Alan Belford has spent much of his life outdoors exploring and learning about wildlife – particularly birds. An avid outdoor recreationist and athlete, Alan is often out hiking, paddling, running, or cross country skiing – with his Labrador retriever Wren at this side. His hobbies and athletic pursuits soon became a profession when he began his career, earning two graduate degrees in wildlife along the way. A certified teacher and former cross country, baseball, and ultimate frisbee coach, he loves teaching others and has taught multiple natural history (specializing in ornithology) courses for both college students and the general public. His wildlife research has focused on vertebrates – particularly mammals and birds – most recently with the Wildlife Conservation Society researching the impact of human development on wildlife communities in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. He is a licensed guide in New York State, he has traveled widely both domestically and internationally, and he is also a published travel writer and photographer – focusing on outdoor and nature writing. He can be contacted at alan.belford1@gmail.com.

Lisa Sciacca is an Adirondack native.

She grew up in Paul Smith's NY and moved to Tupper Lake in 1972. Her passions include paddling (in her Hornbeck Canoe or her Swift kayak) and biking. Last summer she became addicted to car camping, at NYS parks. She particularly enjoys long paddles with a swim, picnic, a little reading and taking photos, especially of wildlife. Being that she now has a Hornbeck she is really enjoying going from pond to pond and pinning the Adirondack Paddler's Map to track her paddles.

Another passion is downhill skiing and she also enjoys cross country skiing when she is not on the slopes.

My first visit to the Adirondacks from Whitehall NY eventually became a final visit when I found home in Lake Placid NY.

As a blogger I want to put myself in every visitor’s shoes, but I firmly believe the Adirondack experience, to be full, must include our best asset - nature.

During the four seasons I will walk towns, hike and run trails, give an honest and informative blog with a steady reminder that well-being and all its synonyms can be achieved here during a day trip, a weekend stay, or an extended vacation in the forever wild Adirondacks.

Kim Andresen

My son's favorite question is, "what are we doing fun today?"
On the weekends, you would think we were visitors: we like to take advantage of the numerous activities that travelers to the region drive hours to partake in. Most of our adventures are spur of the moment, inspired by something we have read about in the events calendar, online, or through word-of-mouth from coworkers and friends. Sometimes we choose a family-friendly hike such as Cobble Hill or a walk around Mirror Lake, other days you can find us biking on random backroads outside of Saranac Lake, or camping in one of the numerous spots within driving distance to our home-base: along the beautiful Adirondack Coast of Lake Champlain, in the mountainous tract that encompasses Schroon Lake, or further west into the Old Forge area. Some weekends, we do all of the above. We are an ambitious crew that ranges in size depending on the weekend - often dragging visiting family and friends along for the fun. We love a good adventure, and admittedly I like a good deal (who doesn’t?) so I can often be found whipping out my smart phone to see what’s happening on the cheap. Say, 'Hi' and pose for my camera if you see us coming through - you'll recognize us by the enthusiastic 6yo leading the way!

Rhiannon Berry is a Content Developer for the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism. She was given a journal at the age of nine and has been writing ever since. In addition to writing, Rhiannon has a deep love for reading, music, and the outdoors. She has spent much of her life working within education, specializing in English Language Arts, journalism, and creative writing. Additionally, she has dedicated much of her professional and personal life to Holocaust studies, traveling nationally and internationally for various teaching and learning opportunities. A life-long athlete, Rhiannon discovered triathlon after graduating college. She has never looked back, swimming, biking, and running anywhere she can in addition to hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing.

ADK Blogger