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What is your favorite part?

Gettin' that sniffer goin'

Lately I have been trying to figure out what's my favorite part of the fall. The more I thought about the things I like — the leaves changing, and all the hearty fall food — the more I came to realize that it's the smell of them all! If you have ever had the opportunity to spend some time in the Adirondacks in the fall, you know how amazing the smells can be. The temperature at night has started to get cooler, so the plants are getting ready for the change of seasons. During that change, there are some wonderful smells that seep into the air. The smell of the moist soil combined with the sweet smell of fall leaves and evergreens — it just makes me feel alive.

I recently took a journey through Tupper Lake, and I let my nose lead the way. As I started down Park Street, my nose lead me to the sweet smell of donuts!

Donut come for me!  

At the start of the Park Street business district is a cute little store called The Washboard Laundromat Coffee & Donut Shoppe. As you can guess from the name, they have donuts and coffee, which you can eat and drink while you are doing your laundry. There is also a Native American gift shop as well. I scanned the choices of donuts — cinnamon, glaze, bacon, etc. — and went with cinnamon and plain.

The smell of the cinnamon ones reminded me of apple cider donuts and picking apples during this time of year, and it made me wish I had time to go apple picking. When my niece was younger, we used to go apple picking, and we would pick up the apples on the ground and throw them at each other as we ran through the orchard. It sometimes hurt but was oh so much fun! What do you think of when you smell donuts?

Just buy the smell!

As I left the Washboard, I noticed there was a flower shop called Trillium Gift Shop and Florist next door. I love the scent of flowers. So off I went for the next smelling experience.

I was not disappointed. One of my favorite scents is eucalyptus, and there was a hint of it in the air. The shopkeeper and I chatted about smells and she told me about a great room fragrance called Autumn. If you cannot experience the fall around you, just buy this little bottle, and you can make your entire house smell like autumn. 

Foxes are popular right now!

A friend of mine loves all animals, but has been focused on foxes lately. She is an artist and has created a few paintings featuring foxes, and she also has some pillows with foxes on them. I saw this great mug in Trillium, and my friend's birthday is coming in October, so I got it for her. When my friend wakes up in the morning, she'll make coffee, and the wonderful aroma of those coffee beans in the air will put a perk in her step, before she even drinks. It made me happy to think that she will enjoy that smell and taste in the morning while using this cute cup.

With mug and donuts in hand, I headed out down the road to see where the next scent would guide me. For a while my nose didn't catch anything specific, so I let myself wander. As I crossed the street, I caught a whiff of new pavement. There is a lot of new road construction going on in downtown Tupper Lake, and the smell of pavement made me think of progress and development. What does the smell of pavement make you think of? Let me know in the comments.

As I continued to wander, I came upon the Tupper Lake Municipal Park and caught a wonderful combination of smells.

Water and evergreens

Right by a little building was a sweet young couple playing in the water. As they splashed around, the scent of water mixed with the evergreens. The young couple are new to town, which I found out because they started to ask me some questions about the area. They just moved here after graduating from Potsdam. They don't know much about the area and wanted to explore what Tupper has to offer. I told them to stop on by the Tupper Lake Information Center, where I work, and we'd give them plenty of info.

Later they stopped in when I was at the desk, and we chatted about where they came from and the jobs they got after school. They moved in just down the street and are excited about all the hiking and fishing in the area. Funny how my nose led the way to making friends. Who knew?

As I was heading back up to Park Street toward my parked car, I noticed Spruce & Hemlock Country Store, so I stopped in to sniff around. You know those shops that have everything laid out in a way that is super cute and make you feel like you are at a great-aunt's house? Yeah, that is Spruce & Hemlock Country Store. On top of how cute it is, the smells were fabulous. 

Coffee smell, again

I got a coffee mug for my friend, so why not also get some good coffee? I had thought about getting a mug designed and engraved, but I figured that might be better for another time. It is good to know that this service is available, though, for future gift ideas!

I'm a dark roast-type of coffee drinker, and I love the smell of dark roast as well. That spike of nose-tingling roasted bean smell tickles me inside. If you are a coffee drinker, you know what I mean. Before I pick up the bag, I breathe out as much as I can, so I can get a really long sniff going. Then I put my nose to the bag and take a slow, long inhale and let it spread to the top of your head. That first whiff is great, but the second never quite matches up unfortunately. Though I do always go for the second sniff. 

Confirmed: foxes ARE in!

As I was checking out at the counter, I noticed a cute little wooden figure and mentioned to the shopkeeper that I just bought a coffee cup that looks like a fox, and that it was a gift for a friend who seems to really like foxes. She told me that foxes were indeed popular right now. Last year or so it was owls, but now it is foxes. People are still interested in owls, but they are so last year. What animal do you connect with? For me, my favorite right now is probable the otter; they are just so cute!

Just — YUM!

I look at this picture of cinnamon buns, from The Connection, a new shop on Park Street across from Stewart's Shop, and all I want to do is taste that syrup. Can't you just smell that cinnamony goodness? It is hard to walk by a shop that has pastries and not stop in, plus I was feeling hungry. I snagged a cinnamon bun and ate it there while I shopped.

Again, I let my nose guide me, and it lead me to this lovely meal of stuffed butternut squash. It was in the package, so I couldn't actually smell it, but I imagined how it smelled. When I bring this home and warm it up, the smell will fill the kitchen and will make it feel like fall has started for me in the Adirondacks. 

When you get a chance, swing on by the Tupper Lake area for fall leaf peeping, and while you're at it, let your nose guide you to some amazing experiences!


In related ADK autumn outlook news:

Autumn on the Coast

Sunsets for miles

Lazy day drive

Foliage fore days

Single track and twilight

Coolest views around

Burn, baby, burn