Skip to main content

Mid Hudson Walkabout!

Today was a fine fall day, and I really didn't feel like staying in and rotting while the sun was shining, but I had no cash. But I has feets, and there's interesting stuff within reasonable walking distance.

Here's a snap of the southern end of the recently completed Vineyard Ave overpass works on US 9W in Highland. The sign in the midground is brand new. Can you spot the Boo-Boo, Yogi?
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout


Today was rather unique in that I finally decided to deal with one of my phobias. I have a thing about heights in general, and walking across suspension bridges in particular. In the seven years I've lived here, I've never crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge on foot. Today I decided I was gonna man up and tackle this puppy.

This is a monument to two locals killed in Vietnam north of the foot of the bridge:
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

Here's the Ulster/Dutchess county line in the middle of the bridge.
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

A slightly dodgy US 9 advance sign...
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

And everybody's favourite: Button Copy! This sign has gotta be at least 35-40 years old.
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout


I followed the Walkway Loop Trail, more or less, through Poughkeepsie. There are a lot of interesting things to be found there: some of them road related, some not:
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

The church is the new Mount Carmel Catholic Church-it dates from 1968: I would have placed it as being much older. This is at the end of Mill Street in Poughkeepsie-within spitting distance of the US 9 Freeway.

I eventually meandered over to my goal-the eastern end of the Walkway. I found this neat item at the turn for Parker Avenue off Washington Street:
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

This sign indicates the opening date for the Walkway. As I walked up Parker, I got some indication of the popularity of the Walkway. People are selling parking spots. There was a lady in front of Tech-Mechanical selling spots in their car park for 3 bucks, and a guy further up the street selling spots for $5. There was no parking to be had on Parker Ave; and the car park at the eastern foot of the bridge was full up.

When I got onto the walkway, I noticed that there was some railway debris in the woods beside the trail, and ultimately, I ran into this old signal:
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

Sadly the lens was broken, and it looks in pretty bad shape. It'd be nice if someone restored it.

Having a public park running through your back yard isn't stunningly popular with everybody. As I was walking along, I heard some guy complaining about people looking out over his yard: 'It's "private property"' he was saying over and over again. That may be so, but if something is of interest to people, they're gonna look at it, and there's sod all you can do about it. Sucks to be him, I suppose.

There are a lot of nice views to be had from the Walkway:
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

And fun and interesting things to see, like water traffic along the Hudson:
Highland and Poughkeepsie Walkabout

This latter bit was absolutely fascinating to a little boy walking along the bridge with his family. He was darting all about to get a glimpse of the 'Tuggy'. People were also interested in watching the trains on the west shore of the Hudson. There was a fair crowd on the walkway, today-not elbow to elbow, but there were all sorts of folks taking in the nice weather and the views. It's been pretty consistent: if the weather is fine at the weekend, there will be a lot of folks on the bridge. Not just locals, either. I saw a few out of state plates, too.

For those who are interested Here's the Flickr set. Tomorrow looks to be fine, too, so there may be additions!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River. 

New Mexico State Road 7 (Carlsbad Caverns Highway)

New Mexico State Road 7 is approximately a seven-mile highway in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. New Mexico State Road 7 connects US Route 62/US Route 180 at Whites City to the visitor center of Carlsbad Caverns National Park via Walnut Canyon. The so-called Carlsbad Caverns Highway to the National Park visitor center complex was constructed following the designation of the namesake National Monument in 1923. The current iteration of New Mexico State Road 7 was designated by the New Mexico State Highway Commission during June 1929. A proposal once was once floated to connect New Mexico State Road 7 to a cavern drive which would have been blasted into Big Room. Part 1; the history of New Mexico State Road 7 What are now Carlsbad Caverns was explored in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County by local Jim White during 1898.  White explored the caverns via a homemade ladder and named several of the more notable rooms.  The name "Carlsbad Caverns" was derived from the