Going Up the Country

Do you have a road trip playlist? The one we created on Spotify and listen to most often is titled, Going Up the Country. We are, in fact, usually headed upstate when we hit the road, also lovingly referred to as up the country. That's also the title of the first song on my playlist, followed by Rocky Mountain High by John Denver. I just have to listen to both of those songs on the 3.5 hour trip to the Adirondacks. It's required listening! :)

Fall officially arrives in a few days, but we had a great summer, my favorite times being when we were all upstate together. As our boys have gotten older - and they have each acquired their own jobs and lives -  I am so grateful to have a few days together in our favorite place away from it all.

My brother and sister-in-law spent a few days with us too - always fun!

No matter the season, whether it be by snowmobile or ATV, we enjoy going on family trail rides together. Yep, I ride too. Pretty sure I was destined to be the mother of all boys. I annoy them by stopping along the way to take pictures. Even though I have taken all these pictures at least a hundred times before, they are always different depending on the light. I am a chaser of the light.

This is my favorite spot to photograph.

Same spot, different light.

We also enjoy exploring the water in our kayaks, visiting the loons each year. 

Billy and I love traveling the back roads in our Jeep with the dogs, stopping along the way to pick wildflowers. 

The greatest thing about these mountains is, no matter how many years we've been exploring them, we always find new places. We ended up down a dirt road, right near our family's cabin, and found this old pick-up truck in the woods. How cool is that? Almost looks like a puzzle or a painting.

Billy mostly drives and I mostly take the pictures. Dax stands in the middle on the armrest, always smiling, and gets the attention of many a passerby.  

Back at the house, I put the wildflowers in every container I can. Here's a few pictures of the house that I recently took. It's nothing fancy, but many of our best memories have been made here.

Summer always seems to come to an end too quickly but we're looking forward to leaf peeping "up the country" this year. Do you have any road trips planned for fall?  I've been busy decorating my house here in NJ for fall and I will share those pics soon.