Rural Rensselaer County Tour - Part 2

I was driving through rural Rensselaer County on my way to Grafton Lakes State Park to go hiking with four of my dogs. The scenery along the highways was so beautiful that I kept stopping to take pictures. This, of course, lengthened the trip but some of the resulting photos were worth it:

When I passed tiny Reichard Road in the town of Poestenkill, I was reminded of a friend who lived at the end of that road many years ago. It was very isolated and remote back then. His uncle owned a dairy farm on that road and I wondered how the passing years had changed things, so I turned up it. There were new suburban type houses, but also some of the old farm houses:

My friend's uncle's farm was still there, though there were no longer any cattle. His barn was a beauty:

The road winds slowly uphill, providing nice views of the surrounding countryside and big skies:

I drove up to the end of the road, almost to the house of my friend's parents. Then I turned back and headed downhill back toward the highway. The uncle's farm lay directly ahead:

I found this old barn especially remarkable with its Socony (which later became the Mobil Oil Co.) sign and Sinclair Dino gasoline pump:

And farther on down the road were these crumbling old sheds. When I passed by them again later on in the day, young Holsteins were grazing there:

The skies were darkening ominously as I passed this beautiful old barn and cattle:

But up ahead, the Grafton Mountains still looked to have a bit of sun and a bit of autumn color:

Whenever I stopped to snap a photo, all the dogs watched me with keen interest. This time you can see Fergus' white head and black eyes just peeking over the top of the back door. But I guess Daphne had decided to snooze:

Heading due east on Route 2, I began to see familiar things which brought back memories from when I lived and worked out that way. The White Lily Lodge's sign is now so faded that it's difficult to read. This was turning into a pleasant Sunday excursion and I took many more pictures, some of which I'll post tomorrow:

Rural Rensselaer County Tour

Another work week was over, another Sunday morning had rolled around. I wasn't much in the mood to do anything, but by about 9:30 I knew I had to get outdoors with the dogs or I'd waste the entire day. So I got out my Grafton Lakes State Park trail map, loaded the four hiking dogs into the back of the car and started heading northeast towards Grafton, New York. On the way I decided that since rural Rensselaer County was so beautiful, I'd stop and take some pictures to share. My first stop was at Snyders Lake, a jewel of a lake which we Rensselaer County folks pass by so often that we tend to not even notice it:

The southwestern corner of the county is flat to rolling hills, but I was traveling northeast towards the more mountainous portion. And I could see the sun lighting up those mountains straight ahead of me:

And alongside the road were beautifully colored trees and impressive rock ledges:

I'd feared that most of the autumn color was gone, but I found quite a bit of it, especially in the more sheltered spots:

And as I proceeded, I got occasional glimpses of the Grafton mountains getting closer:

Old barns dotted the landscape. There are still a few farms in this part of the county, but it's too near the big city and land's too expensive for very much commercial farming:

But there are cornfields and hay fields and golden woodlands where people hunt - even relatively close to the city:

Someone's back yard, typical of rural Rensselaer County:

I'd stopped my little red car along the road to take a picture and saw these adorable puppy faces anxiously watching my every move. Giant Seamus is in there also. Can you see him? Fergus must have been snoozing at the time:

Some photos like this one were taken facing toward the sun and therefore look rather dark. Yet even so, this is a typical autumn look with overcast skies:

Many of the old farm lands close to the city are being built up into housing developments, but a few of the old timers remain. I'll continue the Rensselaer County tour tomorrow: