Mohonk Preserve Hike

-



After work Karen, Cody (the dawg) and I went hiking on the Mohonk Preserve. The rail trail is lovely, but it is flat, and can be a bit dull at times, whereas we have lots of choices of hikes on the preserve.

As soon as we pulled into the small lot on the farm, the most beautiful blue bird hung out a bit for me to photograph him. At first I thought it was a bluebird, but on closer inspection I found it to be an Indigo Bunting, which I have never seen in all my years of checking out wildlife in the Hudson Valley. It could be a Blue Grosbeak, but I think it a bunting. It was so fabulous, and the beauty of his color made me grin ear to ear.

Part of the hike is on old carriage trails, which have some good hills, and if you go at a good pace, affords a great work out. I am in decent shape and I still found myself winded several times. The hike takes you through meadows, woods, and along the Bonticou Crag, pictured here. I have hiked/rock scrambled this crag several years ago, after my rotator cuff injury, and right before my trimalleolar fracture. I will once again climb the crag, but today was not the day for that. We skirted around the bottom, did a loop, and took a steep and rougher trail back to the car. We hiked an hour at a moderate pace, and covered a good 3+ miles of terrain.


Membership to hike the preserve is a modest 50.00 a year, 15.00 for an additional adult member of your family, and 5.00 for each child. There are several membership levels, and you can bike and technical rock climb on the preserve for an small additional yearly fee. Oh, and you can cross country and snowshoe too there. Much to photograph and paint, as well as get my exercise in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Off to go to the farmer's market for the first time this year. I hope to beat the rain, and they open in 15 minutes. I so love it here.........

xx patti o hiker

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Cucina

-
Image
Tonight my house had the aroma of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and candles. Keith Jarret was playing in the background, and I had just opened a nice bottle of reasonable red wine. (Osborne Solaz, 2004 Temranillo/Cab- 7.00) I needed it for the sauce, so why not have some while cooking! I took good care of myself all weekend, and felt like cooking for the first time in what seems forever. I am an excellent cook. A collage cook one might say, or better yet, a bricollage cook. I take what is in the house and make a dinner out of it. I think about flavor, texture, color and variety. Most of the time I would rather put this creative energy into visual arts, but on occasion I will push my fine art aside, and the art of the evening is cooking. Candles, music, wine, and a lovely table. I must think more like Monet, and not only make the meal art, but somehow make it my visual art too. The best I could do was a photo of the beginning of the sauce. It looks rather bizarre if you ask me,...
Read more

I Don't Want to Get Any Older - I Want to Stay Just the Way I Am

-
Image
Such words of wisdom in the kitchen between Larry and Alanna yesterday. "I don't want to get any older Yiyi, I don't want to be a mommy, I want to be just the way I am." Funny that a four year old should be thinking of such heavy matter during the Christmas Season. I sat for a few moments, going back decades, digging deep in the vault of my childhood memories, remembering what it was like to be four. whooooossshhhhhhh I am watching our black and white TV, and I flash between visions of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz and the bogeymen from the March of the Wooden Soldiers. I am looking out the window into the dark inky sky of Christmas eve, believing that if I concentrated hard enough, I could make Santa and his reindeer appear flying between the twinkling stars. (ps I used that concentration when I fished all those years ago with #1 - to get the fish to come to MY lure....) I am lying in bed trying to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. I feel like I am on speed,...
Read more

Sunday Ramble

-
Image
In yoga today my teacher talked about acceptance of life and of self, something which is a challenge to both the young AND the old. I was thinking about that yesterday when I was passed by my new full length antique mirror which leans against the wall in my hallway. I pass it from the shower to the bedroom every morning. Sometimes I stop and look and remember when I had the body of a runner, when there was no inch of pinch, or bulges, or dimples. Now, I look and chuckle, noting the attack of cellulite, the bumps, lumps, scars, spots, and veins, though if I squint my eyes and keep the light off, I can still see the framework of that runner’s body. I chuckle now because I am comfortable about my body. It took 50 years…many wasted with negative thoughts about my self which were so crazy. Part of my acceptance might also be the unconditional love that I have in a man who loves me for who I am and never says a thing that isn’t kind. (sometimes I hate that Larry..because it makes me loo...
Read more