"My balcony" in New Paltz: view down into the valley and into the horizon. View from the ridge at the "secret spot" uphill, right after waking up and before starting the descend to leave NP.
"My balcony" in New Paltz: view to the "nose", landmark of NP. View from the ridge at the "secret spot" uphill, right after waking up and before starting the descend to leave NP.
Morning of village hoping. Fist stop: Woodstock. The legendary Woodstock. It is charming, however I must confess that probably over-marketed ( I was expecting something different) and “over-shoppized” (too many shops!). It hosts a number of Buddhist places. However the town overall seem to be living out of (exploiting?) the past, some very past past.
Next stop: Phoenicia. Tiny village with imposing name. In those bunch of blocks baptized Phoenicia, there is only one general store, if that gives you an idea.
Afternoon of a few failed hikes. The tricky issue with visiting this area at that time of the year is that there are still considerable patches of ice and of snow. After a couple of stops and attempts to start hikes, we finally found something doable for that time of the day: Kaaterskill Falls. The dual cascades total 260 feet (79 m) in height, making it one of the higher waterfalls in New York, and one of the Eastern United States' taller waterfalls. Waterfalls –regardless of their ranking in ‘tallest’ and ‘widest’ - are to me always awe-creating, hypnotizing, soothing and energizing. Mesmerizing for the eye, immediately transforming for the spirit.
Signs to Kaaterskill Falls. Photo Credit Wikimedia.
Kaaterskill Falls in the evening.
2 comments:
To me, it's like this: going to the mountains and camping is cleansing, takes you back to the very basic things and helps you focus on the essential. Hence the need to do it regularly, use it like some tonic or medicine, which helps you focus on the really important issues and discard the rest.
I guess that everyone has his/her own way of going back to basics, getting in touch with oneself, and gaining or recuperating perspective... Many paths to awareness. Others just prefer to escape- which sooner or later comes back to haunt you. Kudos!
Thich Nhat Hanh says that we should be watering mindfulness on a daily basis, just because everyday we are exposed to things that put us on the path of delusion (and the further into that path, the harder to get out of it). Should be part of our hygiene routine :)
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