WANAKENA WEEKLY #33 - 09/17/20 - 09/23/20

Happy Thursday! Happy Autumn!

This past week in a nutshell… Brrrrr… we had some frosty mornings – twenties for sure. Garden ouch with Mars looking down. Goldenrod and chicory as you stroll. Trailhead parking lots were full but not overflowing this past weekend. Trail use goes down significantly on weekdays. This past summer the rumor was that the stretch of trail between High Rock and High Falls was VERY WET. Speaking to hikers over this past weekend it is safe to say that the danger of getting soggy toes in that stretch of trail is non-existent; log-hoppin! The Oswegatchie above the car bridge remains pretty darn low. Numerous folks in town say the lake level is normal. The Wanakena Racoon Quartet may have packed bags and hit the road – or rather, perhaps someone in town trapped them and escorted them out of town. SONIC BOOM heard over Cranberry Lake Monday. Low flying helicopter over the weekend, too; BUZZ OFF!! Not many fish being caught up here in the flow. Remember last year when NCPR called Wanakena a “tiny summer outpost”? We do.

WEATHER FORECAST: Wow! This weekend looks nice! 70s and mostly sunny throughout the days, 50s at by night. Temperature starts to drop around the beginning of the week, along with it some showers – still warm-ish, though. WE COULD REALLY USE SOME RAIN! This weather forecast is brought to you by Wanakena’s own PATTIJACKNAN weather team – a Wanakener garage pole mounted weather station and crew. THANKS, TEAM! This weather station can be found at: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/ny/wanakena/KNYWANAK8 

Bridgework continues! Last Friday the shipment of cement did not show up as planned. The delivery truck broke down. Work: paused. Cement showed up Monday and laid down some serious sauce! That bridge will be sturdy! Three SEVENTY FOOT steel beams showed up in town Wednesday. The prediction is seven more! Gravel trucks rumble through town. Bridging-it!

JUST ANNOUNCED: WANAKENA’S BLACKWATERS CAFÉ AND TRADING POST FALL/WINTER hours/menu/etc. announced! Breakfast at B-Dubs returns! New hours are: Tues+Wed+Thus: 8am-3pm and Fri+Sat 8am-7pm. Call to make DINE-IN RESERVATIONS! 3153094040!!!! Blackwaters Café and Trading Post in Wanakena is open for pick-up/take-out too, YA’HEARD! Picnic tables and port-o-john out front! Picnic tables out back by the river, too. Order though their take-out window or better yet do it online at their website www.blackwaterscafe.com 

There was an organized CAMPSITE CLEANUP out on Cranberry Lake this past Monday. Collaborative boatists visited numbered campsites in an organized fashion. Trash was collected. There was a Drum Circle over at The Wanakena Picnic Area Tuesday night around dusk. The Cranberry Lake Boat Club has organized a few Campsite Cleanups recently: one involving scuba divers at Gull Rock. Here’s a photo of the victory picnic out at Campsite 35 – Dead Creek Flow, baby!!!!!!

JACK WILLIAMS PHOTO EXHIBIT has come down from the walls of Otto’s Abode. For the past month and a half Wanakena’s Jack Williams has exhibited a dozen framed photographs. Prints of the photographs were for sale with most of the cash going to benefit the Wanakena Historical Association’s efforts at opening a History Center in Wanakena. The Wanakena Historical Association also just received SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS from the Northern NY Community Foundation. They'll be on channel 7 news Thursday night. There's a PUBLIC economic development meeting Thursday the 24th at 7pm at the American Legion in Star Lake. SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES! Here's a portrait of the artist with his exhibition... THANKS, JACK!

Down at The Abode! BRAND NEW ART ON VIEW NOW!!!! Kathie Nevil of Wanakena is exhibiting a dozen framed wildflower drawings. They are spectacular! C’mon down and check ‘em out in person through Oct 25th. The COVID METER and TWENTY FIVE YEARS exhibitions will remain on view though the 25th as well. The porch plants have been brought inside and it feels GREAT! Maps, books, knickknacks in the shop. Tomatoes and apples. Cold drinks, and HOT COFFEE. Dinner, lunch, breakfast groceries. SNACKS AND CANDY TOO. C’mon down. Here's a peek at Kathie's show:

RANGER SCHOOL IS IN SESSION, BUT THE CAMPUS IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC!!! That means no hunting. Here’s a message from the Ranger School: The Ranger School's James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest will be closed to the public for an indefinite amount of time beginning Saturday, August 15, 2020. The Cranberry Lake 50 trail, which passes in front of the school, will remain open. This action is necessary to protect students and staff as they begin a new academic year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is a critical precaution as we work to ensure the health and success of the Class of 2021. Thank you for your cooperation.

Packbasket Adventures in Wanakena is renting rooms – no walk-in’s please. Stone Manor Diner (for sale) and Motel in Cranberry Lake, Lakeside General Store (seasonally closing at the end of month) in Cranberry Lake, UB’s Mercantile & Adirondack Rustics in Oswegatchie, Coffee Fever, Todd Hardware, Adirondack Pharmacy and Circle K in Star Lake, Mountain Gate Redemption near Benson Mines, and Sevey Point remain open for business in one way or another (open, take out, pick up, drop off, etc…). The Clifton-Fine Municipal Golf Course is open seven days a week. Post Offices are open too (Thanks, Mary!) Duck Decoy and MORE showroom open for pop-ins. “Showroom FILLED” 481 Tooly Pond Rd, Cranberry Lake – 315-848-4223. Always beautiful photography at the Wanakena Tracks facebook page. The Clifton Community Library in Cranberry Lake is open for curbside ONLY! Cranberry Lake State Campground – closed **early** after Labor Day Weekend because of construction project, NOT Covid. WANAKENA CEMETERY ASSOCIATON announces Cremation Remains burial has gone up from $150 to $250. Also, there is no longer a backhoe charge for cremation burial because they don’t use a backhoe for cremation burials any longer.

Hillside Diner in Oswegatchie re-opens October 1st!!!! Twin Lakes and SOS in Star Lake remains temporarily closed.

Kim’s Lost Dog Report: As of today, there are NO lost dogs in Wanakena.

All for now!

Any questions, comments, concerns, trail condition inquiries, legends, jokes, animal sightings, etc… feel free to email otto@ottosabode.org or call 3158483008 or pop-in the shop! Wanakena Weekly archive here: http://www.ottosabode.org/p/wanakena-weekly.html 

“One of those delicious autumnal days when the air, the sky, and the earth seem lulled into a universal calm, softer and milder even than May. We sallied forth for a walk…” – Mary Russell Mitford