Gribblenation

  The Mill Brook Covered Bridge (also known as the Grants Mills Covered Bridge) of a handful of historic covered bridges that remain in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York in modern times. The covered bridge crosses the Mill Brook and is located on Mill Brook Road in the town of Hardenburgh in Ulster County, less than a ½ mile from the border with Delaware County. The single lane bridge is currently closed to vehicular traffic, but pedestrians are welcome to cross the bridge. The Mill Brook Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge was built by Edgar Marks, Orrin Marks and Wesley Alton in 1902 at a total cost of $1,027, using a Town lattice truss design for this 66 foot long covered bridge which is quite similar in dimensions and design to other covered bridges found in the Catskills. The bridge took only a few months to build, as local officials were accepting bids to build a covered bridge over Mill Brook in the summer of 1902, and th...

I took a short one day trip with Charles Slater around the Southern Catskill Mountains in the middle of May 2005.  There is a lot to explore throughout the Catskills and this trip shows a few of the hidden highlights from the trip. Wurts Street Bridge - Kingston:     The Wurts Street Bridge is a 1921 vintage suspension bridge that once carried US 9W.  On a sunny spring day, the bridge really looks impressive with its surroundings. Roundout Creek and the Conrail Bridge. Old NY 28 Bridge over Esopus Creek:   The next stop is a closed pony truss bridge that once carried NY 28 over Esopus Creek near Mount Tremper.  Fortunately, there is great access at the bridge to get some close looks at the bridge's condition and how it was constructed. Nissen Road Bridge over the Esopus:   Our final stop is the abandoned and rapidly deteriorating truss bridge that carried Nissen Road over the Esopus.  This bridge, which c...

In July 2008, I took a short road trip that led me through the Catskill mountain town of East Durham, which is located in Greene County, New York. The Catskills are nicknamed the Jewish Alps, and while that is certainly true in Sullivan County, East Durham has a decidedly Irish flavor to it. As I was driving around on some of the local county routes (CR 20B and CR 27), I spotted some signs from the old country. See all the photos at... http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/4348459219/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/4348459555/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/4348419993/ As I was uploading photos to Flickr for my project where I am uploading my numerous road related photos , I remembered that I wanted to mention these photos, and today I have.

As some of you know, the governor's name was taken off of almost every welcome sign entering the State of New York when George Pataki became governor in 1995. Instances where the governor's name shows up on welcome signs today are extremely rare at best. As a result, there are few examples of disgraced and soon to be out of office Governor Eliot Spitzer showing up on the state welcome signs. As evidenced in the link below, this photo by C.C. Slater at PA 191's northern terminus over the Delaware River in Hancock, NY, may be the only instance of Spitzer's name showing up on a New York State welcome sign. http://www.flickr.com/photos/otto-yamamoto/2235266645/

On Saturday, February 23, 2008, I took a roadtrip from the Capital Region of Albany, New York into the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson Valley of New York State with John Krakoff.  A recent snowstorm accented the scenery, draping the landscape with a fresh blanket of snow along the trip.   Nicknamed the Winternationals, which for these purposes, a roadtrip made soon after a snowstorm, it was a fun day to take a roadtrip. Routes traveled along the trip included (more or less in succession): NY 155, Albany CR 306, NY 85A, NY 85, Albany CR 1, Albany CR 401, Albany CR 403, Albany CR 409, Greene CR 50, NY 81, NY 145, NY 23, NY 296, NY 23A, NY 42, NY 28, NY 30, Delaware CR 1, NY 28, old NY 28,  NY 212, Ulster CR 32, NY 32, Ulster CR 34, Greene CR 47, NY 23, NY 32, NY 143,  Albany CR 312, NY 443, NY 85, NY 85A, NY 155 Here are some photo highlights of the trip... NY Route 81 westbound just before its western end at NY Route 145.  NY Route 81 goes through some of the smaller towns in northern...