Santamont Trail, Catherineville State Forest - Part 1

We had a relatively warm (25 degrees F) and sunny day, so I took the dogs down to the nearby Catherineville State Forest for a walk on the Santamont Trail. Having spent so much of winter indoors, they practically exploded out of the car and I spent the first half of the hike yelling at them to keep them close. That's how I got so many photos of them racing towards me. They'd get too far ahead, I'd call them back and then snap a photo as they came my way:

And they had lots of fun. I loved this picture of Fergus in midair and Seamus cavorting next to little Jack. Not too long ago, Seamus was too fat to do any cavorting, so he's enjoying life more now that he's in shape:

Racing up and down the trail, with occasional stops to sniff the scenery:

And forays into the trees, looking for the wildlife:

Jack was particularly active, nearly always at a full run and, unlike the other dogs, not very good at coming when called. He always does come, but only when he's ready:

Notice Clover's position, with her rear feet in the air:

And in case you haven't already noticed, the scenery was spectacular:

This is one of the nicest trails in the area, though I don't often use it. I hope to explore farther along it this summer:

Seamus, Clover and Fergus sniffed around the base of some pines:

This trail is a multi-use trail and vehicular traffic is allowed, so some summer day I hope to drive in farther and start where I usually turn back when on foot. If the beginning of the trail is this lovely, I imagine it's even nicer when you travel farther into the forest:

And there were many bends in the road, presenting endless mysteries as I wondered what would lie around the next curve:

But it was colder and windier than I'd anticipated, so I called the dogs and began walking back toward the car. I'll present our return trip in Part 2, posted tomorrow: