A Walk In Whiskey Flats State Forest

It had been a full afternoon, beginning with a short hike in the White Hill Wild Forest and then a short hike on the Sylvan Falls trail. But I knew we'd be passing through the Whiskey Flats State Forest on our way home and I'd earlier seen an enticing lane into the forest. Besides, with a name like Whiskey Flats, who could resist?:

The forest was quiet and lovely. The dogs, who had been a bit wild on the first hike and overly cautious on the second hike, this time were sniffing everything excitedly. I suspected that meant the forest had a coyote population and reminded myself to be sure to keep my dogs close at all times:

The lanes were sandy and flat - easy walking:

But of course I didn't stay on the easy lanes. Instead, I called the dogs into the forest to see what we could see:

We entered a Red Pine forest:

The forest floor was often carpeted with sphagnum moss which was, in turn, covered with pine needles and reindeer lichen:

But it was altogether charming and a little bit mysterious - just right for a short, easy adventure:

The pooches were very good about sticking close to me as they happily explored every smell:

Though the trees weren't large, there was little underbrush and the walking, even off the trail inside the forest, was quite easy:

I could see the lane just ahead through the trees, so that's where we headed. It was time to go home anyway:

So we proceeded back up the lane through the forest, enjoying the sights, smells and sounds:

We arrived back at the car and jumped back inside for the ride home. This had been a good day and great way to spend a warm, lovely autumn afternoon: