The Santa Clara Access To The St. Regis River - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking near the St. Regis River on a surprisingly warm day for November (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

It was a fine day with beautiful scenery and we all had a good time:

And the dogs truly enjoyed getting wet and muddy. The last time we were here, the Cardinal Flowers were in full bloom right in this spot (here):

The calm waters of the St. Regis River reflected the blue skies and puffy clouds above, as well as the green spruce trees on the opposite shore:

Happy dogs:

But it was time to leave the river's edge once again and return to the trail, so I gave the dogs a call:

Back on the trail, the dogs ran and played. Jack ran too far ahead and didn't come when called, so I took the other dogs with me and hid, causing Jack to panic when he looked back and didn't see us. He came running, but only time will tell if he learned his lesson:

There were Milkweed seed pods bursting everywhere. I hope these fields produced a lot of Monarch butterflies this year:

The trail turned away from the river and toward the forest. We continued to explore:

The dogs stopped to sniff many spots:

Glorious scenery made this a pleasant excursion. But we still weren't at the end of our hike. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

The Santa Clara Access To The St. Regis River - Part 1

Our Indian Summer continued, so I put the dogs into the car and drove fifteen miles south to the river access for the Santa Clara Tract of the Adirondacks:

There was only one other vehicle parked there, and it belonged to someone who had launched a boat on the St. Regis River. So the dogs and I headed out on the trail:

We stopped at the St. Regis River every time I saw an easy access point and the dogs thoroughly enjoyed each opportunity to get wet and muddy:

They are all going into the water now - even Jack:

The weather and the scenery were beautiful. It was a fine day to be outdoors:

The dogs raced up and down the shoreline. At one point, they scared off a deer which had been hiding near by, but they didn't chase it:

After each visit to the river's edge, we'd get back on the trail and begin walking again:

This area is not deep forest, but largely open:

Clover tends to run too far ahead and I have to call her back many times. But she was much better about it this time:

Daphne is usually very happy to stick close to me but this time showed that she too has a bit of adventurous spirit:

And it was all great fun, a joyful romp through lovely scenery. But we'd just gotten started and there was still more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: