Sunday, September 16, 2012

Wallkill Valley Rail Trail

Went out dinner last night with Jodi and had some Turkish food.  One of the items in the appetizer mix was baba ganoush.

After a long day, a nice dinner and some catching up, I settled in for a nights sleep in the couch.  Pretty comfortable, but I still tossed and turned a bunch.  Woke up a sunrise as usual.

I made my way out into the chilly morning air of upstate NY for a run.

This day in history "
The Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists--half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs--had been authorized to settle by the British crown. However, stormy weather and navigational errors forced the Mayflower off course, and on November 21 the "Pilgrims" reached Massachusetts, where they founded the first permanent European settlement in New England in late December."

If April showers bring May Flowers...what do MayFlowers bring ?  Pilgrims of course.

The run down the hill in the town of New Paltz was quite a contrast to the flat LI terrain I am used to.  Once at the edge of town, I picked up the railroad...

There is a 12 mile trail that is the old Wallkill Valley Railroad.  Originally setup to ferry party goers from Poughkepsie to New Paltz where there was pleny of risque business in the 1800's.  In 1977, the rail still used for freight was retired and made into a land trust.  For me it became a scenic change of pace run.

The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail opened officially in October 1993 as the seventeenth rail trail in New York State. In 2001 it was recognized as the first Countryside Trail in the Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail System, and in 2007 it was designated a National Recreation Trail by the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

http://www.gorailtrail.org/

Once off the trail I realized that the mile I started out from Jodi's house was steep downhill.  I opted to walk the mile back up to her house recalling her comment that I should park at the edge of town to pick up the trail to avoid the hill coming back up...

I cook some omelets for us using the leftover lamb, some of the appetizers, and a little cheddar cheese.  The lambelets came out good and with a little pita bread on the side, we didn't need to reheat the fries.

Back on the road for the ride home.  A long weekend.  A 6 mile run in New Paltz.  And an open invite to stop by when passing on the New York thruway.

Photo of the day "Wallkill Valley Rail Trail"



P.S. You know you are outside the 5 boroughs, Westchester, or Yonkers when the sign warns says "No discharging of firearms on or across the trail"

I did not see too much wildlife, except for rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks.  I am sure if I ventured into the wild as I ran out of town, there would be deer and other wild things.


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