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Grandmothers and Granddaughters: Outdoor Adventures, Campfires and Creativity

Program Number: 9543RJ
Start and End Dates:
7/7/2013 - 7/12/2013;
Duration: 5 nights
Location: Raquette Lake, New York
Price starting at: $698.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city
Program Type: Intergenerational
Intergenerational
Meals: 14; 5 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches, 5 Dinners    

Program intended for grandchildren from 6 - 12 years of age.

Focus on the relationship between grandmothers and their granddaughters as you participate in activities designed to foster the special bond between these two generations. Through music, a variety of traditional women's handcrafts and special outdoor activities, learn how Adirondack traditions have passed from generation to generation.




Highlights

• Search for salamander, frogs and toads and learn to identify plants on an interpretive trail hike around the lake.
• Learn favorite camp songs with an Adirondack folksinger, as well as some of the steps you’ll use at an evening barn dance.
• Gather around the campfire to sing songs and share stories about your families with other grandparents and grandkids.



Activity Particulars

Hiking up to two miles over uneven terrain. Camp is not paved, stairs into most buildings.




Date Specific Information

7-7-2013

This session will emphasize traditional handcrafts. In the past we have offered knitting, quilting, screen printing, etc.



Coordinated by Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks.




Raquette Lake

Raquette Lake’s pristine water and wooded lakeshores are located in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Great Camp Sagamore, founded by the Vanderbilt family in 1897 and now a National Historic Landmark, shares this wilderness area.
Accommodations
National Historic Landmark-designated buildings, shared baths for two or three rooms. Buffet-style meals served in a wood-paneled, lakefront dining hall.

Road Scholar Instructors
These instructors are participating on at least one date of this program. Please note that changes may occur.
Pat Burdick
Pat Burdick is an expert naturalist, educator and a member of the Biology Department at the State University of New York, Potsdam. Her love of the Adirondacks is deep, as anyone who has heard her talk about the area’s flora and fauna or who has been paddling out on the water with her will attest. Pat enjoys sharing her knowledge of the Adirondacks with both adults and children on Road Scholar programs.
 
Nancy Foltz
Nancy Sue Foltz is an artist and certified art teacher who has been directing the crafts program at Great Camp Sagamore for almost a decade. A former high school teacher, she focuses on offering a wide variety of age-appropriate crafts. From pots to plant pressing, from pine cone art to painting tee shirts, from papier mache to paper hats and so many things in between, her ideas are always fresh. Grandkids will end up with some great, outdoorsy craft projects to bring home. Among her other duties at Sagamore, Nancy Sue is also the group leader for many Road Scholar programs.
 
Trish Miller
Trish Miller has been teaching and performing Appalachian clogging since 1980. She plays guitar, banjo and mandolin, and also calls dances and has choreographed country routines for theater and concerts. Trish gained professional dance experience with the Green Grass Cloggers, and performed with them internationally as well as across the U.S. Since 1985, Trish and her husband, John Kirk, have been working together as teaching artists in school music and dance programs.
 
Meals and Lodgings
   Great Camp Sagamore
  Raquette Lake 5 nights
 Great Camp Sagamore
Type: Lodge
  Description: National Historic Landmark
  Contact info: Sagamore Road
Po Box 40
Raquette Lake, NY 13436 USA
phone: 315-354-5311
web: www.sagamore.org
  Room amenities: We do not have telephones or televisions in any rooms. Each room has a bedside lamp and an overhead light. Internet access is available for those with laptop computers.
  Facility amenities: Great Camp Sagamore is located on Sagamore Lake, with an established swim area in season. Two of the lodges have a lounge area with working fireplaces. There is an outdoor firepit at our lean-to and access to 15 miles of hiking trails on State Land. We have great WIFI service for free.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Bathroom: Bathrooms are shared and in the hall. Some have claw foot tubs instead of showers.
  Additional nights prior: $99 per person per night. Based on availability. Must call in advance to arrange.
  Check in time: 4:00 PM
  Additional nights after: $99 per person per night. Based on availability. Must call in advance to arrange.
  Check out time: 10:00 AM


Travel Details
  Start of Program:
4PM starts check in at Great Camp Sagamore You will be staying at Great Camp Sagamore that night.
  End of Program:
10 AM You will be staying at Great Camp Sagamore the night before.
  Required documents:
The Road Scholar Health & Safety Form is required. Health form.
  Parking availability:
There is a parking lot for Sagamore guests. It is free.
Transportation
To Start of Program
  Location:  Raquette Lake
  Nearest city or town:  Villages of Inlet, Old Forge or Blue Mountain Lake
  Nearest highway: Route 87
  Nearest airport:  Albany or Syracuse
  From End of Program
  Location: Raquette Lake
    (Additional transportation information same as above)
Travel Details
 

 

 
 

Service:

 

None - Car Required

   

Unfortunately there isn’t any public transportation to the central Adirondacks. Amtrak serves Albany (Rensselaer) and Utica. The nearest airports are located in Syracuse and Albany. Bus service reaches only to Warrensburg. Limo service is expensive, but available from the airports in Syracuse and Albany. For more information on limo services, please contact your local AAA agent, visit www.yellowpages.com. Most guests prefer to rent a car from the airport.
 
Driving Directions
  From Albany (2˝ hours Northwest)- Take the Warrensburg Exit #23 off the Northway (I-87). Follow Rte. 9 through Warrensburg to Rte. 28. Follow Rte. 28 about 1˝ hours to the village of Raquette Lake. In the village of Raquette Lake, at the 4-way crossroads turn onto the dirt road beside the large green Sagamore sign. Drive very slowly on the road into Sagamore; one curve is posted 15 mph. Follow the sign for “Registered Guests”. When you arrive at Sagamore, you should find the gate closed. Please open it, enter, and close it again for your own privacy. Drive up the hill to the parking lot. Park your car and follow the gravel pathway and signs for the Office building.
  From Lake Placid (2 hours South) Follow Rte. 86 to Saranac Lake and then Rte. 3 to Tupper Lake where you will follow Rte. 30 to Blue Mountain Lake and then Rte. 28 to the village of Raquette Lake. In the village of Raquette Lake, at the 4-way crossroads turn onto the dirt road beside the large green Sagamore sign. Drive very slowly on the road into Sagamore; one curve is posted 15 mph. Follow the sign for “Registered Guests”. When you arrive at Sagamore, you should find the gate closed. Please open it, enter, and close it again for your own privacy. Drive up the hill to the parking lot. Park your car and follow the gravel pathway and signs for the Office building.
  From Plattsburg, NY Drive time: Plattsburgh to Sagamore, 3 hours. I-87 to Rte 3 to Rte. 30 to Rte 28 to Raquette Lake. Take the Plattsburgh exit off I-87 and head southwest to Saranac Lake on Rte. 3. If you have extra time consider this alternative: continue south on I-87 to exit 30, the Lake Placid exit. Lake Placid was the site of both the 1932 and the 1980 winter Olympics and you can visit the venues and museums of the games. Continue from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake on Rte. 86. You are in the Adirondack Park, a six-million acre forest preserve with public and private lands. Saranac Lake was founded by Dr. Trudeau (the cartoonist Gary’s great grandfather) as a wilderness cure for tuberculosis. It is still a medical research center and charming 19th century town. Follow Rte. 3 from Saranac Lake to Tupper Lake. Tupper is the home to the newly opened natural history museum, the Wild Center. Continue on Rte. 30 from Tupper to Long Lake on a straight road known for its scenery and speed traps. Be cautious. Continue on Rte. 30 to Blue Mountain Lake, home of the famous 27-building Adirondack Museum. At the bottom of the hill you will follow Rte.28 the last 12 miles to Raquette Lake, the largest natural lake in the Adirondacks. Look to your right to see Blue Mountain as you cross the second causeway. Sagamore Road is well marked just past the school. You will turn LEFT and follow the four-mile road to the “registered guest” gate. Do not look for other signs. You are driving through protected Forest Preserve lands and signage is not permitted. At Sagamore’s gate, let yourself in. You are welcome!
  From Utica (1˝ hours Northeast)- Take the Utica Exit #31 off the NYS Thruway (I-90). Follow Rte. 12 North to Rte. 28 North. Follow Rte. 28 to the village of Raquette Lake. In the village of Raquette Lake, at the 4-way crossroads turn onto the dirt road beside the large green Sagamore sign. Drive very slowly on the road into Sagamore; one curve is posted 15 mph. Follow the sign for “Registered Guests”. When you arrive at Sagamore, you should find the gate closed. Please open it, enter, and close it again for your own privacy. Drive up the hill to the parking lot. Park your car and follow the gravel pathway and signs for the Office building.
  GPS/Website Map Instructions • Garmon Handheld GPS: Search 'Great Camp Sagamore' as a point of interest OR type 1105 Sagamore Road; RAQUETTE LAKE (make sure you list Raquette Lake!) - either will give accurate directions to Great Camp Sagamore. • TomTom GPS: (currently the most popular GPS system): Search for SAGAMORE, NEW YORK - as a town, and it will give you accurate directions to Great Camp Sagamore. While Sagamore, NY does not actually exist, this seems to work while we wait for technology to catch up to the Adirondack region! • Google Maps or Mapquest users: Search for SAGAMORE, NEW YORK - as a town, and it will give you accurate directions to Great Camp Sagamore. While Sagamore, NY does not actually exist, this seems to work while we wait for technology to catch up to the Adirondack region!
Elevation Note: Sagamore is at 1900 feet.
The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


Daily Schedule

Day 1: Registration/Welcome and Orientation
(Sunday, July 7)
   
 Afternoon: Registration begins at 4:00PM at Great Camp Sagamore.
 Dinner: The chef will carefully prepare buffet meals provided in our paneled dining room with splendid views of Sagamore Lake. Dinners typically include selections such as: a hot entry, like creamed chicken over biscuits, veggie lasagna, pot roast, spaghetti/meat balls, roasted turkey, stuffed pork loin, or ham; salads, along with several dressing choices; potatoes, rice or pasta; a vegetable choice; bread or rolls; milk or juice. Coffee & tea are always available. For Intergenerational programs, we try to meet the needs of both children and adults. Note: Sagamore's buffet line is bountiful and varied. If you do not think that you can choose the foods you need for your special diet from the buffet, please supplement with your own that may be stored for your convenience in our walk-in cooler and/or cooked in an available microwave. Beer and wine are available for purchase. Sagamore's water is pure and delicious. Please do not bring bottled water.
 Evening: Welcome meeting and orientation to facility includes introductions and itinerary discussion. This program includes a variety of hand crafts. In the past we have knitted, decorated tee shirts with leaf prints, pressed flowers, made paper, collected pine cones and natural materials to adorn picture frames, and learned to quilt. Expect crafts similar to these and more!
   
Accommodations: Great Camp Sagamore
Meals Included: Dinner

Day 2: Outdoor activities, crafts, barn dance tonight.
(Monday, July 8)
   
 Breakfast: All breakfasts are served in the Vanderbilt dining hall, with lovely views of the sun rising over the mountains of the Blue Ridge Wilderness. Breakfast choices typically include selections such as: one hot entry, like blueberry pancakes, egg strata, french toast, or scrambled eggs; hot & cold cereal & milk; a variety of donuts, bagels & pastries; and several juices. Coffee, tea, and very pure Sagamore water are always available to guests.
 Morning: Morning options may include: BOATING. A boathouse orientation to prepare you for the canoeing trip. GAMES on the Playhouse lawn. You will learn Kubb, Bocci, ladder golf and croquet. Interpretive lake trail hike involving plant and animal identification and local history. We commonly find salamanders, frogs and toads. SINGING. Enjoy learning some favorite camp songs with an Adirondack folksinger. DANCING. You may also learn some steps in preparation for tonight's barn dance. Grandchildren dance with grandparents.
 Lunch: Lunch in the Sagamore dining hall. Lunches typically include selections such as: sandwich meats, cheeses, breads and condiments: a hot entree like macaroni & cheese or soup; various salads, like cole slaw or potato salad; cookies or granola bars; a variety of fresh fruits; milk and a variety of juices or lemonade. Coffee, tea, Sagamore water are always available.
 Afternoon: Options may include: CRAFTS & MUSIC (age-appropriate and based on the outdoor lessons we share this week). Craft and music sessions are about an hour long and scheduling often permits one class to follow the next on the same afternoon. SWIMMING or free time follows the two afternoon activities. At about 4:30PM each day, all the grandchildren in camp play games, lead by the outdoor education staff and give the grandparents a chance to rest and socialize.
 Dinner: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Evening: BARN DANCE. Grandparents and grandchildren are partners for these fun and lively square dances and you will get to know everyone else in camp.
   
Accommodations: Great Camp Sagamore
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Hike on the lake trail, crafts/music, campfire tonight.
(Tuesday, July 9)
   
 Breakfast: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Morning: Morning options may include: STREAMWALK to investigate the aquatic life stream. We usually find crayfish, spiders and a variety of insects. CANOEING to the beach and walking along the sandbar.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Afternoon activities may include: CRAFTS or NATURE DISCOVERY where we will look for the variety of animals that inhabit the area around camp. Typically we will see deer and their fawns, snowshoe hares and cottontail rabbits, moths, butterflies, salamanders, snakes and frogs. MUSIC: your group will learn a song to share at Creativity night.
 Dinner: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Evening: CAMPFIRE tonight. We will sing a number of favorite old camp songs and may learn a few new ones. Grandchildren will share stories about their families that they have learned from their grandparents and we will finish the evening with a favorite campfire treat.
   
Accommodations: Great Camp Sagamore
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Canoeing, free time this afternoon or an optional craft in camp, concert tonight.
(Wednesday, July 10)
   
 Breakfast: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Morning: CRAFT, MUSIC and OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, will be juggled so that each participant gets to enjoy each of the activities for the week.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: FREE TIME: The Adirondack Park is the size of Vermont, so we try to allow families at least a little time to explore the region, if they desire. Families may spend the day out of camp exploring local venues or choose to participate in a special crafts project in camp (extra fee incurred).
 Dinner: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Evening: CONCERT tonight by our own musicians.
   
Accommodations: Great Camp Sagamore
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Outdoor activity, finish crafts, prepare for Creativity Night and a closing ceremony.
(Thursday, July 11)
   
 Breakfast: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Morning: Morning options may include: CRAFTS or NATURE EXPLORATION, an interpretive lake trail hike involving plant and animal identification and local history. We commonly find salamanders, frogs and toads.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Afternoon activities may include: NATURE GAMES learning about characteristics of Adirondack animals and the concept of camouflage. Complete your CRAFTS project or practice MUSIC in preparation for tonight's Creativity Night.
 Dinner: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Evening: CREATIVITY NIGHT. Show the favorite craft you made this week, sing a song or tell a joke, and be ready to applaud for everyone else! It is a great way to round out our time together.
   
Accommodations: Great Camp Sagamore
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Good-byes
(Friday, July 12)
   
 Breakfast: Meal served in Dining Hall.
 Morning: Say good-bye to the friends you have spent the week with. Check-out is at 10A.
   
Meals Included: Breakfast

Free Time Opportunities
  
  Raquette Lake Adirondack Museum
Regional museum of very high quality. For additional information, visit www.adkmuseum.org
  Raquette Lake Navigation
Boat Tour of Raquette Lake. For additional information, visit www.raquettelakenavigation.com
Important information about your itinerary: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information featured on this website. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Information will be sent to you from your Program Provider approximately three weeks prior to the program start date. The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.

Suggested Reading List


Great Camp Sagamore: The Vanderbilts' Adirondack Retreat


Author: Beverly Bridger


Description: Beverly Bridger has been Sagamore's Executive Director for more than 20 years.





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