Friday, September 23, 2011

Adirondacks Vacation - Part 2

The highlight of this vacation was the abundance of hiking trails.  We chose to remain in the Cranberry Lake region and successfully completed 5 hikes:  Bear Mountain, Copper Falls,  Rainbow Falls, Cathedral Rock and Silver Lake - the longest being Bear Mountain.

Bear Mountain
- The Ascent -








 (Geological marker at the top of Bear Mountain)


- The Descent -






Camping shelters commonly found on the trails - first come, first serve.


Copper Rock Falls









Rainbow Falls





Cathedral Rock
This trail was located on the Ranger school property.  Apparently former Rangers were married at the top of this mountain, thus the name Cathedral Rock.  At the top of this hike, was a fire tower giving us a magnificent view of the Cranberry Lake region.  



We found this hand-carved cathedral sculpture sitting on the trail!


Sawyer couldn't resist a nibble.



"Are we there yet?"




 Sawyer climbed after W but soon realized he was terrified of the descent!



"Whose idea was it to climb this friggin' tower?  I give up!"

"Please carry me Daddy....PLEASE?!!!"

With much coaxing. Sawyer eventually made it down.  Whatever possessed him to climb in the first place?!

Silver Lake





Thursday, September 22, 2011

Adirondacks Vacation - Part 1

Hello All!  Sawyer is back from his first vacation away from home.  We decided to share our 25th wedding anniversary with our beloved Sawyer in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York.

Sawyer behaved admirably well during the long car ride.  W arranged for Sawyer to have full access to the back seat area, allowing him to stretch out and sleep.  However, he preferred the front passenger seat advantage, on my lap or between us!  Keep in mind, we are talking about a 100+ lbs  dog!




Our modest, cozy cottage was situated on Silver Lake, on a quiet road,  in the Cranberry Lake region.  The dock and "cocktail deck" were nestled in a secluded forested area, giving us much-needed peace & solitude.  This was one of Sawyer's favorite haunts.   He kept busy attempting to haul water-logged branches and logs out of the water onto dry land, eventually building up a private stash.  Throwing his "logs" back in the water kept him occupied and tired out.











We were blessed with excellent weather.  Blue skies, warm days and cool nights.  Thankfully the cottage was equipped with a rowboat, therefore allowing us to include Sawyer on our little rowing expedition on the lake.  It took a good 5 minutes to convince him to hop in the boat.  He just wasn't sure what to make of this contraption.  Eventually we launched off, with W rowing and myself to control Sawyer from tipping the boat.  He was very restless trotting from side to side, while I was counterbalancing the weight on the boat!  Needless to say, once rowboat trip was enough for both of us!









 Stay-tuned for more Sawyer adventures!