Waiting for the crisis to pass, our thoughts go out to friends and loved-ones who also shelter in place. Old friends pass away, people we loved and admired. Immobilized for the time being, we can revisit destinations, near and far. join me in celebrating the joys of Quaranteam travel, the hope that these diversions might inspire us to value things we had taken for granted, to draw strength, wisdom and compassion from deeper engagements with nature.
Late Light at Poets’ Walk. Red Hook, New York. July 11, 2011. 6:45 pm
(Image and text were featured in the exhibition James McElhinney. Discover the Hudson Anew, curated by Laura Vookles. Hudson River Museum. Yonkers, New York. September 13, 2019 to February 16, 2020. Published also as a limited-edition in Hudson Highlands. North River Suite Volume One. Needlewatcher Editions. New York. 2018)
Located on the left bank of the Hudson a few miles above the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge is a rolling tract of land that was first developed into a private pleasure-park in 1849. Wealthy families having built estates atop the bluffs decided to set aside a tract of uncultivated land for the enjoyment of nature and the improvement of health. They hired German landscape architect Hans Jacob Ehler to divide the land between clearings and woodlands, laying out trails, view-sheds and pavilions. Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant and other notable recipients Delano and Astor hospitality are said to have drawn inspiration from rambles at Poets’ Walk. In recent years the park has come under the control of Scenic Hudson Land Trust, which maintains the trails and other amenities for year-round public use. Having visited the park on numerous occasions, I have never failed to meet other hikers on the trails without the exchange of pleasant greetings. Setting up to work from one of the wooden benches set out along the trails, or on the portable stool strapped to my back, I never suffered any kind of interruption or distraction. Perhaps slowing their pace as they pass me, or stealing a glance as they stride by, it seems that such places might promote civility, as much as they inspire bards.
Revisit April’s adventures: April 2020 Quaranteam Traveler Dispatches
(A preview of SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER by James L. McElhinney (c) 2020. Schiffer Publishing).
Copyright James Lancel McElhinney (c) 2020 Texts and images may be reproduced (with proper citation) by permission of the author. To enquire, send a request to editions@needlewatcher.com