Blue Goose ~ Day 90

August 29, 2014 ~ Newburgh, NY to Morristown, NJ

Guess what? Today was sunny with blue skies....AGAIN.

Wallkill NWR is one of those understated but nice refuges that doesn't seem to have many visitors.

WWW.FWS.GOV

In historic times, an influx of Dutch settlers followed the Wallkill up from the Hudson River. They dubbed the Wallkill River bottomland "The Drowned Lands" because the valley flooded extensively, forming a huge lake in the spring. Before it was effectively drained, settlers used the bottomland meadows as pasturage for cattle. As early as 1760, efforts were made to straighten, dredge, and drain the river corridor to make the land dry enough to farm. The effort didn't succeed until sixty-six years later when a large canal lowered the water table of the river. Mill owners, however, sought to keep the lands flooded, and a battle ensued between the millers and the farmers who wanted the lands drained. These battles were known as the "Muskrat and Beaver Wars". The millers were known as the "beavers." The farmers were known as the "muskrats." The disputes were finally settled in the farmers' favor in 1871.

It's all about the water, wherever I go.....

The headquarters at Wallkill was a handsome renovated farm house with a sign on the door stating it was closed, but it wasn't as I just walked in. The gentleman who quickly appeared was pleasant enough but didn't know much about recent bird sightings or how long the nearby trail was. He did think it took "about 30 minutes." I know I interrupt some of these employees, and I suppose they are expected to be accommodating to the few visitors that show up. The reception / welcome varies significantly. Refuges have different specific information and Wallkill one was all about Purple Martins....like the amazing fact that they weigh only 2 ounces! Turtles are also a priority here.

The trail was a workout (for me) as it first wound down through woods, briefly along the Wallkill River and then up and up and up through meadows and fields.

Wallkill NWR - NJ

Of course, I was once again doing this in the heat of mid-day. The quality of light is changing from summer to fall, bees were buzzing in the goldenrod with subtle intoxicating fragrances in the air. I saw a Great-crested Flycatcher and a Warbling Vireo along with the usual woodland birds hanging out in the Black Walnut trees.

Wallkill River, Wallkill NWR - NJ

A "Sightings" log at the parking lot was completely blank when I first looked at it, but when I got back, I saw two wrinkled pages on the ground, pages that had been rained on and then dried out and had just come loose and drifted away. So I checked out what people had been seeing, although the dates were sparse and many went to 2013. A sample of what people / kids saw: "2 naked hikers....beautiful nature....creepy calipibr....yellow berries...people with arrows....grass..." and something about "nipples" that had been crossed out, so I primly added my dozen or so bird species.

I have been in a junk food munchathon lately. Partly, it's the boredom of driving so much. I vow to clean up starting next Monday when I begin the second quarter of this BG adventure. And I have to stop spending money willy-nilly and cook more often and find more places to get clean during the week.....BUT, mostly it continues to offer up all these sanctuaries that make me keep going.

I consult the maps a lot lately to plan things in this dense tangle of roads, interstates, tollways, towns... Today, I ended in Morristown, NJ, where I stayed in a $400 room, discounted to $100 via Priceline. I realize that often a weekend is the time for deals, especially in and around large cities. Like this Labor Day weekend, most people are out and about having one last summer fling, and the business travelers aren't working.

I had issues with the Internet, having to reboot several times. When I complained, I was told (unbelievably) that their servers (or something) didn't support Apple computers! which wasn't the problem as I was using my work PC. And there was no place to eat except the hotel's minimal  "Market" offerings, but since I had a suite with a full kitchen, I at least could microwave a Lean Cuisine.I also got a one-serving Haagen Dazs. But no alcohol and I had no desire to get out into traffic again just for that.

Wallkill NWR - NJ (not staged)