For the past few weekends I've been itching to get out for a hike, but with the holidays most of my weekends were resigned to Christmas shopping, preparing for the holidays, and seeing friends and family. Not a bad excuse, but still left me wanting some outdoor time. I finally got out last weekend and decided on Blauvelt State Park.
I packed up the dog and headed into the park. The hike itself isn't difficult. The entrance from the parking lot is paved (though it seems to be a relic) and the path winds up the mountain. I passed two foundations to buildings with ample amounts of those hollow clay bricks that used to be common house construction materials. Mysterious. I climbed all over them with Tyger until I was satisfied and moved on.
I wonder if there is a technical term for those clay bricks.
Hello concrete.
The air was chilled, but it was really a lovely day with little wind. One thing that amazed me was the change in the landscape from deciduous to hemlock predominant, to stunted trees that reminded me of apples, back to large shade trees. As luck would have it, I followed a path to an icy stone outcropping. I was curious if it led anywhere, so instead of following the immediate path I walked to the other side of the stone. I observed calmly, watching birds chirp and flit from tree to tree. All I can say is that I felt very content.
Tulip Tree branch
Pine.
Some stuff in the woods. The level of artistic creativity astounds.
Outcropping on the mountain.
Dogs in coats on rock.
I went down a little path and then realized I was walking on an elevated burm. A tunnel. I could barely contain my excitement. It wasn't hard to figure out where we were going from there. A series of green blazes led up to the concrete tunnels. I was seriously impressed...not only by the tunnels themselves, but by the awesome graffiti there. Props to the artists.
Entrance to the tunnel right behind this monkey face
Inside the tunnel. Every 10-20' there were little shafts cut into the concrete. For shooting perhaps?
Follow
One of two standing buildings we saw.
Just reading up on horse racing. Really though. That's what the paper was about.
I'm pretty sure Banksy was not there...but I was.
The tunnels just extended through the forest.
Once there was a staircase here. Now just a lot of trash.
So there aren't many parks I really have a strong desire to return to, but I can say without hesitation that I will be going back to Blauvelt State Park. There's so much more to the park that I'd love to explore. Including the tunnels. I'll just have to remember to bring a flashlight next time.
If you want to read more about the history of Camp Bluefields or about some people's experience in the tunnels, click the links below:
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