A Rainy Day In Saranac Lake And Lake Placid

It's a long drive home from the farm, often five or six hours. A person who drove straight through could do it in four hours, but I have to stop to give the dogs a break. And frankly, I need many breaks myself. Besides, I love to see the sights. Even Lake Flower in the town of Saranac Lake, which I've seen so many times, looks wondrously different each time I view it:

The beautiful old houses lined up along the shoreline and the downtown buildings at one end, Lake Flower is right on my way home and I love to stop there for a photo or two or three:

A light, steady rain was falling on that day in May and it gave everything a sort of magical airbrushing:

And then from the town of Saranac Lake to the Olympics town of Lake Placid. I stopped just outside the Adirondack Equine Center to snap a photo of the low hanging clouds forming a gauzy curtain in front of the mountainous backdrop:

The views from the Equine Center are glorious, and the clouds on that rainy day added another layer to the scene. But I didn't drive in there. I just snapped a few photos and kept on driving. I'd already been on the road quite a while and wanted to get home. I planned one more rest stop for the dogs before we hit the Northway, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

Through The High Peaks And Arriving At The Farm

I was driving to the farm with all six dogs in the car and had reached the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks. I turned off on Adirondack Loj Road to get a few shots of the amazing mountains surrounding the hay field there:

And since the day was so lovely and since I wasn't in any hurry, I continued along Adirondack Loj Road to see the scenery:

These farm fields are surrounded by some of the loftiest peaks in the Adirondacks. They must surely have been difficult to farm because of the severe winters back when they were first cleared, but now are expensive real estate providing spectacular views:

This log home had 360 degree views of the fields and mountains:

And when I looked toward the northwest, I could see the town of Lake Placid and its twin Olympic ski jumps:

I drove on, entering Lake Placid and stopped once again at the Adirondack Equine Center which was deserted on that Sunday morning. It offered me a fabulous view of Whiteface Mountain:

And other Adirondack peaks which I couldn't identify:

We traveled on through the town of Brighton where more excellent views gave me another opportunity to try out my new camera:

And soon enough we arrived at the farm. I turned on the water, set the thermostat higher and put pillows on the floor for the dogs' comfort:

Seamus had just gotten a haircut at PetSmart that very morning and they'd provided him with a colorful bandanna which I left on. He made himself comfy:

Winky truly enjoys being part of the pack and going where we go even though he's sometimes cranky and often resistant to do what he's told. Winky is a special case, a foster dog which would have been risky to place in any other home. So he happily stayed with me. Maybe he'd planned it that way all along:

It wasn't yet near their 5:00 feeding time, but judging by the look on their hopeful faces, I'd say that all six dogs were wishing I'd feed them early. The contractors had planned to begin the barn restorations that Monday but hadn't yet done anything that I could see. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Lake Placid And The High Peaks Region

I'd had a pleasant weekend up at the farm and was on my way home to Albany with all six dogs in the back of the car. We were traveling through the high peaks region of the Adirondacks. When I passed through the town of Lake Placid, I decided to stop at the extensive Adirondack Equine Center. There was no event going on at the time so I simply pulled in and took a tour. My main interest was in the surrounding mountains:

And the views of the surrounding mountains were quite nice:

I was a little concerned that the various workers driving around in pickup trucks would stop me, but no one seemed to care as I drove around, stopping in various places to snap pictures:

But I was soon back on the road and stopping once again at Adirondack Loj Road to take a photo of the high peaks, still a bit shrouded in clouds that morning:

A young couple with their Beagle on a leash also stopped on the shoulder of the road and got out to enjoy the scenery. They began running and playing in the hay field, a perfect picture of joy:

Farther on down the road I stopped at a driving range to admire the autumn color:

There are signs in places warning of possible Moose in the roads. I've never seen one in the Adirondacks, but I have seen them in nearby Vermont:

As Route 73 began to drop down into the Keene Valley, the mountains straight ahead were almost all covered in clouds. With my stop at Benz Pond, detour along Blue Mountain Road and numerous photo stops, this was becoming a very lengthy trip. But I'll post more tomorrow: