A New Way Into Fort Jackson State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I had found our way to a very remote stretch of the St. Regis River in a very remote part of the Fort Jackson State Forest:

Clover pushed her way through the ferns and grasses but kept out of the water:

Purple Loosetrife and Joe-Pye-Weed were in bloom. The sky overhead was filled with puffy clouds and we were far from civilization:

Madeline looked very happy to be exploring in this natural setting:

Daphne and Clover ate a lot of grass and Clover, not surprisingly, barfed all the way back to the car:

Once we'd had our riverbank experience, it was time to travel back through the dark forest toward the car:

With the dirt lane to follow, I didn't have to worry about getting lost:

I did, however, insist on keeping the dogs close. That's a new rule. I'm not sure they quite understand it yet, but they'll get the hang of it eventually. In their minds, it's either run free or heel, with no in between:

We followed the dirt lane back through the forest:

I was beginning to think we'd gone too far when there ahead of us was our bright red car, just visible through the trees:

The dogs happily jumped up into the car and I prepared to carefully drive back out of the forest. It is a wonderful blessing to live so very close to such wild, natural areas: