Part 2 - The Bestest, Funnest River Rest Stop Ever

This is part 2 of our rest stop adventure at the Schroon River. We'd walked down the shoreline to a place where we could ford a narrow stretch to rocky island. Little Clover sniffed everything on the island:

And then Seamus, Fergus, Wally and Daphne joined her:

Old Winky had finally arrived at the water's edge but refused to cross it. He did, however, enjoy a drink of cool water and get more exercise than he's had in many years, maybe in his whole life. He slept soundly for most of the rest of the trip:

We began to cross back over to where Winky waited, but this was prime play time for the younger dogs, not just a shallow stream to be forded:

In fact, all the dogs (except Winky, of course) got into the water play act. Even blind old Wally was splashing and playing:

When I finally decided that it was time to go, Wally was the last one to cross over to dry land. But he was happy and totally refreshed for the trip still ahead of us:

Winky was not thrilled by the prospect of traipsing all the way back to the car, but when he saw us getting farther away from him, he decided to come along:

My two old timers, still able to enjoy a bit of river fun:

Wally was surprisingly spry and energetic, and I wondered if he was seeing better than he had in a long time. Perhaps the clean, sunny atmosphere helped him get oriented. And despite his age, Wally can still kick up his heels with the youngest of them. I worried about the stones hurting their feet, but none of the dogs seemed to mind at all:

We crossed the stony section and arrived back at the sand dunes:

The youngsters and I returned to the car parked in the woods and I watched to make sure Winky and Wally would follow:

Once all the wet, sandy dogs were back in the car, we had to wait for Winky. I think he was tired but had himself an adventure and a good time. I hope that the next time we do this, I can actually try swimming in that deep spot. But we still had a long way to go to get the farm, so once all the dogs were loaded up, I pointed the car northward and we continued on our way: