A Refreshing Stop At Mountain Pond

The dogs and I were on our way home from a weekend at the farm and had just had a nice rest stop at the Hays Brook Horse Trail. We got back on Route 30 and began driving south when, perhaps a mile down the road, I decided to turn in to the Mountain Pond fishing area. Why not two rest stops in a row?:

There were campsites around one end of the lake and they were all empty except for one tent. The tent, however, was zipped up and I supposed its occupants were off fishing. So I chose a scenic campsite and let the dogs out - after first snapping their picture:

Mountain Pond is a scenic gem, surrounded by small, rocky mountains:

Little Daphne trotted down to the water's edge but didn't go in:

As for me, I just stood quietly and viewed the wild, natural beauty before me:

Winky, sadly, is becoming more deaf and more confused. But I am happy to report that he had a grand time exploring the sandy shoreline, sniffing everywhere and, of course, peeing on everything:

Big ol' Seamus also explored but didn't go into the water. The shallows were all mud and not sand or rocks, so perhaps that's why the dogs didn't go in. I don't see how they could have known that without going in, however. Maybe they're smarter than I give them credit for:

Wally and Clover stuck to the grassy campsite and fire ring, clearly hoping to find some food scraps:

I called the dogs back to the car:

This takes a minute or two as they all decide it's time to jump back inside the car and curtail their exploring:

Once we were loaded and ready to go, I had Seamus, Wally, Fergus and Winky in the back of the car:

And Clover and Daphne in the front seat. This arrangement has worked well and seems to give everyone enough room to be comfortable. Rest stop over, we proceeded on our way home toward Albany: