Deer River State Forest, Martin Road - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking off Martin Road in the Deer River State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and found the trails to be easy walking, the forest to be cool and lovely:

The mottled sunlight was challenging for my camera, but it tried its best. The dogs had begun our hike with too much boisterous enthusiasm, but they slowed down as we proceeded:

And then I saw this route sign, a real surprise in the deep forest. Apparently there are numbered routes, though I found no map of them online:

I was surprised by this bright orange shelf fungus. Clover and Daphne ran over to it and I followed, interested in a closer look:

It was indeed distinctive. I looked it up when I got home and suspect it was what is often called "Chicken Of The Woods," supposedly because it tastes like chicken. I'd never try it unless I had an expert on hand to confirm the identification, yet still it added to the interest:

We went quite a distance, making a number of turns. and I had some concern about remembering the way back. So before we got too far, I decided to begin our return trip to the car. Martin Road is a gravel road with no traffic, no buildings, no utilities, so just locating the car wouldn't mean we were back in civilization:

But the walk back was entirely pleasant and the dogs, having spent their excess energy, were much easier to keep close:

Jack still ran in big circles, taking detours through the woods, but even he was considerably calmed down. As for Seamus, he was plain tuckered out:

There were a few more side trips into the woods by the dogs, but I stayed on the trail:

There were mature stands of conifers and places I thought looked like the Black Forest, but I discovered that the pictures in such places had too little sunlight to be usable. The younger, hardwood areas had more light and more usable photos:

We trudged quietly along, with Ovenbirds singing all around us:

Right at the end, I almost turned left at an intersection. I was just about to do so when I glimpsed the bright red of my car, parked on the road straight ahead. There are times when a bright colored car is a real blessing. The dogs and I hopped back in our car and drove home. It had been a very nice short hike: