A Visit With My Sister - Part 2

My sister was visiting and we had so much trouble finding a snow free place to take the dogs, that our next attempt was in the camping area of Brasher State Forest:

The tall White Pines seemed to have protected us from late snows, and we had the added benefit of outhouses, just in case the need arose:

And it was indeed a beautiful area:

We never walked far from the road, but instead walked parallel to it as we passed beneath the pines:

This area was a former CCC project, and in some places it was obvious that these trees had been planted in rows:

The dogs were happy and didn't mind getting their feet wet at all. In fact, I think they enjoyed it:

We began heading back toward the road:

Almost to the road, I stopped for a photo of my sister:

And then we crossed the road and walked out on a peninsula which jutted into the reservoir, also a CCC project:

The dogs ran and played, alternating with stops to smell who had been there before:

They sipped the clean water, then continued running:

Alas, a freezing rain began, driving us back to the car. Though this was a fun visit by my sister, I cannot say the weather cooperated:

A Visit With My Sister - Part 1

My sister came to visit, but I was sick and not at my best. The cats were terrified of her and hid almost the whole time. The dogs loved her and thought we were going hiking. We didn't really do that, though, as it rained almost continually. It was cold, wet, and miserable weather.

We did go touring, first to the Mohawk museum near the Canadian border. Alas, it was closed for remodeling. Next we went to a waterfall in a private campground. It too was closed, so we continued on to the nearby NYS trout hatchery. One man gave us a tour:

The staff was outside in the cold rain, and busy notching the fins of small fish in order to identify their origins later in life:

Inside the building, the tanks of hatchlings were full:

Tiny little trout, from the size of guppies to about 4" long:

The trout eggs are incubated in trays along the walls but it appeared this was the wrong time of year and the trays were empty:

He took us outside and showed us the bigger fish, some of them 3' long:

Alas, the giant, gold colored albino trout, which I've enjoyed on former visits, had all died (mostly from old age, he said):

We also tried to hike to a waterfall in Santa Clara, New York. Though the snow at my house was all melted, it was 18" and crusted over in the Adirondacks:

Each step sent my feet down through the snow and it was difficult to pull them back out because of the crust on top. We only went about 25 feet, but that was enough to cause me leg cramps and poor old Seamus, who crashed through the snow right up to his belly and was immobilized, was very wobbly afterwards. I had to help him stand up the next morning:

But the road was plowed and inviting, so we walked happily there for a short time:

We didn't go far, though, because a passing car made it clear that it was not safe for the dogs:

But we did get some gorgeous views of the St. Regis River. Somewhere down in that valley was the waterfall we didn't get to see plus other incredible sights. We'll try again, though, when my sister visits in better weather:

Another view of the St. Regis River, taken from a bridge as we drove away: