying squirrels just glide)
• Bats wings are similar to a human hand. Yes, it is has four fingers and a thumb
• All bats located in New York State eat insects. Other breeds eat  fruit, nectar, small mammals, birds, lizards, frogs, fish, and blood. 
• Bats' predators include owls, raccoons, snakes and domestic cats.

What is White-nose Syndrome?

• Named for a cold-loving white fungus found on faces and wings of infected bats
• The fungus causes infected bats to awaken during hibernation, using stored fat reserves needed for winter survival
• In some cases the infected bats will emerge from hibernation too soon and fly around in winter leading to death by starving and freezing.

What is another name for bat poop? Guano