The Colton, New York Museum - Part 2

I was touring the Colton, New York Museum (see part 1, yesterday) and enjoying the old time articles from local lives and families:

I passed the side door, where the historian was relaxing, enjoying the view of the Raquette River:

I went upstairs, where there were many old dresses from bygone eras:

A women's hat:

Glass bottles for holding shampoo and toilet water:

A baby doll in excellent shape:

A doll in a wicker carriage:

This doll was not so old and, as often happens in local museums, I realized that I have reached an age where some of their "artifacts" are from the era of my own childhood or, as in this case, even after my childhood:

Another doll in a rocking horse. I sure do remember when these rocking horses were everywhere:

Little girls loved their dolls and often kept them throughout their lives. Eventually they wind up in a museum:

A wedding dress, another beloved memento kept for many years and now a museum piece. There was a note which dated this dress to the early 1930s:

There was a very large upstairs room entirely devoted to a man's collection of art and artifacts from all around the world. The lighting and the glass cases prevented me from taking any photos, but I did learn that the man who collected all this purchased the house for use as a museum so his treasures could be preserved and displayed. I remembered in my childhood when collecting artifacts from around the world was popular. It seems now that we've begun to long for our own roots, and people are anxious to see artifacts from local history. I guess we've reached the point where such things seem as exotic as those from Asia or Africa once seemed. But this was my last stop in the museum. I thanked the historian and went on my way:

The Colton, New York Museum - Part 1

The little Adirondack town of Colton, New York sits on the scenic banks of the Raquette River and I drove there one sunny Saturday to see the town museum:

The museum was located in an old house, which was once the parsonage for the Episcopal church which is still right next door. I learned that this house once also served as a temporary school after the main school had a fire. Now it is the town museum:

I signed in, got a bit of local lore from the historian and began my tour in a room devoted to the Colton Fire Department's 100th anniversary. I was most taken, however, by this church pump organ:

And sitting atop the organ was this bit of calendar kitsch from the year 1915, exactly 100 years ago:

I walked slowly around the museum, snapping pictures where I could. It was difficult because the rooms were dark (an old fashioned fuse had blown that morning) and the bright sun was streaming through the windows. Our eyes know how to handle that but cameras have a lot of trouble. I was enthralled by this old kitchen. It seemed to have popped right out of my childhood:

A coffee grinder from Cook's store in Colton, 1923:

An old radio:

An old style telephone. Even I am not old enough to remember these being used:

I was surprised when I saw the bathroom, looking much as it did 50 years ago:

An entire back room was devoted to Adirondack and Raquette River tools, occupations and lore:

This was a frontier town not too long ago and the exhibits in this room illustrated the town's pride in that heritage. There were stuffed animals, birch trees, campfire setups and all manner of Adirondack memorabilia:

And of course snowshoes and mounted fish, both reminders of winters in the forests and fishing on the Raquette River. But there was still more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Autumn Color On Route 56 Sevey Corners And Colton

The dogs and I had just finished three short trails (see previous five posts) and were back in the car, headed for home on State Route 56. The autumn color along the way was once again so magnificent that I grabbed my camera to share some of it with you:

The big trees here were green but the shrubby growth was red and orange:

And individual trees stood out like flames amidst the green:

Deep, ruby red behind a marshy area:

As brilliant as if they were lit from the inside:

More magnificence:

A forest of color, set off behind the green which was closer to the road:

Autumn color around a pond:

A mixture of colors:

Hardwood color in front of green pines:

Another pond, surrounded by color:

And an extensive marsh, backed up by colorful autumn forest. But we were on our way home, so I put my camera away and concentrated on my driving:

Autumn Color On Route 56 Between Colton And Sevey Corners

Our cold, wet spell of weather finally went away and we entered into a sunny, warm period. I took the dogs southward, down State Route 56, to three short trails I'd read about. But on the way, I was impressed with the autumn beauty all along the road and decided to take some pictures:

I turned south on Route 56 at the town of Colton, and quite soon noticed the brilliant display all around me:

This was a favorite of mine - a green, grassy hillside surrounded by colorful trees and with a river at road level:

Stripes and spots of color stood out like flames amidst the usual green of the hillsides:

With the great variety of colors, putting me in mind of fireworks or confetti:

These tall, red trees were distinctive:

Autumn glory, reaching for the sky:

I imagined hearing the 1812 Overture in the background:

A more placid, serene scene along a pond:

The forests here are extensive:

Back behind a marsh, the autumn color was beginning to take over:

And this broad marsh was backed by autumn color. But it was time for me to find the first trail head, and I'll post about that tomorrow:

Stone Valley Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking on the Stone Valley Trail, alongside the magnificent Raquette River. Summertime water levels were low, yet still there were waterfalls and rapids to add beauty to our excursion:

I couldn't maneuver the rocks because of my braces, but the dogs took great delight in exploring along the edges of the river:

In some places, the Raquette River was calm and quiet:

And the trail beneath the Hemlocks was peaceful:

Fergus trotted down to a pool of water:

I went as far as I thought I could manage, given my braces and the heat of the day, and then we turned back toward our parked car:

"This is fun, Dad. Come on down:"

Seamus isn't much for running and playing these days, despite having shed more than ten percent of his former body weight. Mostly he just follows along and looks happy:

We stopped to enjoy every scenic overlook:

And relished the cool shade of the forest. Back in the sun, the day was very hot:

We crossed back over the bridge which spanned the giant water pipe:

And I looked northward toward where the pipe was headed. It was an amazing sight. But our hike was over. We hurried back to the car, rolled all the windows down and got back on the road quickly to get the air flowing again: