Beautiful Hannawa Falls, New York - Part 2

I was making a driving tour of Hannawa Falls and my overall impression so far was that this was an upscale suburb of Potsdam. But then I began to see evidence of its rural roots. This spectacular old barn, for instance:

I saw a bar/restaurant on the shore of the Raquette River and pulled in to take a look. A farmer drove a big tractor up the road while I was parked there:

The sign told me that I was at the Canoe Place Inn, and that it served lunch and dinner daily. The bar was open from 11:00 AM to 2:00 AM and there was a picture of a swimming moose in an inflatable toy lifesaver. It seemed like a friendly, neighborhood kind of place:

There was an old house built of Potsdam Red Sandstone with extensive additions added on:

Homes on the Raquette River were exceedingly lovely:

And the river itself seemed to give the whole town a special character. It didn't just pass through the town, it ran the full length of the town:

There were very large houses in Hannawa Falls. This one, judging by the mailboxes, must have contained five apartments:

And just look at the upstairs balcony on this house for river gazing:

I turned in to a historical looking place along the river and saw this marker. It said that this had been the site of Cox's Mill, which consisted of a sandstone house and a sawmill:

But these days the falls are the site of a dam and hydroelectric power plant - or at least that was what I guessed it was:

The volunteer fire department looked to be a thriving organization and I saw signs in town announcing a fund raising dinner they were putting on:

Another sandstone home, very elegant. But Hannawa Falls was bigger than I'd realized and I kept driving. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Beautiful Hannawa Falls, New York - Part 1

I left the hamlet of Wildwood fully intending to head next to the tiny settlement of Gleasons Mills. I traveled southwest to Route 56 and turned north, after which I was supposed to head west on Route 68. But by the time I'd entered the town of Hannawa Falls, I realized that I was way off base. Well, no matter. I'd never seen Hannawa Falls and this would be a great opportunity to do so. The sign said, "Welcome To Hannawa Falls, Home Of The Hounds" and had a picture of what appeared to be a racing dog. Hmmm. I found no mention of a greyhound track or any other doggy related thing. Perhaps The Hounds are the local high school teams:

Hannawa Falls is just south of Potsdam and appeared to me to have been a small village which had grown into an upscale suburb of its bigger neighbor. I've since learned that it is officially located within the town of Pierrepont, Hannawa Falls children attend Potsdam schools:

Most of the homes I saw were modern and quite deluxe:

They were nicely landscaped and many, like this one, had decks for outdoor living in such a scenic place. Many of the homes were built on the shores of the beautiful Raquette River (you can see it behind this house):

There were many homes painted a rustic brown color:

While others preferred a colonial look:

At the end of this side road I found a small park and access to the Raquette River:

Upscale, like I said before - and on the waterfront:

I thought the green color of this home looked especially good with its landscaping:

Another home on the river:

A brick home with a double, attached garage. This is the north country after all, and winters are often severe:

This home had a patch of yellow daffodils in bloom and it looked to me that in just a few more weeks there would be lots of flowers in bloom. I wondered if all of Hannawa Falls would be so upscale, so I kept driving. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

A Drive Through Wildwood, New York - Part 2

I'd surely taken a shine to the hamlet of Wildwood. It may have seemed remote and rural, surrounded as it was by forest, but the houses were modern and comfortable:

Yet it really was located in the forest, to which this pile of logs will attest:

There were homes off in, and nearly hidden by the forest:

And neat homes with well constructed retaining walls:

Modular homes:

And lots of firewood:

Big lawns and wooden fences:

Old farmsteads from a long ago era:

And lots of decks and front porches for viewing the lovely countryside all around:

This appeared to me to be an old farm house although I saw no big barn:

This modular had an elaborate porch/deck:

And this home had a sugar house out back. This spring, I'd heard, had been a big one for maple sugar producers. But it was time for me to move on and check out somewhere new. I'll post about that tomorrow:

A Drive Through Wildwood, New York - Part 1

We'd already taken a driving tour of the hamlet of High Flats and hiked the Beaver Bridge Trail (see previous posts). Our next stop was the tiny hamlet of Wildwood, New York. You can see the sort of roads on which I discovered it:

The dogs and I were having a grand time:

I passed by a Great Blue Heron and snapped a photo which didn't turn out well enough to use. This tom turkey was displaying in the middle of the road for his harem until my car approached. Yet still I was able to get a good shot of him as he took his hens off into the forest. He was quite colorful and you'll be able to see it better if you click to enlarge the photo:

I began finding homes along the narrow roads in Wildwood:

Most were nice homes and it seemed to me that this was country living at its finest:

There were big homes:

And homes with outbuildings. This one seemed especially nice:

A red barn in the woods:

And a modern, green octagon house with a traditional split rail fence:

An old farmstead:

More nice homes:

and a log cabin style home. Wildwood seemed remote although these people were quite close to Potsdam. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Part 3 - Beaver Bridge Trail

I crossed the final bridge and found that doing so put us right back on the dirt lane on which we'd begun and which followed the trail for some time. It was pleasant, easy walking and I relished the opportunity to walk without having to watch my step:

As for the dogs, everything makes them happy. So they continued to run, play and sniff:

Madeline seem especially happy - or perhaps her perpetual smile just makes her look that way:

With most of the leaves not yet fully opened, I had wonderful views in every direction and I strolled slowly, enjoying it all:

I told Fergus and Seamus to "Stay" so I could snap their picture. My "poodley" boys:

And soon enough I could see the pond up ahead near where I'd parked the car:

When we arrived at the car, though, we had to rush down to the pond and enjoy it:

Seamus sniffed while Clover raced full speed along the shoreline (notice her "airplane ears"):

It was a warm, wonderful day even though there were a few spots of snow remaining. Yes, that's right - snow. See those white blobs on the far bank? Those were snow:

Seamus waded in just a bit and all the dogs took a drink of water. As for me, I'd have to stop at a store for something to drink:

Even Fergus went in:

But the day was young and there was still more exploring to do. Tune in tomorrow to see where we went next: