Sleeping-in on weekends means getting up by 9am to us. Weekend routine destinations include grocery stores, driving range, swimming pool, museums/galleries/performance centers/restaurants, random stores... And if weather permits, we add hiking.
This series shares sights and thoughts from hiking trips at upstate New York (Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park, Mohonk Mountain House, Mohonk Preserve) and New Jersey (Palisades Park), all within one or two hour's drive from Manhattan.
I'll start with Bear Mountain State Park. It's part of the Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park System. The Bear Mountain part has 5067 acres. If you saw my photographs from 2006 hiking trips there
(in "Seeking the Brilliant Fall Colors" series, post #4 & #5) , you would understand why we adore these two parks so much. And you might find it hard to believe that such a vast body of natural beauty is only about 30-45 miles north of Manhattan. It usually takes us an hour or so to get there. The highway route getting there is our favorite one among all highways in the area. We would take West Side Highway north, cross the Hudson River on Gorge Washington Bridge, then Palisades Parkway, which goes directly to and through the Bear Mountain. These two pictures were taken on Palisades Parkway, tree-lined, no ads, normally without any traffic.
With hundreds of trails, we try a different trail each time. The experience is always exciting and beautiful. On this trail, it had parts like this which allowed for an easy stroll, as well as rocky parts like below.
Tenacity.
One thing I learned from previous fall hiking/foliage trips is that even when the overall scenery is dull and dry, you can always find beautiful touch of Fall in small details, if you look closer.
Below is a close-up I took of this half-bare tree.
All the beautiful details observed along the way are equally rewarding as the sweeping view at the top.
Me and K at the top.
Hiking: (1) Bear Mountain State Park, NY
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