Ice, Mountains, Beauty And Christmas

I was traveling up to the farm on Christmas morning. As I began to drive through the Adirondacks, the roads were free of snow and the air was clear enough for some nice long distance views. Then, driving through the town of Keene, New York, I could see mountains covered with frost up ahead:

Once I was actually driving up in the mountains, I could see that the trees and the rocks were indeed frosted, covered with frozen humidity:

As I gained altitude, I saw more and more of the color white:

And then I passed through the valley of the Cascade chain of lakes. There, the winter weather is always worse:

By the time I arrived in Ray Brook, all the trees were frosted and even Smokey The Bear had a face full of snow as he wished me happy holidays:

As I passed through the Town of Brighton, I could see the surrounding mountains seemingly lighted by reflected ice. Notice the low flying clouds in the bottom right portion of the picture:

The very air was turning white and translucent as I traveled the high northern plains of the Adirondacks:

There was beauty all around on that quiet Christmas morning:

Daphne and Clover contentedly sat by my side while Seamus, Fergus, Wally and Winky rode in the back. We were having a happy Christmas:

Mountains, Mountains Everywhere!

I was traveling up to the farm for a visit early on Christmas morning. The roads were clear and the long distance views were pretty darn good, though they'd cloud up soon enough. I got off of the main highway farther north than usual and headed west on Route 9N directly into the high peaks region of the Adirondacks:

Route 9N took me into the high peaks, but it did so by way of the Keene Valley. This meant dropping down into the valley before starting back uphill again. The descent was a blessing, for it provided me with spectacular views of the Adirondacks just ahead:

With every bend in the road a new panoramic vista appeared, and with the very light traffic on Christmas morning, I was easily able to stop and snap photos:

And at the lowest point in Keene Valley I got more views. Plus, I had an idea. Since the roads were not snow covered, I turned up the little cemetery road which led uphill to some of the best mountain views in the park:

I took this picture on my way up the cemetery road:

And when I reached the highest point in the cemetery, I let the dogs out to run, play and poop. Notice Daphne on the right side of this photo in mid-romp. Wally and Winky were more interested in finding the perfect place to pee:

Winky then went his own way, exploring every smell within range:

I parked there only briefly. I enjoyed the sights and the dogs enjoyed the smells:

Mountains rise up in nearly every direction:

I set my camera atop my car and got a quick shot of myself with Seamus and Clover. Notice little Clover's dainty footwork in the lower right corner. She is the smallest, daintiest dog and Seamus is the biggest and goofiest. Yet they are best friends. In case you didn't notice, that blur behind my legs is Daphne running full speed, full of joy. Another car then pulled into the cemetery so I collected the pooches into the car and headed back out to finish my journey up to the farm: