Adirondack Autumn Color - Part 1

I'd just been out with dogs at Meacham Lake (see previous two posts), and we were on our way home. We were headed north on Route 458 through the Adirondacks and the autumn colors were just beginning to show. I decided to stop along the way and take some pictures:

Low mountains along the road:

A wet area beside the road helped turn these trees red:

One lone red tree among lots of green and yellow:

Not much color here, but it was a lovely marsh:

But there was certainly some bright color here:

And Staghorn Sumac can always be counted on to deliver bright red color in the fall:

More color along Route 458:

Much variety here:

Ferns beside the road were turning bronze and mixed with cattails. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

An Attempted Hike To Meacham Falls - Part 2

My hike with the dogs to a waterfall fell through (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), so we instead were looking for a trail along the shoreline of beautiful Meacham Lake:

We were bushwhacking, enjoying the wild Adirondack forest:

The faint trail we'd been on ended at a wet marsh, and we could go no farther:

Foiled once again, we turned back toward the car:

But the forest was still beautiful and it was still a joy to be out in nature:

I'd hoped for some brilliant autumn colors but found none - until, that is, I found this Mountain Maple. The bright red exceeded anything I could have hoped for:

We returned to the parking area:

And looked out over the lower section of Meacham Lake:

Jack, Seamus and Daphne went into the water again:

And then we headed for our parked car:

I was all ready to go, but Jack was still running in circles so I let the dogs get wet one last time. It sure seems to make them happy:

An Attempted Hike To Meacham Falls - Part 1

We've been to a waterfall on the St. Regis River several times, but I read about another waterfall, just several miles upstream, near the outlet of Meacham Lake. So one day I drove there, pulled onto a gravel lane, parked and let the dogs out:

It was a lovely woodland and the dogs were excited:

Fergus and Jack found a Hobblebush with bright red berries:

Alas, we'd only gone a short distance when we came to a closed gate and many "Private Property, No Trespassing" signs. I searched for a legal trail but found none:

So we enjoyed retracing our steps as we returned to the car:

Another Hobblebush, this one with no berries but bright red leaves:

I drove across the highway to a parking area on State Park land, right at the outlet of Meacham Lake. It was beautiful:

I'd hoped to find a legal trail to the waterfall from there, but there was none. But there was no sense wasting such a wonderful place, so the dogs went into the water and played:

I pointed my camera up Meacham Lake. The sun blurred the shot, but the surrounding mountains framed the water:

Autumn ferns added color:

I decided to find a trail which would take us along the shore of Meacham Lake, so the dogs and I set out to explore. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

A New Favorite Hike - The Santa Clara Waterfalls - Part 1

The owners of the feed store told me about a short trail to a waterfall where I could walk the dogs. It sounded almost too good to be true, but I was excited about it and drove the dogs there the next day. It was located exactly where they'd said, only 16 miles from my door. I parked my car and let the dogs out to run:

The trail was easy to walk and took us through a beautiful forest of Balsam Fir, Hemlock and Mountain Maple:

The ground beneath the trees was covered with moss and Canada Mayflowers:

The dogs were wild with excitement to be out on another adventure, and they stopped to sniff every smell along the way. At other times, they ran too far ahead and I had to holler at them:

Just as it had been described to me, we soon saw a smaller, less used trail take off to the right. We followed it:

A fallen tree was covered with small, orange fungi which looked like upside down mushrooms. I stepped over it but forgot to watch Seamus, who has always had difficulty with such obstacles. He either managed to step over it or walked around:

We took several forays into the trees (mostly Balsams), just to see what we could see:

One thing we saw was lots of Partridgeberry:

We heard the roaring water before we could see it. The dogs ran ahead and I again called them back. But soon we all arrived at the falls:

There were flattish rocks at the base of the falls, and Fergus and Daphne rushed out onto them. I followed cautiously because I am rather clumsy in my leg braces:

The falls were not high, but they were nonetheless dramatic and magnificent. The dogs found them lots of fun to explore:

We all climbed up on a higher rock and I marveled at the beauty of the St. Regis River (east branch):

Then the little dogs clambered down to the water's edge again for a drink of pure water and to investigate. Seamus and I, both of us awkward and prone to falling, stayed up on the flat rock where we'd be safe. But we had just arrived and there was much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

St. Regis Flow With The Dogs - Part 2

I was hiking along the St. Regis River with the dogs in Santa Clara, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and the dogs were having a grand time splashing in the river:

Seamus has the longest legs and likes the water the most, but even he doesn't go into the deep water. They are all happy to just play, get wet and cool off:

Daphne splashed out to some Bullhead-Lilies:

Fergus looked abandoned when Jack ran off to try some new swimming spot:

And sometimes the dogs were calm, just exploring and drinking the clean, cool water:

We got back on the trail again and I found lots of Wild Blackberries. Alas, none of them were ripe yet:

And there were entire fields of Spreading Dogbane, a poisonous but pretty plant:

We came to another water access, and this one had a nice view of a mountain in the distance:

This photo was an accident but when I got home and saw it, I loved it. Jack and Daphne were pushing their way through the ferns and Oxeye Daisies. The yellow flowers in the foreground were St. Johnswort:

We made another detour down to the water's edge:

This is the place where we always see abundant Cardinal Flowers - but not this time. I couldn't remember what their leaves looked like, so I couldn't check for plants without flowers. We were probably too early and I'll have to go back later. Nevertheless, the dogs sure had fun. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: