SARANAC LAKE — Shops on Main Street and Broadway in Saranac Lake, an hour or more away from the busy malls in Plattsburgh, were busy Friday, too.

At Blue Line Sports, a woolen clothing, outdoor gear and hunting store, a line grew clumped around the cash register.

People talked weather and holiday schedules as they waited.

Other customers huddled around racks of Woolrich vests and Carhartt jackets and some discussed the merits of buying a new compass.

Doug Furtaw of Saranac Lake was waiting near the checkout counter, when store cashier Eve Brown handed him a big gift wrapped and tied in a bow.

"There you go," she said. "I wrapped it myself."

Furtaw smiled and said he came out special Friday to get the perfect gift for his wife.

Erika Bezio, who works with Furtaw's wife at a nearby school, asked what it was.

He told her in confidence.

Bezio said she had just driven in from Plattsburgh so they could shop in Saranac Lake.

"We like the shops here," said Patti Pirofsky, who had come in with her.

The young teacher had skipped the big sales in the mall for a little hometown spending. Most shops in Saranac Lake had discounts on racks, averaging about 15 percent.

There was a line in Goody Goody's toy store and several groups of people browsing Adirondack selections in Fact & Fiction bookstore.

Bezio prefers to buy local.

"Of course," she said "look!" holding up a bulging holiday shopping bag.

"And our car's full."

Downstairs in the gun room, traffic was a little less brisk, with most hunters out for the final full weekend before rifle-hunting deer season ends.

Turkey decoys lined the top of the camouflage gear racks, and camo warming seats hung on the walls.

"It has been busy today," Brown said at the Blue Line Sports counter. "Yes it has."

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com