New York State Outdoor Writers Association

    NYSOWA is a professional organization of writers, editors, artists, photographers, broadcasters, telecasters, lecturers and others dedicated to increasing public awareness, understanding and appreciation of our outdoor heritage and the use and enjoyment of our natural resources. The primary purpose of the organization is to improve knowledge and skill among its members in the art of communication.

    Good time had by all in Schroon Lake

    Posted by NYSOWA on 

    (Photos courtesy of Glenn Sapir, Stephen George and Dan Ladd)

    What do chicken wings have to do with outdoor writing? If you attended the 2019 NYSOWA Spring Safari held May 9-12 in Schroon Lake, the answer is everything. 

    Glenn Sapir

    Schroon Lake is in southern Essex County in the Eastern Adirondacks and bills itself as an Adirondack Base Camp. And with good reason, as there is plenty to do around Schroon Lake: hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, paddling, camping; you name it, there’s plenty of it around. 

    For this event, Rowes Adirondack Cabins served as our base camp. And what a fine base camp it was with cozy cabins and a big outdoor fire pit.

    The Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce (www.schroonlakechamber.org) had an interesting alternative to the standard opening evening meet-n-greet session in that they arranged for Safari attendees to take park in a wing crawl. Six area restaurants were visited - Witherbees Carriage House, Sticks and Stones, DeCesare’s Pizzeria, Flanagans, the Timber Wolf and Alpine Pizza - and all put out a smorgasbord of delicious chicken wings. 

    NYSOWA members judged the wings on which were the meatiest and tastiest. They were all fantastic and the winner was DeCesare’s, who later provided pizza for us at a dinner held at the old Schroon Lake boathouse. 

    Ed Noonan

    Meanwhile, some solid hunting and fishing went on albeit after dodging some raindrops. Friday morning's activities were all but washed out. To top it off, a wet, rainy spring had water levels hight, but anglers made due.  So did turkey hunters, including Ed Noonan (Safari co-chair) who bagged a nice jake. 

    Camping is big business around Schroon Lake as there are two state campgrounds on the lake itself and a third is about to open in North Hudson, just a few miles to the north. That would be the new Frontier Town Campground, which opens on June 28. NYS DEC staff met with NYSOWA members for a tour of the campground and an informative Q&A session. 

    Camping stayed part of the discussion as on Saturday we were treated to lunch at Yogi Bear’s Adirondack Jellystone Park™ Camp Resort, also in North Hudson. Proprietor Mike Lenhard served up a picnic lunch and before taking us on a tour explained what’s behind owning and running a Yogi Bear franchise. And, at Saturday night’s pot-luck game dinner, NYSOWA Supporting Member Brad Buyce of Alpin Haus did a demo of the new No Bo (No Boundaries) tiny camper. This thing is basically a tear-drop style camper on steroids. 

    Brad Buyce and the NO BO tiny camper

    Scrhoon Lake is a fine little town on the Route 9 corridor with everything an outdoors-minded person needs. Even the newly designed Stewarts Shop in Schroon Lake is unique in that it looks right out over the bandstand/gazebo in the center of town, and thus the lake. Do drop in, NYSOWA members are glad they did. 

    Special Thanks to the following:

    Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce
    Rowe’s Adirondack Cabins
    Witherbees Carriage House
    Sticks and Stones
    DeCesare’s Pizzeria    h
    Flanagans
    Timber Wolf
    Alpine Pizza
    Stewarts Shops
    Wayne and Marty Welch
    Vito LaPenna
    Ed Skorupski
    Don Sage
    Brad Buyce
    NYSDEC
    Yogi Bear’s Adirondack Jellystone Park™ Camp Resort,

    By the fire pit at Rowe's Adirondack Cabins

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