A Surprise Thaw And A Hike To Moose Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the trail to Moose Pond in Bloomingdale, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We arrived at an unmarked fork in the trail but luckily, I'd read that the easiest access to the lake was to take the left fork. The dogs wanted to take the right fork, but they gave up when it became clear I was going the other way:

It didn't take long before we could see Moose Pond ahead of us, as well as an old fireplace and chimney, a reminder of a cabin which once stood at the water's edge:

The lake was as lovely as I'd read, a wild, Adirondack treasure, surrounded by high peaks:

We walked out onto a large, flat rock to see and experience Moose Pond:

It was quite a wonderful place to be, and all the more so on a miraculously warm winter day:

Daphne and Clover, AKA "The Silly Sisters," ran and played at the water's edge:

Fergus, always more nervous than the others, was more hesitant. But he soon came out to join us and explore the shoreline:

My eyes were on the high peaks. I couldn't identify a single one of them, though I suspected that pointed one with the slide was Whiteface:

But I wasn't ready to stop exploring, so we began trekking through the forest along the edge of Moose Pond. I was hoping to locate that alternate trail which we'd passed by on our way here:

Fergus is a sensitive soul and checks with me often to be sure everything is OK and he's not in trouble. Clover is quite the opposite, and if I holler at Clover, she's unperturbed - but Fergus gets upset. I have to be careful. We continued exploring this lovely forest, following the shoreline and hoping to chance onto the alternate trail. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

A Surprise Thaw And A Hike To Moose Pond - Part 1

We had lots of snow and cold, followed by a warmer day with rain. Then it turned even warmer, an amazing 67 degrees. Well, I figured I needed to take the dogs on a pleasant hike and I already had a new one in mind to explore - Moose Pond, in the town of Bloomingdale. We parked at the trail head and crossed the Saranac River on a footbridge:

Entering the forest, the dogs began to run gleefully:

And I enjoyed the miniature "forests" of Princess Pines (AKA Tree Club Moss) and the smell of Balsams:

The trail was smooth and easy walking:

We only saw one other hiker, and that was at the beginning of our walk. A man with a rifle was just coming out of the forest to get into his car and go home. The rest of the time, we had the entire forest to ourselves:

This trail, I had read, was once a dirt road which led to Moose Pond. It was still in fine shape and no trail markers were needed (which was a good thing, because there weren't any):

I set Clover up on this old log for a photo, but she couldn't hold still very long:

The dogs drank from clear mountain streams:

And the air in many places smelled strongly of Balsams. That wonderful aroma seemed to me to be as sweet as candy. And because it was intermittent, it always came as a wonderful surprise:

These rocky ledges rose up on the left and continued on for a considerable distance. I knew we were getting close to Moose Pond, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

Chapter 4 - The Adirondack Town Of Bloomingdale, New York

Bloomingdale had a day care center:

And an ice cream stand which was for sale with all its equipment. You could own and operate your own Adirondack business in the summertime, traveling south each winter. Click here to see the realtor's link:


This home had very large logs piled in the front yard and a young man with a chain saw was cutting them up for firewood:

A lovely, comfortable home behind a split rail fence:

Bloomingdale's Catholic church:

This well kept home was next to the Catholic church and almost the same color, so I guessed it was the parsonage:


The Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department:

And Absolute Auto Repair:

I began leaving the hamlet of Bloomingdale, driving south on Route 3. I passed nice farms in a flat valley surrounded by Adirondack peaks:

 And these barns had a nice view of what I believed was Whiteface Mountain:

I passed the Brookdale Cemetery in the town of St. Armand, the town in which the hamlet of Bloomingdale was located:

And I was nearing Saranac Lake when I saw this lovely farm, though I didn't know how to tell if the animals were Alpacas or Llamas. But that was the end of my driving tour of Bloomingdale, New York. I put my camera away and concentrated on driving home:

Chapter 3 - The Adirondack Town Of Bloomingdale, New York

I'd arrived at the very center of little Bloomingdale, and discovered that it wasn't quite as "little" as I'd thought it was. That fire hydrant indicated town water and there were more homes, churches and businesses than I would have guessed. I particularly liked the leftover Christmas decorations on this home and felt grateful that they'd left them up because they added such joyful color to the snowy scene:

At the main intersection was this large building with a marquee. I immediately thought it must be a movie house, but that door and windows belied that idea:

When I turned the corner, I discovered Norman's General Store and a front entrance which might once have been for a movie theater. I wish I'd gone in to explore the store, but that will be an adventure for another day:

Across from the store was this impressive town hall:

It said it was built in 1903 and the sign out front announced town hall meetings:

There was a Methodist church:

And a wonderfully colored home with Christmas decorations which matched nicely:

A town style home with Adirondack adornments on its enclosed porch:

And a small home with classic, old style front porch and a modern satellite dish:

This home sat up so close to the road that I had trouble getting it all into the picture:

And an old Victorian which reminded me very much of my grandmother's house:

A smaller home with fewer modern updates - except, of course, for the satellite dish. Bloomingdale had surprised and delighted me. I was on my way out of town at this point, but there's still one more Bloomingdale post for tomorrow:

Chapter 2 - The Adirondack Town Of Bloomingdale, New York

I was on my way home from a brief stay at the farm and had a car full of dogs. We'd had a nice rest stop and exploratory mini-hike on the Bloomingdale Bog Trail, and then I'd driven into the hamlet of Bloomingdale to explore. Snow still covered the ground, but I was enjoying seeing the variety of homes:

This, I thought, was the quintessential Adirondack home, complete with its enclosed porch and small barn out back:

This attractive blue and brown home with a basketball hoop was easy for me to imagine on a comfortable summer's day:

And this strangely shaped but attractive home got me wondering how it had come about. Maybe it had begun as a trailer, to which multiple additions and improvements had been added over time. I could only speculate:

Simplicity and functionality with a splash of color:

An old fashioned, town style home:

I guessed this had once been a farm house. It's porch, gables and cedars were all extraordinary:

A sign promised a self-storage business to be built here, but my main interest was in the small log building and the old fashioned garage with both sliding and hinged doors:

There was an old, abandoned church:

And a nifty blue house with attached garage and picket fence:

A white house with an attractive porch:

And set back into the forest, a green and white home. But there was still more to see in Bloomingdale. I'll post Chapter 3 tomorrow: