Fort Jackson Town Park - Part 1

I had just finished a driving tour (see previous two posts) and decided to take the dogs for a walk in the Fort Jackson State Forest, accessible from Converse Road. But I found a number of pickup trucks parked in the state forest and decided they had to be hunters - not a good time for us to be hiking. So instead, I pulled into the rural Fort Jackson Town Park. I opened the car door and the dogs ran wildly down to the banks of the east branch of the St. Regis River:

They were even more excited than usual, and I had to holler at them to get their attention. Luckily, there was no one around to hear me. The dogs began to calm down after their initial frenzy:

Even old Seamus got carried away, running until I got him to hold still on the rocks at the river's edge:

I took off along the shore line, and clover and Daphne went ahead to sniff things out:

Fergus, a sensitive soul, wanted to be sure I wasn't too angry. I assured him that I wasn't, but that he'd do well to keep it that way:

We walked to Big Hollow Brook, a tributary of the St. Regis River, and began exploring:

I did a bit of rock hopping and the four small dogs, now calmed down, followed me out onto the big, flat rocks. Seamus, with his wobbly legs, stayed safe on dry land:

And then we began following a trail along the St. Regis River:

The sun was shining even though it was chilly, a lovely day for a walk along the river:

The trail is short but follows the river and has exquisite views:

And giant rocks are scattered around, remnants of the glaciers' retreat:

Jack and Daphne explored the cold water and then decided dry land was best. There was more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: