Heading Toward The Farm, Stopping In The Adirondacks

I hadn't been up to the farm since January and after driving up there nearly every weekend for more than a year, that long break was a bit of a shock to my system. My last trip, in January, was so very cold and snowy that I simply didn't want to spend another 5 hours driving up there simply to sleep overnight and drive another 5 hours home the next morning. Besides, my tenants in the farm house appeared to be completely responsible and trustworthy.

But this past week I had a couple of days off of work, so loaded the dogs into the back of the car and headed northward. It was an eventful trip. I took boatloads of photos and had numerous mini-adventures:

The first hour and 45 minutes of our drive up to the farm is spent on the Northway, the limited access highway running between Albany and the Canadian border. But as soon as I exited the freeway in the Adirondacks region, I headed to our usual rest stop, a campsite just off the road and near the beautiful Ausable River. This was all new for little Daphne. Most everything is a new and exciting adventure for Daphne and watching her discover the world is a great joy for me:

Fergus and Daphne, being the young pups, are the most lively. They're prone to running through the woods just for the fun of it:

We headed down a forest path, deeper and deeper into the forest with tubby little Wren waddling as fast as she could go. Yes, that red spot is my car parked at the campsite:

Daphne rounds a bend at full speed:

Curmudgeonly Winky was able to get over this small log, but Wren was not able. You can see her on the trail behind Winky headed toward it. I had to help her over even this small fallen tree:

The Oregon woods where I spent much of my youth with my cousins was called "The Green Forest" and I think this name would aptly describe the Adirondack Forest also. Here, a few of the dogs seem to have discovered a mighty fascinating smell:

We traveled on and on, much farther along the trail then we'd ever gone before:

Here, Daphne and Wally are investigating something which only they find exciting. The weather was beautiful and I'd already determined to take my time and enjoy the journey, so I didn't feel at all rushed. I'll post more photos tomorrow: