We recently spent a weekend in Vermont with some work friends. Sunday ended up being rainy on-and-off. We caught a break in the rain and did some canoeing on the Battenkill river near Manchester. B and I had an awesome time, so did Lola. It started pouring rain right as we approached the exit point. Here are some snaps I took before the deluge.
Being in nature during these crazy times has really been a game changer. B and I are entering the third consecutive season living in the Catskills (not counting March as part of winter, even though it was still snowing a lot). Fall can be a tricky time emotionally. It is a signal that winter and cold are around the corner. But there are plenty of trade offs: wearing sweaters, enjoying a fire in the evening, all of the fall spices, football (even though my team may not play this year), and last but not least, the autumnal foliage. The changing leaves are so beautiful, even from the windows of our house. By nothing other than dumb luck, we bought a place that is literally steps from one of the best views (my very biased opinion) in the Catskills. Even though Britt and I have been insanely busy with work and are spending all of our free time working on the house, Britt convinced me to do a golden hour walk to the lookout. It was generously rewarded. Thank you, mother nature for all of your dramatic autumn glory.
This timer shot might be one my favorites of us in recent history
I decided to take a week off from running because I was having some ankle issues. I have replaced the runs with walks in the evenings and mornings. This particular morning, our mountain was socked in with fog. It felt like I was in Narnia or something. The dew was so thick in the grass that Lola was totally soaked afterward, as were my shoes. I toted my camera along with us to grab a couple shots of the nebulous hillside. Oh yeah, and a family of wild turkeys.
Every morning there is a residual selection of moths grouped around the porch light that is left burning all night. I have been cataloguing them in crappy cell phone photos for several weeks. The other morning I finally got out a real camera and snapped these. There are a couple of shots in this set that appear to be duplicate species. But I liked each of these images for different reasons. Perhaps others will as well.
I made it to Tarrytown again for a walk around the reservoir. It is an easy place to be able to walk through the woods without having to go too far upstate. This time I brought a real camera. There was no fog this time. But there was plenty other cool stuff to look at, including a couple of bald eagles. I had never seen them in this part of the country before this. I did some unscientific internet research when I got home and learned that they are pretty common around here, you just have to keep your eyes open.
Columbus Day is one of those weird holidays. When I say “weird” I’m not even referring to the controversy surrounding the question of why it is even a holiday anymore. I’m talking about the fact that, even though the federal government and the banks are closed, only some businesses observe. Further, is the fact that the weather could go either way in the northeastern US. Some years it is still beach weather on Columbus days. Other years, there is snow on the ground. This year was one of those rare times when Columbus Day weekend in the tri-state area had exactly the weather that one would expect it to have; it felt like fall.
One of the local Brooklyn motorcycle shops (Union Garage) put together a ride to rural PA for an overnight glamping trip. I had been on a few rides organized by these guys before, so I knew that I could expect a mellow, no a-hole type of crew. I roped in my buddy Mike (from this ride), who also rides a Monster, to join in.
We met at the shop in Red Hook around 7 AM on Saturday and rode all day, taking back roads and enjoying the fall foliage. We even did a few surprise offroad miles. It wasn’t ideal for the people riding bikes with aging street tires, but everyone made it back to the pavement in one piece and it definitely made for some great stories. Mike and I skipped the last section of the local route and opted for highway, since daylight was fading and he only had a very tinted visor. Mike and I rolled into the campsite with about 30 minutes of daylight to spare. We were the first ones to arrive, and as result, were able to tap the keg and enjoy the sights and sounds of the rest of the group rolling in.
Dinner was prepared and served by the camp owners. This was followed by a bonfire, and a super legitimate firework show. A lot of the guys did full-on tent camping. Others (including myself) opted for the bunkhouse. In the morning, we woke up to the first frost, and it was a thick one. There was a nice coat of ice on everyone’s saddle. After breakfast, the crew split off into smaller groups and headed back east. We had a really great time. It was a great way to cap off the 2019 riding season. I hope I can do it again next year.
Some of the photos from the trip–
Did a night and a morning in Seattle (I recommend checking out Black Bottle), then drove to Hood River via the Columbia River gorge. Stayed the night at the Hood River Hotel. It had an old school mountain town vibe and an amazing scando brunch joint adjacent to the lobby. More good stuff in Hood River: check out Double Mountain and Sushi Okalani if you have a chance. On the way back to Portland, we drove over Mount Hood. There was a cloud parked on top of it, which made for some ethereal scenery. I Mixed in some crappy celly shots again. Apologies.
After spending Friday night and Saturday in Portland, we drove south toward Newport where we met up with some other good friends of ours. They had secured a beach house for the weekend in the town of Waldport. The weather was sunny and awesome. We explored the beach and flew kites Sunday afternoon. Monday, my friend Jon and I caught some rock fish in the morning, and we ended up grilling them up for dinner. We were having so much fun being social that I didn’t really get any snaps (except a sunset) with a real camera. So there are a mix of celly shots in this post. Apologies for the crap quality.
Tuesday morning we drove up the 101 north. One of the highlights was Cannon Beach, and Ecola State Park.
B snapped this one of me below, posing at one of the 10 or so view points along the 101, where we pulled over to take in the sights.
The pano of Crescent Beach below was a celly shot. Here is a link to the full resolution, for kicks.
One of the crazy things about upstate New York is that it is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the summer it is so green, lush and vibrant. In the winter it is like a dystopian wasteland. Anyway, we were in the Catskils over the weekend doing some research. It was kind of snowing, kind of raining, generally gross weather. We came across some dilapidated mansion/hotel looking structures that I had to pull over to get a couple of snaps of. I also love these awesome little trestle bridges where the highway goes back and forth over the river. Here are a couple of frames from the drive.
With each passing year, it becomes more difficult to be “off the grid.” It seems like there are new cell towers going up in every last remote region of the industrialized world. Last weekend I found myself in an area so remote that there was no cell service, and the nearest land line was a 4 hour hike away. It was refreshing. We spent 5 days in a Utah mountain range called the Uintas. My family vacationed there during the summer when I was young. Nestled between the dense lodge-pole pine trees on the edge of Moon Lake, there is a rustic ‘resort’ comprised of log cabins and a lodge dating back to the 1920s. Last weekend my family had a reunion in those same cabins. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to take B on an overnight backpacking trek for the first time in her life (something that I have enjoyed doing since I was a youngster). B and I arrived in Salt Lake a couple of days before the reunion started, met up with our good friend Sam Adams who came in from Portland (OR, not ME), and headed into the woods. We left the car at Moon Lake (which is where the road ends), and proceeded to hike to a remote glacier-melt called Brown Duck Lake. Even though the hike was only about 7 miles, there is roughly 2000 feet of elevation gain (starting from over 8000 feet). All three of us are in relatively good shape, and it still took us a little over 4 hours to complete. Our ginger pace may have also been partially attributable to the fact that I was carrying about 30 lbs in camera gear (which I broke out and used often along the way) in addition to the tent, sleeping bag, etc.. My shoulders are still a bit sore from the endeavor.
We arrived at Brown Duck Lake about an hour before sunset, in time to set up camp, build a fire and catch some fish for dinner. The lake is loaded with native trout. We caught a few different varieties, keeping only a brown trout and a cutthroat for dinner. After swapping Sasquatch stories and shooting about 300 frames of the night sky (mostly film and on Sam’s camera), we hung our packs in trees in an effort not to attract any bears, then hit the sack. We broke camp early the next AM and made it back down to Moon Lake just as some of my family was beginning to arrive. We spent the rest of our time in the mountains catching up with family, laughing, eating, fishing, hiking, playing horseshoes, and sitting around the fire. Sometimes it is really nice to be completely disconnected from the real world, especially when surrounded by amazing company.
Watching the moonrise over Moon Lake
Catching dinner.
Med format Polaroid by Sam Adams
Long Exposure of B next to Brown Duck Lake. Peep those stars.
Example of the impressive art collection that can be found in cabins at Moon Lake Resort
B rocking her Snob socks by the fire
Making wakes