Happy Dogs In The Fort Jackson State Forest - Part 1

I had the dogs with me while taking my annual driving tour of Sheldon Road (see yesterday's post), so we all stopped in the Fort Jackson State Forest for a walk:

The lane through the forest was perfectly safe for driving but of course I didn't know that until I'd walked it - and besides, we were there for walking, not driving:

We had the entire forest to ourselves so I decided to let the dogs run and not to yell at them to keep them close to me. Alas, that didn't work and pretty soon I was calling them back as I normally do. I suppose the advantage is that we will never surprise a bear as any wildlife can hear me shouting at the dogs a long way off:

And yet they have a wonderful time and get to do lots of running:

I investigated a bare section where dirt bikes had been frequent visitors. The State had put up barriers and signs to stop them:

We also took frequent side trips into the forest, just to see what we might see:

The sandy, Adirondack soil grew pines, mosses and Reindeer Lichen everywhere:

And there was plenty of visibility, enough so that I didn't need to worry about getting lost:

But we always returned to the lane, which was easy walking and lined with autumn color:

What a glorious place to have within a couple miles of home:

In some sections, the pine forest gave way to colorful hardwoods:

This was autumn hiking at its finest. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Autumn Drive On Sheldon Road

Our autumn color had reached its peak, so I jumped into the car with my camera and headed to nearby Sheldon Road in Fort Jackson, New York for my annual autumn color driving tour:

It was differently colored than in previous years, perhaps because I was a bit earlier than usual. But it's a good thing I didn't wait because we had a hard wind and rain storm the next day, causing many leaves to fall:

And the colors did not disappoint:

All along the road were reds, yellows and greens:

Autumn color in full array:

And the trunks of birch trees added punctuation to the color:

Massive old maples leaned over the road and seemed to smile with their vibrant colors:

In other places, the reds were so vivid as to remind me of fireworks:

As I neared the end of the road, it became shadier, with more dignified colors:

Yellow on one side of the road, green on the other:

And then a surprise explosion of color in a pasture:

More reds and oranges:

Sheldon Road has little traffic and few residents. It's a peaceful place for such beauty:

Old rock walls bordered the road in many places:

Golden orange along both sides of the road. I'm sure glad I live among such beauty: