Happy Birthday Denisa!

We are way behind in getting travel posts published this summer because we're having too much fun traveling! So we won't be confused about when each "wandering" happened, we'll start each blog with its actual date

September 20, 2022

Denisa has another birthday to celebrate, and we've been looking for something special to do here in the Adirondack Mountains. Our host  recommended a couple things that are 100 miles away. But we have found that the locals often don't realize just how wonderful things are in their own backyard. So we are staying local and looking for fun.

It rained until 9:00 a.m., but that gave us time to enjoy a birthday breakfast of cheesecake--it's a family tradition to have birthday dessert for breakfast. Then we got a face-time call from our son and daughter-in-law who are hiking to Machu Picchu in Peru. We got a phone call from our other son and videos of our grandchildren singing "Happy Birthday." There were more calls and texts from friends and family--and the day had just begun. Denisa feels birthday blessed!

What do a couple of wanderers do on a special day? They find the best rated hike in the area, of course. We started up the muddy trail that led to the top of Panther Mountain.

Instead of bouquets of birthday flowers, Denisa much prefers a bouquet of wildflowers on the trail. We're not sure what kind of fall-blooming mountain flower this is, but it was uniquely beautiful.

Denisa even likes a bouquet of birthday fungus.

The last part of the trail was muddy and steep . . .

with lots of big boulders to scramble up and over.

But then we broke out of the trees to the stony cliffs of Panther Mountain. According to the guide book that we borrowed from our Boondocker host, we are looking over the Silver Lake Wilderness in Adirondack Park.

That is Piseco Lake right below us, and we could see that more rain was falling on the other side of the lake.

We're just hoping that rain in the mountains on the other side of the lake is moving away from us, instead of towards us.

Even though it's a little foggy, we could spot whole sections of red trees that line the river in the valley below.

We kept lingering on the mountain, hoping that the blue skies to our right would continue our way.

We had a little company on the mountain--this little ground squirrel that looked longingly at our snacks.

Our strategy to stay on the mountain worked well, and we finally got the blue skies that we were waiting for. Happy Birthday, Denisa!

We have wandered into another of God's wonders! We love those tall billowy clouds and the blue skies!

After coming down Panther Mountain, we drove the pickup for a close-up look at Lake Piseco. We thought about kayaking,  but this is a huge lake that isn't as tempting to us on a rainy day.

We thought about kayaking on the river, but too many beaver dams made that impossible. But it was certainly a pretty place to watch the reflection of those blue skies.

Denisa got more birthday bouquets in the the boggy area near the river. What a special birthday with so many mushroom bouquets!

We love driving the back roads, and we turned onto Powley Road on a whim. This is a snowmobile route in the winter, and a seldom-driven dirt road in the summer. 

When we saw a hiking trail head, we made a quick turn into the parking area. It was a one-mile hike down to Sand Lake. This little lake looks like a better place to kayak, but it is now completely cloudy. Besides, we didn't want to carry our kayak a mile to get it here. We took another lake off our list of potential places to kayak.

As we drove further into the valleys, we found more red trees like the ones we saw from the top of Panther Mountain.

Another stop along Powley Road was the Potholes on East Canada Creek. No, we had never heard of that before, but that's how it was labeled on our guide book map.

Our unplanned drive down Powley road led to lots of beautiful little hidden gems for birthday treats!

Hiding beside a wet rock was this green frog.

Mark loves to take a close-up frog portrait.

Our last stop was Brayhouse Falls for a nice walk long the river.

A birthday in New England wouldn't be complete without a covered bridge stop.

This was Stratford Center bridge. Built in 1875, it was meant only for slow traffic. There was a one dollar fine for crossing faster than a walk.

We love to shop like a local, so Denisa bought some birthday vegetable treats at this produce stand beside the road.

Picking the best place to eat birthday dinner was easy--we stopped  at the only place open today. After Labor Day, the few restaurants in this area are only open on the weekend. Then we headed back to our camp site where another traveling family and our hosts gathered for a camp fire here at Harryville. Like all other females at this stop, Denisa goes by the name "Louise." But she is feeling very special--like Queen Louise--in her birthday crown. It's been a great birthday, filled with more of God's beautiful wonders that the locals sometime overlook.