Photos courtesy of Tubby Tubes River Co.

Steady outdoor recreation entrepreneurship makes riding the rapids a breeze. 

During the heart of the summer, July and August, when the tourist season is in full swing, Jamie Johnson is constantly tracking the weather. 

As the owner of two outdoor attractions in Warren County, he’s ridden out the storms, and helped the region’s popularity as a tourist destination. Now, at Tubby Tubes River Co., in Lake Luzerne, he’s making improvements to its campus and overall customer experience. 

From Aerial to Aquatics

Adventure travelers seek out the Adirondack region for authentic outdoor experiences in a natural setting. Tubby Tubes, which has been bringing families together since 2002 for unforgettable excursions on the picturesque Hudson River, was acquired by Jamie Johnson in 2021. 

Back in 2007, Jamie founded Adirondack Extreme, a treetop obstacle course and zipline park in Bolton Landing. It was the first outdoor aerial adventure park of its kind in the U.S. and he has since launched his investment in other recreational opportunities. 

Well-positioned to take advantage of the regional tourist traffic during the summer months, both businesses have a similar ability to promote personal growth, strengthen team building, and encourage family time in beautiful surroundings. 

Beginning in 2019, Adirondack Extreme and Tubby Tubes collaborated to offer combined outdoor recreation adventure ticket options, so Jamie already had a well-developed relationship with Tubby Tube’s previous owners, Eric and Heather Hamell, when they decided to sell in 2021. 

“I looked at the numbers and away we went,” said Jamie. 

A New Gateway Glides In

After changing the name slightly to Tubby Tubes River Co., and rebranding, in June of this year they celebrated the ribbon cutting of their new welcome center. 

“When I first purchased the property, there were a few older wooden buildings but the accommodations were not sufficient. So the first thing on my agenda was a new welcome center,” said Jamie. 

The new metal structure, located on ten acres in Lake Luzerne, invites those wanting top-notch tubing experiences to enjoy a comfortable lounge area, new restrooms, and changing rooms. 

Serving as a gateway to a great day out on the water, the center provides easily accessible water sports equipment storage and items for sale. 

This fall, Tubby Tubes River Co. will be working to acquire the necessary licensing and permits so that by the 2025 summer season, they will be able to serve hot convenience foods, like pizza and hot dogs, as well as beverages, including beer and wine. 

Offering Exhilarating Adventures

Because they are a weather-dependent business, there are good days and there are bad days, but every day is definitely fun, said Jamie. 

“Since 2021 we haven’t had a normal summer in Lake George,” he said. “Every day is different and that’s part of the fun at Tubby Tubes.” 

During his first season, the weather was wet. In 2022, it was extremely dry. Last year, Lake George received more rain than they have in recent history, causing the river’s water level to be so high at times that it wasn’t possible to safely venture out. 

This year, there have already been two and a half weeks of 90-degree heat with intense humidity and storms rolling in during the evenings. 

Located five minutes from Lake George, a light rain won’t stop them from operating on the Hudson River, whose average summertime temperature hovers around a pleasant 70 degrees. Knowing that weather can change quickly, and drastically in the region, they make the call to cancel as early as possible and provide refunds or reschedule river time for those registered. 

The Tubby Tubes River Co. and the weather aren’t the only things that have been changing in Lake George. During the last two decades, the way we recreate has, too. 

“Nowadays, families are seeking to reconnect more than ever,” shares Jamie. “We strive to create experiences that multi-generational families can enjoy together. Tubby Tubes offers friends and family members (ages two and up) the ability to enjoy an authentic Adirondack outdoor adventure they’ll remember forever.”

Open from Memorial Day until Labor Day, Tubby Tubes River Co. excursions are fully-guided lazy river trips suitable for ages two and older. Exclusively working with staff ages 18+ brings a level of maturity to the experience that visitors won’t find with other companies, said Jamie. 

Providing their river rescue guides with training and requiring physical assessments is “fundamental” he said, and because trained staff is always present, Tubby Tubes River Co. avoids the safety situations that other tubing companies (offering self-guided sessions) can encounter.  

During their peak season they are capable of launching six trips daily (running four of their buses, each accommodating 60 people) from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

For more information, follow @TubbyTubes on Facebook and Instagram, and visit Tubby Tubes River Co. at tubbytube.com

In an expansive land rich with natural resources and physical beauty, education and enterprise are given the freedom to flourish.

Traditionally, people living among the Adirondacks’ pristine lakes and thick forests have developed ingenious ways of using what was available to make what they needed. By “making do” they became experts at reinventing and repurposing. Working in concert with their surrounding environment, they crafted unique and useful items by hand, while building a foundation of skills that benefited them and their community. 

Since the pandemic, people have been flocking to folk schools around the nation, eager to nurture their creativity, work with their hands, and immerse themselves in an atmosphere that prioritizes relationships, culture, personal growth, and community empowerment. 

“People come here and discover their creative passion. They explore and create with their hands and minds, and have fun doing it. By working together, it creates a sense of community. During COVID, people were really feeling that loss, and were spending a lot of time on their computers. That’s when the folk school really blossomed – people wanted to learn new things and be with each other,” said Terri Cerveny, Executive Director of the Adirondack Folk School.

Giving Rural Entrepreneurs a Boost

The Adirondack Folk School, in Lake Luzerne, was founded by Jim Mandle in 2010. Since then, they’ve graduated more than 6,000 alumni. In 2023, their 60 instructors offered 250 classes to approximately 1,000 students. Through a variety of programs, including woodworking, blacksmithing, ceramics, fiber arts, basketry, photography, crafting, and more, the school’s courses build skills, create jobs, and help develop a more diplomatic and just society for rural entrepreneurs.

More than just a flight of fancy for back-to-the-earth enthusiasts and tourists, the Adirondack Folk School plays an important role in the local community’s economic development. By salvaging, harvesting, and purchasing products locally, natural materials like birch bark, branches, and balsam needles are used to create Adirondack-style rustic furniture, décor, and accessories. The slow economics of reuse and upcycling are utilized in courses including quilt-making (where old shirts are repurposed into wonderfully patterned one-of-a-kind quilts), and blacksmithing (where students work to achieve master smith certification using regionally-sourced steel). 

By employing instructors and educating artists, the Adirondack Folk School
is ensuring the traditional customs of this region are kept alive while
simultaneously enriching its people’s characteristic practice of sustainable, intentional, resourcefulness. 

“Luckily for us, our artisans have devoted their lives to their craft and are willing to teach others, which helps preserve these traditions for future generations,”
said Terri. 

Finding ways for these talented teachers to benefit beyond the classroom, three times a year the artists meet, mingle, and form future collaborations at the Adirondack Folk School’s Instructor’s Gathering. 

These gatherings help to nurture a pipeline of talent flowing through the school. New workshops for kids (such as gardening, weaving, letterboxing, and birdhouse building) include children as young as six years old. The school is expanding its programming to ensure the next generation will not miss out on their opportunity to experience this unique cultural education, and can potentially pass it on to others in the future.

Falling in Love with Learning

After retiring from a successful career in education administration, Terri Cerveny moved from Schenectady to Lake Luzerne in 2019. Like so many others looking for comradery in a relaxing environment, she took a class. In addition to meeting new people, she was also able to find her passion – jewelry making. 

“I just fell in love. I fell in love with the location, the people, the school,” she said.

Last year, Terri became the folk school’s Executive Director, a job she was happy to take on because since the Adirondack Folk School isn’t an accredited college (like other institutions she’s be a part of), they have the freedom to include an astonishingly vibrant range of instructors and courses within their curriculum.

“The exceptional people here care deeply about the school and want to preserve their art, hone their skills and crafts, and share them with others. It’s really a beautiful thing, and I get to be a part of that,” she said.

Taking it Up a Notch

The Adirondack Folk School’s eclectic selection of courses includes opportunities to learn about the lifestyles and crafting traditions of the Eastern Woodlands’ Native Americans, and the clever homesteading hacks European settlers employed in this area three centuries ago. Through the Adirondack Folk School’s partnership with the Thunderhawk Living History School, students learn traditional beading, moccasin-making, or can choose to go on the overnight camping trip of a lifetime, immersing themselves in the lives of those who lived there in the 1700’s. They enjoy storytelling and drumming around the fire, with reenactors dressed in historically accurate attire. 

Because of the public’s surge in interest since the pandemic, the Adirondack Folk School expanded to an annex in Lake George’s Route 9 outlet mall. The Alfred Z. Solomon Weaving and Woodworking Studio houses their exceptional 11 day cedar strip canoe-making class, and more than a dozen looms in a variety of sizes. 

Currently in the beginning stages of a Capital Campaign that will allow them to expand their facilities and bring these activities back to their Lake Luzerne campus, the school, a 501c3 non-profit organization, has already raised more than $300,000 in cash and pledges toward their new building project. 

“I’m very excited about the momentum we’re building. Our enrollment has been growing steadily since the pandemic. People continue to want to learn how to create things that can make them more self-reliant and to do so in a safe, welcoming community with others who have similar interests. We are running out of space to accommodate this growing demand. The time is now for us to expand,” said Terri. 

Visit the Adirondack Folk School’s Summer Festival, July 27th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for FREE family fun featuring craft demonstrations, storytelling, music, food, and magic.

Course gift certificates and finished pieces by mostly regional artists, students, and instructors are available in the Adirondack Folk School gift shop. Get something special for the ones you love at their remarkable Holiday Sale, November 16th, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For updates, follow them on Facebook @ADKFolkSchool, on Instagram @ adk_folk_school, and go to adirondackfolkschool.org

Photos provided by Blackberry Hill Farms.

Fed up with factory-farmed fast food and industrial agriculture, Blackberry Hill Farm makes fresh organic breads and pantry staples the slow way. 

Before he founded Blackberry Hill Farm, Bob Barody was a vegetarian for four years. Disillusioned by the poor quality and nutritional content of mass-produced meat, he was determined to find an alternative. That’s when he began pursuing regenerative farming. 

In 2016, Bob left his job as a mechanic in a local school district to start Blackberry Hill Farm on 25 acres in Athol, NY.

“This is new age farming, not the old-school factory farming done with chemical sprays that destroys everything and ruins farmland,” he said. 

A first-generation homesteader, Bob discovered through online research and the works of farmer, author, and speaker Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm in Shenandoah Valley, VA, that farming doesn’t have to be destructive, it can be done in a way that restores the soil’s nutrients while also producing healthy, great-tasting food. 

Certification Hurdles

In 2017, Blackberry Hill Farm was just one of two farms in the county to earn the USDA’s coveted “Certified Organic” distinction. At its peak, the farm grew a variety of organic vegetables, raised heritage-breed pigs, chickens, and a small herd of cows. 

During the pandemic, however, Bob scaled back, and flipped his business model from producing approximately 80-percent meat and vegetables, to making mostly value-added foods. Although his farming methods didn’t change, he dropped the “certified organic” labeling. To safeguard the integrity of the certification it has become the most heavily regulated and closely monitored food label offered. But the extensive record-keeping required to maintain it often comes at too high a price for small farmers. 

“Everyone throws around the word ‘organic’ when they don’t know what it means. You have to jump through so many hoops that I’d need a full-time person just to keep track of the accounting but there’s only three of us here that do this; me, myself, and I,” said Bob.

Slow Sourdough vs. Fast Sour-Faux

Even without the label, Bob still practices the principles of organic food production, and by building a wood-fired oven and commercial kitchen on-site, he is now able to create the sweet and spicy mustard for the public that he’s been making for his own friends and family for the past 30 years. 

A pleasing, zesty, creamy combination, the mustard is the condiment of choice to dip his chewy Bavarian style soft pretzels in, or to slather on the assortment of organic artisan breads and bagels he makes from scratch. 

Breadmaking the way Bob does it is a long, slow process. 

Bob’s sourdough bread, for example, is made with hand-ground organic flour.
The starter is mixed on Sunday, the dough is prepared, kneaded, and stretched
on Monday, giving it ample time to rise. Baking day is Tuesday, so the bread is ready to be sold on Wednesday.  

These handmade breads remain fresh for about a week, depending on the temperature at which they’re stored. 

The mass-produced “sour-faux” breads found on supermarket shelves, by comparison, are made in as little as four hours from start to finish, and numerous — potentially carcinogenic — additives and preservatives are used to allow these pseudo-breads to tolerate the harsh industrial processing conditions they’re subjected to and to maintain a longer shelf-life. 

Fresh & Market Ready

Scaling back from working the five farmers markets Bob sold at previously, now Blackberry Hill Farm products can be found at just three area markets and the Deli and Meat Store of the North in Warrensburg. Since January, Bob has been enjoying his first year at the Glens Falls Farmers Market and is finding that a lot of people who don’t attend the winter market have come out for the summer market on South Street. 

It took seven years for his space to open at the Glens Falls Farmers Market. Put on the waiting list because other vendors offered similar products, although he didn’t originally specialize in bagels, when the vendor who did left (creating an opening) Bob added the hearty, golden breakfast item to his menu of offerings. 

It has since become one of his most popular items – especially the Everything bagel variety – which is, hands-down, his best-seller, he said. 

In addition to Bob’s bagels, his rustic bread loaves, baguettes, and English muffins are typically made with just four ingredients, instead of the 40 you’ll find in many name brand breads on supermarket shelves. 

Farm fresh pizzas, made with Bob’s own dough, seasonal garden vegetables, and meats, are a joyful, sustainable, local spin on the universally-loved comfort food.

Blackberry Hill Farm also sells pantry items including gourmet popcorn, granola, coffee, and local honey on their barn-to-door website www.blackberryhillfarmadk.com. 

Tour the grounds of Blackberry Hill Farm and see where great bread is made during Thurman’s annual Farm Tour, held on Saturday, October 24th this year, and during Thurman’s Maple Days in March. For updates, follow them on Facebook @BlackberryHillFarmNY, and Instagram @BlackberryFarm1