Driving Home On The Magnificent Port Kent Hopkinton Turnpike

As soon as I'd eaten breakfast, shut off the water supply and cleaned my apartment, it was time to leave the farm for Albany. This trip had been far too short. But the weather was grand so I decided to take the scenic route home, traveling the old Hopkinton Port Kent Turnpike, once a major access road through the wilderness but now a series of back roads, some only seasonal. Along the way I passed a farm pond with Canada Geese in residence:

And that same farm had a small flock of red hens happily clucking around the barn. I was using my new camera's zoom lens:

Some of the more adventurous hens strayed farther from the barn and toward the woods. They looked happy and peaceful and I wished them well, but I also knew that lots of chicken eating wildlife lived in those woods:

And at that same farm were three contented horses who watched me with interest as I snapped their picture from my car:

But then I continued on along the Port Kent/Red Tavern Roads (part of the "Turnpike"), stopping when it came right up next to the St. Regis River:

The water level was surprisingly low for a spring day but I supposed the lack of snow that winter would mean less water all spring and summer. At any rate, the scenery was lovely:

The dogs waited, though not particularly patiently, for me in the car while I explored and took photos:

A little bit farther up the road I stopped again and walked down to the river to see Everton Falls:

When I got to the seasonal roads, I was happily surprised to find them in reasonably good shape and as scenic as always:

I heard one loon crying off in the distance but didn't see any on this trip:

The edges of this pond are so marshy that I couldn't get too close to the water. But the road is so remote and seldom traveled that I saw no other vehicles anywhere and could stop in the road at any time to take pictures. The mountain air was clean and fresh with a hint of Balsam and I was very much enjoying this journey. I'll post more about it tomorrow:

From The Deer River Flow To The High Peaks Region

I was on my way home with the dogs from a weekend stay at the farm. We began the journey on Port Kent Road which became Red Tavern Road, part of the historic Port Kent Hopkinton Turnpike. But when we arrived at Route 30, I turned south on the highway because to continue on the Port Kent Hopkinton Turnpike would have involved seasonal, unplowed roads. Besides, Route 30 had plenty of its own gorgeous scenery along the way:

The wetlands of the Deer River Flow abutted Route 30 in many places:

All the snow had melted the day before, leaving an autumn-like golden hue to the water's edge. There was so little traffic on Route 30 that I was able to stop anywhere on the shoulder of the road to snap pictures:

The Adirondacks has much real wilderness which can only be accessed by hiking or canoe, but it also has much "almost wilderness" which can be viewed from the comfort of one's car:

And even in these relatively flat sections of the Adirondacks, there were almost always mountains in the background:

More glorious wetlands, part of the Deer River Flow:

And I stopped briefly at Barnham Pond, whose shoreline laps the shoulder of Route 30 just north of Paul Smith's, a sort of combination college and town:

This was a December morning but the waters were not yet frozen over:

But then I turned southeast on Route 86 toward Route 73 and entered the high peaks region:

The scenery was glorious and we were just north of the towns of Ray Brook and Lake Placid. But I'll post more about Ray Brook tomorrow:

Wonderful Red Tavern Road

The Port Kent Hopkinton Turnpike was built in the early 1830s when this area was just being settled. Today it still exists, but only as a series of small local roads with varying names. When I depart my farm near Hopkinton, it is called the Port Kent Road. It soon becomes the Red Tavern Road. There is little other traffic and the scenery, as you can see here, is fantastic:

Most of the snow had melted on that late November day but the amber colored Birch leaves kept it all colorful:

The Red Tavern Road travels along the St. Regis River for quite a way, first at the same level (see yesterday's post) but then rising up into the hills above the St. Regis flood plain:

And because there is so much public land along the way, I easily found a place to stop and let the dogs out for a rest stop. I parked the car well off the road and we all began walking down a small lane which followed a waterway of some sort:

The younger dogs ran ahead while oldsters Wally and Winky lagged behind. My job was to keep them all more or less together:

But the youngsters do come running when called, and as you can see, they come running with great joy:

We all had a nice walk and the dogs especially loved to run and to sniff all the wild aromas:

Their great flurry of excitement soon passed and we then had a calmer, almost serene walk through the forest. You can see the waterway, almost like a canal, off to the left of this picture:

But my main goal was to drive home, so I got all six dogs moving towards our parked car:

Winky, being the crabby, obstinate little thing that he is, was (as usual) the last one to arrive at the car. I convinced him to hop back up into the rear of my hatchback and we continued on our way. I'll post more tomorrow:

Adirondack High Peaks Scenery

The dogs and I were on our way home from an overnight trip to the farm. We'd passed southward down the Red Tavern/Port Kent Road to Route 30 past the Deer River Flow and from there turned toward the high peaks region of the Adirondacks. As we drove through Brighton, the views were fantastic:

As you can see, the rain had stopped and sunlight was giving the mountains a mysterious glow:

Dark clouds swirled and raced in the sky, sometimes leaving moving shadows which moved across the mountains' topography like running animals:

But overall the not-too-distant peaks gave me a sense of quietude and serenity:

When we arrived in the Keene Valley, I decided to give the cemetery a try as a doggy rest area:

The high peaks are nearby neighbors here and it almost feels like one can reach out and touch them:

And at the rear of the cemetery I found a pine woods in which the dogs could play without trampling on anyone's grave:

They ran around and gave everything the smell test:

I was having the usual trouble with this rest stop. The four youngsters ran out ahead but Wally and Winky, the two more seasoned dogs, lagged far behind. My job was to keep them as close together as possible and out of trouble:

Here comes Wally and Winky! They're going as fast as they can:

But we stayed only briefly and then drove back out to the highway to continue our journey home:

The Beautiful Deer River Flow

I'd just made a visit up to the farm and was on my way home with all six dogs. We were driving on the Port Kent/Red Tavern Road and a freezing rain was falling, leaving several inches of slush on the road. We entered the territory of the Deer River Flow:

I'd just passed a flock of turkeys on the road (see yesterday's post) when up ahead I saw a small group of White Tailed Deer. I stopped to snap their picture:

Like the turkeys, they didn't seem at all afraid and appeared very large and well fed. So I began taking a video of them out of the car window (while trying not to let the freezing rain hit my camera). Still, the deer didn't run away. So I began driving slowly closer and closer. When they still didn't run away, I even spoke to them:



Red Tavern Road eventually took us to Route 30 and, knowing that Red Tavern Road would soon become impassable, I turned south on the highway. We were still driving through the territory designated as the Deer River Flow and it was magnificent:

Pairs of ducks flew past me every so often but I wasn't fast enough to snap their pictures. But with such extraordinary scenery, I was happy:

This northern stretch of Route 30 passed through what was darn near wilderness. There was very little traffic and the Adirondacks stretched out before me in every direction:

But the wetlands of the Deer River Flow were the main attraction:

I parked my car and walked a short way up a dirt road with wetlands on either side:

This small inlet was lovely enough to take my breath away:

One last photo and then I trotted back to my car and the waiting dogs. We had many miles yet to travel before reaching home: