Fungi, pine needles & acorns:
We saw many mushrooms that reminded us of sea creatures - I thought the one above looked a bit like a sand dollar.
The trail went through the woods and crossed some parcels of private property.
There were supposed to be some large rock reclining chairs at a scenic overlook, but we didn't see them where they were described (or anywhere else, for that matter). So we stopped on a fallen log to enjoy some lunch.
Bright orange, delicate lavender, we saw some amazing colors in the shrooms:
The view from the water tower at the first summit:
We decided to walk on further, carefully following cairns as instructed by the trail guide.
The trail descended into the forest, with some clearings.
To our surprise and delight, we discovered that some of the abundant blueberry bushes still bore tiny berries -- even this late in the season!
This frog unsuccessfully sought to hide under a blade of grass (it isn't easy being green):
There were a number of options for trails, but we knew the right general direction was UP to get to the top of the second summit. We glimpsed a flag on the top of the hill ahead...
I started chanting "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" as we approached. I was half-kidding.
According to some folks who are frequent hikers in the area, there is not usually a flag here at the summit - this is special for this anniversary. So sweet.
On the way back to NYC, I was moved to write an account of my experience on 9/11. It's not a tale for the ages; I was neither a hero nor a victim, only a person who happened to be in the neighborhood. At most I showed some hobbit-like resourcefulness in my evacuation to Brooklyn -- and this still might be seen as a wild exaggeration. But it was still good to reflect on the experience and put it into writing.
On my arrival, the Empire State Building was also decked out in red, white and blue.
No comments:
Post a Comment