Adirondack Autumn Color - Part 2

The dogs and I were headed home, driving on Route 458 through the Adirondacks (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). I was stopping along the way to capture some of the early autumn color:

I almost drove past these cliffs, then stopped at this small, red sapling:

I backed up and found a safe parking spot to photograph some of the other scenery around the cliffs:

I'm not sure why the reds were so bright here, but I was thrilled to see them:

Driving through the Adirondacks in autumn is wonderful scenic experience:

I thought the colors would fade as we came down out of the mountains, but they were still bright:

I took a small detour to drive along the St. Regis River and found this peaceful scene. Wouldn't you like to live here?

Mountain Ash beside someone's gravel driveway:

The three small dogs were watching out the front passenger window, the two bigger dogs were in the back:

Back on the highway again, I continued to find lovely autumn colors:

And a wide variety of species and mixtures. But of course I had to put the camera away and concentrate on driving home. It was time for lunch:

Adirondack Autumn Color - Part 1

I'd just been out with dogs at Meacham Lake (see previous two posts), and we were on our way home. We were headed north on Route 458 through the Adirondacks and the autumn colors were just beginning to show. I decided to stop along the way and take some pictures:

Low mountains along the road:

A wet area beside the road helped turn these trees red:

One lone red tree among lots of green and yellow:

Not much color here, but it was a lovely marsh:

But there was certainly some bright color here:

And Staghorn Sumac can always be counted on to deliver bright red color in the fall:

More color along Route 458:

Much variety here:

Ferns beside the road were turning bronze and mixed with cattails. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

An Attempted Hike To Meacham Falls - Part 2

My hike with the dogs to a waterfall fell through (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), so we instead were looking for a trail along the shoreline of beautiful Meacham Lake:

We were bushwhacking, enjoying the wild Adirondack forest:

The faint trail we'd been on ended at a wet marsh, and we could go no farther:

Foiled once again, we turned back toward the car:

But the forest was still beautiful and it was still a joy to be out in nature:

I'd hoped for some brilliant autumn colors but found none - until, that is, I found this Mountain Maple. The bright red exceeded anything I could have hoped for:

We returned to the parking area:

And looked out over the lower section of Meacham Lake:

Jack, Seamus and Daphne went into the water again:

And then we headed for our parked car:

I was all ready to go, but Jack was still running in circles so I let the dogs get wet one last time. It sure seems to make them happy:

An Attempted Hike To Meacham Falls - Part 1

We've been to a waterfall on the St. Regis River several times, but I read about another waterfall, just several miles upstream, near the outlet of Meacham Lake. So one day I drove there, pulled onto a gravel lane, parked and let the dogs out:

It was a lovely woodland and the dogs were excited:

Fergus and Jack found a Hobblebush with bright red berries:

Alas, we'd only gone a short distance when we came to a closed gate and many "Private Property, No Trespassing" signs. I searched for a legal trail but found none:

So we enjoyed retracing our steps as we returned to the car:

Another Hobblebush, this one with no berries but bright red leaves:

I drove across the highway to a parking area on State Park land, right at the outlet of Meacham Lake. It was beautiful:

I'd hoped to find a legal trail to the waterfall from there, but there was none. But there was no sense wasting such a wonderful place, so the dogs went into the water and played:

I pointed my camera up Meacham Lake. The sun blurred the shot, but the surrounding mountains framed the water:

Autumn ferns added color:

I decided to find a trail which would take us along the shore of Meacham Lake, so the dogs and I set out to explore. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Five Overexcited Dogs In The Wild Forest - Part 3

The dogs and I had just hiked the Indian Rock Waterway Access trail (see also previous two posts) to the St. Regis River and the dogs were very happily enjoying the clean, clear water:

As for me, I climbed up onto a mound of earth to get a photo of the river beyond our location. People carry their canoes to this point so they can paddle into the wilderness and enjoy this spectacular scenery:

We explored the area a bit, but there wasn't much else to see so we began our return journey:

The dogs had slowed down a bit by this point, but not much:

These tiny plants were sporting whitish berries and I wondered if they were Partridgeberry or Wintergreen. I thought it was the latter, so I crushed a leaf and indeed, the aroma of Wintergreen filled my nostrils:

Seamus lagged behind and, given his age and faltering condition, I thought I'd better go back and find him. He was smelling something and seemed to have forgotten about us, so I got him back with his pack and we began walking the trail back to our car:

The little dogs were as spry and excited as ever - maybe more so:

It was a perfect day except for my constant yelling to keep the dogs close by me:

The dogs ran ahead barking at one point and, when I caught up with them, discovered they'd met a couple carrying two canoes. Luckily, they thought my friendly dogs were fun. Reindeer Lichen, Bracken Ferns and various mosses lined the sides of the trail:

We took occasional side trips to see the sights:

But mostly we stayed on the main trail:

When the parking area appeared ahead of us, I almost called the dogs to heel, but decided it didn't make much difference here:

So I let them run ahead to reach the car before me. I always marvel how they're just as excited to find the car as they were to leave it and begin their adventure: