Return of the MAGICICADA

If anyone lives in the Northern Jersey area and you haven't been to Ramapo Reservation, I have one piece of advice for you: put on your hiking shoes and get your booty there asap. It's got 19.7 miles of hiking trails with an array of things I personally love: waterfalls, ponds, abandoned buildings, and outlooks. With 11 different marked trails there's enough variation for all types of hikers from the beginner to the more advanced. Additionally, if 3,313 acres aren't enough for you, trails connect to Ringwood State Park for even more outdoor fun.

Recently, I had to pleasure of going on a short hike of approximately 2 hours with one of my best hiking buds: Tyger. Unfortunately, this was another time when I lacked my fancy camera. So please bear with the camera phone pictures. The trailhead features a lovely warning about copperheads and timber rattlers. Somehow in my years of going there, never happened to see this sign as I always took a different entrance. It kind of reminded me of my time at Kakiat Park. 

Snakessss

Another Shout-out to the Great Central Park

Being so close to NYC, it's almost a shame I don't make it out to Central Park more often-- or any of the other city parks for that matter but that's besides the point. Every time I go there I discover something new. This isn't to say I've been there that many times (maybe a dozen,) but it's certainly a gem in the heart of Manhattan. Last time I was there was back in February.

Recent circumstances found me staying in a hotel with my boyfriend (the Roosevelt for those familiar with it) faced with the prospect of spending 3 hours all alone in the middle of a sunny Saturday while the dear boyfriend worked. Being only 13 blocks or so from Central Park, it seemed pretty obvious what I was going to do. Armed with my camera, I went on an adventure to explore. 

Blurry selfie in the hotel

Model boats

A Bergen County Hybrid

I have a problem with Pascack Brook County Park. It's not a problem I've had before and it is honestly more an issue with retrospect than anything else. This park confuses me. It's 79 acres with ball fields, playgrounds, and fishing "ponds" (you know, the kind that requires that cute little fountain to aerate it). Inside it also boasts a "suburban oasis" that hosts a variety of wildlife in its riparian habitat. Wild celebrities include the dark-eyed junco,  downy woodpecker, great blue heron, painted turtle, box turtle, & wild rabbit among others. So my confusion lies in what this park wants to be. Does it want to be a standard county park (kind of like Wood Dale, which I mentioned in an early entry) or does it want to be a nature preserve?

Parking was super easy, as to be expected with a county park like this. What did give me a little shock is how much pervious pavement there is. The parking areas and paths have pavers with holes filled with gravel to allow water to infiltrate the ground. So awesome and a bit more environmentally friendly than standard paving.

Look at that paving

Harriman Snake

Harriman State Park: Silver Mine Lake

I was really surprised with this one. For a long time I've been meaning to explore Harriman State Park. The thing about Harriman though is that it is huge. The second largest state park in NY to be exact. With over 200 miles of trails, 31 lakes and reservoirs, an array of camping sites, boat launches, scenic lookouts, and more, it's a lot to pick out one spot to check out.

The Lake

Rutgers Day (Over A Month Later)

Rutgers Day, previously known as Ag-Field Day was an event I looked forward to every year on Cook Campus. It's a day filled with activities, information, and tasty treats. Some highlights include the interacting with really cool insects (like Praying Mantises-- my favorite!), petting wolves, seeing the farm animals (piglets!), watching the dog show, sampling pickled things, getting freshly squeezed lemonade, buying new plants for the garden, or swinging by the Folk Festival that happens the same day on the same campus. All in all, lots of fun!

Tarantula