A Return To The Schroon River

Another Sunday morning dawned and I loaded the pooches into my little red car and began a trip north to the farm. We made it as far as Exit 29 on the Northway before I pulled off the highway to give the dogs a rest stop. I drove into the abandoned former Frontier Town and headed right for the shores of the Schroon River. The dogs knew this place and just where to go, but they had a lot of sniffing to do on their way down to the water's edge:

Wally and Madeline seemed particularly fascinated by the base of an old fence post. I'd bet it'd been the site of a lot of canine leg lifting, perhaps recently. I certainly can't be the only dog owner who has discovered this spot:

Seamus, Fergus, Daphne and Clover wasted no time getting to the river:

Madeline, as is her custom, went slowly with her head down, sniffing like a Beagle:

And then from the water's edge they all ran up to the top of a sand dune:

And back down to the pebbly shore of the Schroon River:

This time we went farther, pushing through the brush along the river just to see what was there:

There wasn't much there of interest, but I did get a nice action shot of Fergus in mid-frolic:

And then we all began our march back toward the car. As you can see, the scenery was fantastic:

Clover and Daphne took a drink of water but kept their feet dry:

And then back up to the car which was parked in the trees:

Well, there were two holdouts. The two old timers, Wally and Winky, were not moving as quickly as the youngsters. They took more time to make their way back to the car. Once all the dogs were safely back in the car and I'd counted noses several times to assure myself I hadn't left anyone behind, we resumed our journey up to the farm. But I'll post more about that tomorrow:

Autumn (Or Winter?) Experience By The Ausable River

It was another Sunday morning on which we were driving up to the farm, the dogs and I. We drove up the Northway all the way to Exit 30, the High Peaks exit, and got onto Route 73. I then stopped at our favorite, secret little campsite by the Ausable River and let the dogs out:

We hadn't been down to the riverside lately, so we climbed down the rocky hill to the path along the Ausable River. Old Winky, as usual, lagged behind and I had to keep going back to urge him onward:

Wally, also quite old, surprised me with a burst of puppy-like playfulness and Fergus joined in the fun, running and bouncing through the forest. You can see Fergus' ears flopping as he runs joyously:

I walked right down to the rocky river bank and looked back to where the dogs played on the mossy shore. Can you find them in this picture? I see Winky, Clover and Fergus:

Fergus peeked out from behind a tree, looking either shy or playful:

But I was enjoying the beauty of the wild Ausable River:

Clover did a bit of playful rock hopping, but I stayed safely on solid ground. My last fall has made me much more cautious:

I climbed back up to the trail and then looked down and called Winky up to join us. He's almost totally deaf, so my "calling" was mostly arm waving and clapping:

And we all began making our way back to our parked car:

The Papillons ran and played, keeping each other entertained:

Back at the car again. I loaded all the dogs back inside and then went in search of Winky:

And there he was, looking up at me and not at all sure he felt like climbing uphill with his crooked old legs. He did it, though, and soon we were on our way 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:

A Schroon River Rest Stop

Another Sunday morning dawned with preparations for driving up to the farm. I was very anxious to get there and see the fence work which had been nearly completed. We drove up the Northway, the dogs and I, as far as Exit 29 and exited for a rest stop at Frontier Town. I'd tried to think of some place which we hadn't been before, but what could possibly beat this pristine, scenic spot?:

The dogs ran down to the river's edge but didn't go it. It was simply too chilly:

Even Seamus stayed on dry land. I concentrated on getting old Winky and Wally to stay with us and not lag too far behind:

Winky's mind often wanders - and as a consequence, his feet do also. I walked over to him every so often and reminded him of our existence and that he should make an attempt to stay with us:

Little Madeline was feeling like a regular member of our family by now, accustomed to adventures in such places - and this place in particular:

We'd walked down the river for some distance, so I gave a call and got everyone moving back toward the car:

Daphne and Clover made a side trip to the top of a sand dune. Hey, a dog's gotta explore, ya know:

It took just a few minutes before we spotted our red car parked just ahead in the forest:

I began walking toward the car after giving a call to those dogs reluctant to leave the water's edge:

The sandy trail through the forest toward the car was looking like Thanksgiving to me:

Seamus posed for the camera, looking noble:

But once all the other dogs were loaded up into the car, I still had to urge Winky forward. This can be a difficult job, and picking him up is no fun either. So I called and clapped. I learned a long time ago with elderly, nearly deaf foster dogs, that clapping is something they seem to either hear or feel. It usually works with Winky. I got him up into the car with the other dogs and began backing along the sandy lane in the forest so that we could continue on our way:

A Return To Frontier Town's Forgotten Village! - Part 1

I loaded the dogs up into my car on a Sunday morning and began another weekend trip up to the farm. We drove straight up the Northway to Exit 29 and then pulled off into the abandoned Frontier Town for a fun rest stop:

It was cool and wet with sporadic rain and I didn't think the dogs needed another trip to the Schroon River. Instead, we drove back through the old Frontier Town toward the abandoned village in the forest. We hadn't been there in many months:

I parked the car near the old storefronts and let the dogs out. I kept a close watch on blind old Wally and deaf old Winky so as not to lose one of them:

The dogs ran around exploring and sniffing everything:

And then we headed up the old "road" to see the sights:

We investigated this crumbling old cabin and I even went inside. But there was nothing of interest in there and I didn't feel the structure was safe. So I quickly exited and we began walking toward the little village in the forest:

Happy dogs, having a most excellent adventure:

Old Winky and Wally lagged behind as we began making our way toward the village, but I insisted on keeping them in sight. But the day was pleasant and Wild Thyme released its lovely fragrance with each footstep I took:

We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Frontier Town:

We entered the old village and began exploring:

The old village was set in a forest of White Pines, many of which had fallen, giving the dogs more play area:

The old log church was, I thought, particularly picturesque. But we had lots of village yet to explore. I'll post more tomorrow: