St. Regis River Flow Trail - Part 3

The dogs and I were walking the narrow strip of land along the St. Regis River at Santa Clara, NY (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously):

 I recognized these Roughleaf Dogwood berries right away. This bush grows everywhere around the farm and its flowers are spectacular for a couple of weeks each year. The berries were plenty handsome also:

I'd planned to cut back up to the trail for our return trip but never saw an easy access - so we simply began retracing the route we'd taken along the river's edge. That was fine with the dogs, who loved wading out among the Bullhead Lilies:

It was a hot day and Daphne knew how to keep cool:

 Another Cardinal Flower:

We finally got back to the trail and began our return to the parking lot:

 But of course I had to stop for these Lowbush Blueberries and eat some:

Like much of the Adirondacks, the soil here is very sandy, sometimes almost all sand:

Many of the roads here are lined with millions of Black-eyed Susans, but on this trail there were only a few:

We were almost back to our car and I continued to let the dogs run and play as we had the entire place to ourselves. This was a short, easy hike, just right for a hot summer day:

St. Regis River Flow Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were on the trail beside the St. Regis River Flow (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), and Daphne was the first to go go into the water:

Then Seamus, looking a bit like a black dinosaur, went in for a cooling drink:

 We usually walk down to the river and then back to the trail to continue upstream, but this time the water level was low and we were able to continue along a narrow band next to the water. I saw lots of what I believe was Pale St. Johnswort, Hypericum ellipticum:

  There were large patches Pale St. Johnswort, much like the Common St. Johnswort but a kind of miniature:

The sunlight danced on the water as Clover and Daphne waded among the reeds. I could imagine a baby Moses floating by in a basket:

The low water level had stranded some Bullhead-Lilies, and Jack blithely walked right over the top of them. I doubt being stranded hurt them, figuring they must surely have evolved to survive such dry spells:

Seamus didn't worry about the stranded Bullhead Lilies. He went right out into the water to greet them:

 As we walked along the shore, I encountered the first two Cardinal Flowers:

 Cardinal Flowers are our native Lobelia, a spectacularly colored wildflower:

We kept walking along the narrow strip beside the river, though the dogs often preferred to walk in the water. So far I hadn't seen any need to return to the usual trail. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

St. Regis River Flow Trail - Part 1

I take the dogs to the St. Regis River Flow trail at least once each year (and hopefully more often), beginning at the boat launch. The trail is largely meadow and riverbanks, with lots of wildflowers. And it's the best place I know to find Cardinal flowers. We parked near the two piers and boat launch:

No one else was there, so I let the dogs off the leash and they wasted no time getting wet and muddy:

But I soon called them away from the parking area and we headed for the trail:

This must have once been all forest, but it's largely meadow now, and a great place to find wildflowers and for happy dogs to run:

We arrived at the trail, which is more or less kept mowed, and turned upstream parallel to the river:

One of the most common blooming flowers was Meadowsweet, Spiraea latifolia, a member of the Rose family. It is a small bush and absolutely beautiful:

 And there was lots of Common St. Johnswort and Spotted Knapweed:

The trail became a sort of dirt road, just right for my lame legs and the dogs to run amok with joy:

There are a certain number of access trails to the river which I always take. When we got to the first one, the dogs knew just where to go and ran excitedly toward the water:

Indeed, the water was lovely. You can see the two piers in the background. That's where we were parked. But we'd just gotten started. I'll post part 2 tomorrow:

Happy Dogs At The St. Regis Access - Part 2

I was hiking on the St. Regis River Access Trail with the dogs (see also previous posts) and having a grand time. The dogs were happy and I was photographing lots of wildflowers:

This is pretty open land, not forest, but we several times found ourselves beneath trees:

The dogs ran ahead and explored. I kept calling them back:

Fergus and Jack stopped for a moment:

We took a side trip into the forest, where mosses and wild strawberries covered the ground. Seamus and Fergus seemed happy about that:

But then the landscape opened up once again as we neared the parking area:

We had looped around and rejoined the original trail:

This picture illustrates how very sandy the soil was. Such sand is common in much of the Adirondacks:

We arrived back at our car, but of course we had to visit the river before we left. Seamus went in almost up to his neck:

The other dogs took a drink and then continued to exploe:

There was no one but us there. The man in the rowboat had gone home:

But then the dogs spotted his rowboat. I wondered if it was there for anyone to use, or if he'd taken his oars with him (or both). But it didn't matter. I was not about to take five dogs out in a boat. It had been a fascinating hike and I hope you enjoyed these posts about it:

Happy Dogs At The St. Regis Access - Part 1

The dogs and I embarked on a short hike at the St. Regis River Access, a state boat launch. There's a nice trail, some of it along the river, which is short and enjoyable:

Though the trail doesn't skirt the river, there are side trails down to the water every so often and we also take them. The dogs love to get their feet wet:

Daphne and Jack ran through the mud by the river to explore:

And then we returned to the trail:

At the next river access side trail, we climbed down some large, smooth rocks to the river:

A man in a rowboat slowly passed us as he headed back toward the boat launch. He waved and said hello as he glided by:

Seamus was fascinated, having never before seen a person in a boat. Fergus, of course, began barking and I had to order him to stop:

Jack and Clover were momentarily interested in the boat, but they had more exploring to do, and that was more interesting:

We left the river and got back on the trail. Luckily, the state keeps it mowed:

Fergus looked extra cute among the tall Milkweeds:

The trail veered farther away from the river and skirted some woodlands:

Jack, as usual, was running in big circles, having fun. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: