Passing Through The Keene Valley And High Peaks

My visit with my sister up at the farm had been a happy one though we'd both left for our homes one day ahead of schedule because of an impending winter snowstorm. My drive southward through the Adirondacks had so far been a reasonably nonthreatening one in spite of a micro-storm in the valley of the Cascade Lakes. By the time I arrived in the Keene Valley I could actually see some of the high peaks and snap a photo or two:

This is a lovely spot and one of my favorites for snapping pictures. You can see why:

Snowy peaks rose up above the valley meadows in every direction:

And when I stopped at Marcy Field, the storm clouds were still flying across the tops of the mountains, alternating between obscuring the views and opening them up. Little tufts of clouds were floating across the mountainsides or, in this case, haunting that small white farm house like the spirit of a long dead Adirondack pioneer:

An old plow sat idle and rusting in Marcy Field:

After I'd traveled on a bit through the high peaks, I stopped at a cascade of water gushing out of the rocks alongside the road which had caught my attention. Indeed, it would have been difficult not to stop:

Here's a brief video of the roadside waterfall. At the end, I turn the camera toward my little red car full of dogs. They are always anxious for me to get back inside the car and continue on our journey:



At this point we were almost to the main highway. But still I couldn't resist shooting a few pictures of the stormy mountaintops:

Along this portion of the road, the mountains are nearby and not merely distant views. But I still had a very long drive ahead of me, so kept on traveling:

Homeward Bound Through A Wintry Snowstorm

I'd had a nice visit with my sister up at the farm and was on my way home as I motored through the Adirondacks. A major winter storm was on the way but it was already snowing and blowing by the Cascade Lakes:

The surface of this chain of lakes was already frozen and the rocky mountains surrounding them were collecting snow as the winds howled through the valley:

When I opened the car door to step out and snap a picture, the dogs wisely seemed happy to stay inside:

The snow squalls started and stopped. The winds gusted, swirled and stalled. This rocky mountain pass is often lovely, but it does also seem to be a micro-climate which collects severe winter weather:

The nearby mountaintops were icy and unwelcoming in that wintry blast:

But I was on my way home with six dogs in the back of the car and so I traveled onward through the windy valley:

And the weather cleared up somewhat when I made my way out of that narrow pass and into the broader Keene Valley:

The mountains ahead were visible and the roads were clear. The dogs and I were on our way home: