Second ride of the season, a 26 mile loop down through Woodstock to Zena then back north to West Saugerties and up to Manorville, then back to Woodstock.
We live at the foot of Overlook Mountain, about 2 miles from this location in Zena. There a rich history going deep into pre-colonial eras here and indigenous people believed the mountain to be sacred. I have no reason to doubt them.
A few miles north is a place called Opus 40, a 6.5 acre sculptural artwork build in a former quarry of native bluestone by a gentleman who taught art and theatre at Bard College across the Hudson River.
Pushing further north past small horse, cattle, goat and sheep farms at one point I was on a ridge with distant views of the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts. Drivers here seem to be happy to give lots of space when passing. Folks tend to wave back when I greet them.
There’s water everywhere. Countless streams come down the mountains, one of them runs through the woods behind our property (below). They gather into larger tributaries like the Esopus, flow into the Hudson to the east, ending up in New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. Local wetlands are starting to come alive with peepers.
Today was a good day!