A Happy Rest Stop At The Keene Cemetery

The dogs and I were on our way home from a weekend visit up to the farm. The day was beautiful, so when I reached the intersection of Routes 9 and 73 in the Keene Valley, I had to stop and take yet another photo of my favorite scene:

And since it was so lovely, I also drove up into the Keene Cemetery to give the dogs a rest stop and myself a great view of the surrounding mountains. I parked, put poop bags in my pocket and let the dogs out. Wally seemed to appreciate the clean air even though he couldn't see much of anything:

And the views were spectacular:

Seamus and the Papillons trotted around, sniffing everything:

A bit of running and playing followed:

And then more sniffing:

Old Winky and Wally couldn't appreciate the views, but I sure enjoyed them as I kept a watch on the dogs:

The younger dogs had settled into some serious sniffing:

But it was just a quick rest stop, and I called the dogs back to the car:

The three "Silly Sisters" resisted. They'd have preferred playing for several more hours:

  Winky couldn't hear me, so I waved my arms and clapped. By the way, don't fail to notice those majestic Adirondack peaks:

I got all the dogs loaded up into the car, counted noses several times and took one last look at the spectacular scenery. Then we were on our way once again:

Scenes From The Keene Valley

We'd had a wonderful trip up to the farm and were on our way home when I stopped at the Keene Cemetery for a look at the high peaks all covered in clouds. Little Madeline had never been there before and ran happily back and forth. I got a roll of poop pick-up bags out of my glove compartment just in case:

The scenery was beautiful and the dogs were happy to be out and stretching their legs:

They collected at various smells. One would get a whiff of something interesting and the others would crowd around to share the experience:

But as for me, I mostly enjoyed the glorious scenery of high peaks brushed with clouds:

This rest stop lasted only a few minutes and I soon had the dogs loaded back up into the car so that we could continue our journey. I hadn't had to use the poop pick-up bags:

I snapped one last photo as we drove out of the cemetery:

We continued on our way through the Keene Valley where I caught another view of the cloud misted mountains:

And at Marcy Field, I got an excellent view of both clouds and Adirondack peaks:

All around this flat valley floor are mountains, and on that day they were all mysterious wrapped in veils of swirling after-the-rain clouds:

I said goodbye to Marcy Field and continued on our way toward Albany:

The mountain views here are always changing - green in the summer, red and gold in the autumn, brown later on, white in the winter, sometimes in sun, sometimes in shade, sometimes in clouds:

And I stopped for a view of what I've always assumed was Nippletop (for obvious reasons). On this day its "nipple" was coated with white snow which made it look even more like a giant breast poking up from the earth. But at that point we were almost to the Northway where the leisurely, picture taking part of the trip would be over and the high speed race south to Albany would begin:

Keene Valley Cemetery And The Adirondack Railroad

The dogs and I were on our way up to the farm for a weekend visit and had just had an extended, fun and interesting rest stop at Frontier Town. We traveled up the Northway to Exit 30 and continued on our way via Route 73 through the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks. The day was so clear and lovely that I pulled up into the Keene Cemetery for a nice view of the surrounding mountains:

I stood beside the car snapping pictures in every direction, and wherever I looked I saw more mountains:

This was a peaceful and lovely scene, a nice way to begin our journey through the Adirondacks:

Because they'd just had a long run at Frontier Town, I kept the dogs in the car. They got to view the sights through the windows:

I snapped one last photo and then pulled out down the long access road and back onto Route 73 to continue our journey:

I'd already decided that I wanted to visit the newly opened Adirondack Carousel in the town of Saranac Lake, but didn't know where I could safely park to keep the dogs cool and unperturbed by passersby. I pulled up to the Adirondack Railway Station adjacent to the Carousel. And to my surprise, they were boarding a train which had stopped out behind the station:

I drove around the station, across the tracks and up to the rear of the building to watch the boarding process:

Still looking for a safe and cool place to park, I pulled down the dirt lane behind the station. It offered no traffic at all and a superb view of the Adirondack Railroad:

I could see people boarding the train and milling around inside as they made themselves comfortable. I've since checked their website and discovered that this would have been the 12:30 departure to Lake Placid, costing $10.00:

Do you see that small, dirt lane beside the tracks? That's where I had my car. I pulled ahead and parked beneath those trees. I left the dogs in the car and walked to the Adirondack Carousel. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Wending Our Way Home Through The Adirondacks - Part 3

I was driving home from an action packed visit to the farm and enjoying the views. When I got to Adirondack Loj Road I had to snap another photo of the nearby high peaks:

And looking a bit more to the west:

And then on we went to Keene Cemetery. It was a great day for photos and the dogs needed a break so I drove up the hill to the top of the cemetery:

The dogs stretched their legs but not a one of them pooped (I would have cleaned it up):

Daphne and Clover continued their running and wrestling. I began to wonder if they'll ever grow out of that silly stage:

But we were all alone atop that hill with the Adirondack high peaks as our friendly neighbors:

We stayed only a few minutes and then I collected the dogs and drove on to the intersection of Routes 73 and  9N where the view was so lovely I felt compelled to take yet another picture:

I stopped briefly at Marcy Field but didn't let the dogs out:

One final photo while we were at Marcy Field and we continued on our way:

Parting Shots From The Keene Valley And Marcy Field

I'd dithered so much on my way home that I didn't take any more photos or make any stops once I'd passed through Lake Placid. But when I reached the intersection of Routes 9N and 73 in the Keene Valley, I just had to pull over and try to capture the beauty of the mountains shrouded in clouds: 

If you compare this photo with the one above, you can see how much difference it made when I walked only about 10 feet down the road. The clouds changed, the perspective changed, but it was still lovely:

I'd parked at the foot of the Keene Cemetery, but this time we didn't enter it. I needed to get home:

But the dogs had been patient in the car for a long time and needed a rest stop. So I once again stopped at Marcy Field. I opened the back door and all six happy, excited dogs jumped out and began running:

Little Clover, as usual, ran the farthest and the fastest. She generally needs to be called back with some frequency. I have been trying to teach her to stick more closely to me but she doesn't yet quite grasp the concept - or perhaps just doesn't yet care what I want:

Even old, blind Wally got into the act. He's still able to kick up his heels when the occasion warrants:

The three youngsters had boundless energy and Marcy Field is a grand place for them to run some of it off. We had about two more hours of driving ahead of us so I let them run to their hearts' content - as long as they didn't get too far away from me:

Wally and Winky were less frisky but no less happy:

But this was just a rest stop so I soon called the dogs back to the car:

I took one last photo of the magnificent Adirondacks and set off to finish the journey home: