So we have flies. The first step with a problem, is apparently admitting you have one. We have one. We also have ways to minimize the frustration. There are those of you that will hike, no matter what and that is excellent. Please follow Leave No Trace principals when visiting the Adirondacks. Suggestions are, cover up with netting, and use plenty of bug spray.
But for those of you that maybe don’t want to battle the black flies on the trails and or for those of you that don’t know what they are, they are miserable tiny creatures that bite and swarm and they come out mid-May through June. These creatures are merely a temporary blight on our outdoor experience and well for the uninformed and uninitiated, they are a nasty inconvenience which once experienced, can really be well… an educational experience and an uncomfortable one. Locals talk about flies in the spring, like we talk about snow in the winter. Now if you have a nice breeze or the temps are too hot, or a little chilly, then the flies abate.. so there is no real magic to predicting how bad they’ll be. They’re just usually, bad. Ok.. end of confession about the flies. Best to be prepared. Ok, got it? Just pray for the water to go down so all the eggs dry up and we can get back to our regularly schedule programming.
Well there is plenty to do to avoid the flies. This Father’s Day Weekend in June there are plenty of options including a visit to the Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake. For the layman… or the local, we all all it the Blue Mountain Museum, or the just the Museum, or The Adirondack Museum, but for marketing to the globe, it’s an experience, and it’s also a really long description to type into a press release, but I digress… it’s an amazing place to visit. The Museum tells the human story of the Adirondacks.
Learn about our early exploration, industries, the settling, the logging, mining, boating, tourism and people. There are many buildings and boats and so much to see and do, it’s really and incredible vast place to visit and it will keep you inside away from weather and the flies.
There are new exhibits including one on Taxidermy and Adirondack Landscapes which is a a rare chance to see works from Private Collections including Samuel Colman, John Lee Fitch, A.F. Tait, John Frederick Kensett, Thomas Addison Richard, George Bacon Wood, Roswell Morse Shurtleff, George Herbert McCord, William Trost Richards, and Levi Wells Prentice, as well as paintings from our own collection.
We also have W.W. Durant First Cruise of the Season on Raquette Lake kicking off on Saturday, Jun e15th. There is a Bass/Pike Fishing Derby in Long Lake on Saturday, $25 entry. Visit Louisa in Long Lake at her studio to do a Make and Take Workshop or shop for art, jewelry, and clothing and unique gifts and be inspired. Art supplies available too. Stop in and say hello!
And there’s the Wild Center in Tupper Lake and on Sunday, Great Camp Sagamore is hosting Community Day. Reservations are requested to please call in advance to make your reservation so they can ensure everyone gets fed! Tour of the property available. More info on the FB link provided on this page!
Written by Alexandra Roalsvig. Alex is the Director of Parks, Recreation & Tourism for the Town of Long Lake. She grew up in Long Lake, left for 20 years and came back. She doesn’t like going outside in June, so she writes blogs instead.
