Sleepy Hollow Vacation: Day 5

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

It rained overnight but was only misting when we got up and ready to leave. We got up at 6:45 a.m. in order to get an early start on the day. We had picked up some more detailed maps the night before so it was much easier to find the covered bridges today. It was cloudy most of the day but we got glimpses of sun in the afternoon and by sunset, it had cleared off.

Today we saw 5 covered bridges, 2 waterfalls, 1 reservoir, and 1 lighthouse.

Millbrook Covered Bridge- The Grants Mills Bridge is on Mill Brook Road, this bridge is a town truss built in 1902 and completely rehabilitated in 1992, it has one span of 66 feet:

Pepacton Reservoir- this reservoir supplies New York City with nearly 25% of its drinking water, the water flows through the reservoir, empties into the 25.5-mileEast Delaware Tunnel, the water then travels through the aqueduct into the Roundout Reservoir, and empties into the 85-mileDelaware Aqueduct, then flows into the Kensico Reservoir just north of The Bronx:


Downsville Covered Bridge- This historical covered bridge crosses the east branch of the Delaware River, it is a Long Truss and Queen with a span of 174 feet, this bridge was built in 1854 and a major rehabilitation took place in 1998:


Hampden Covered Bridge- the bridge crosses over tbe West Branch of the Delaware River, it is a Long Truss with a span of 125 feet, it was built in 1859and a major rehabilitation took place in 2000-2001:

Fitches Covered Bridge- The bridge crosses the West Branch of the Delaware River, it is a 100 foot long Town Lattice Truss, this bridge was built in 1870 in Delhi, in 1885 a bridge company persuaded town officials to replace the bridge with an iron structure- rather than demolish a comparatively new covered bridge, it was decided to moved this bridge three miles upstream from its present location to replace a bridge washed away by floodwaters, David Wright and a town crew dismantled the bridge and hauled it to East Delhi, to its present location, and a major rehabilitation took place in 2001:

Minekill Falls- the falls cascade 80 feet through a narrow gorge in Mine Kill State Park:


Blenheim Covered Bridge- this is the longest single span wooden bridge in the world, it was built in 1855 by Nichols Powers of Pittsford Vermont, the covered portion of the bridge is 232 feet long, the trusses 228 feet and the clear span of 210 feet between abutments, this is one of only six covered bridges with two lanes, the bridge width is 26 feet:





Don't know the name of these falls; they are near Blenheim, NY and are on the Westkill Creek:

There were some golden pine trees. I tried to find their name with no luck:

Athens-Hudson Lighthouse- construction was begun in early 1873, and the lighthouse was completed and put into operation on November 14, 1874, the facility served as a manned lighthouse until the 1950s at which time the lighthouse was automated:



Hudson River:

It was getting late in the day and we were losing light; so after much discussion, we decided to go back to the Super 8 in Nyack. We would drive back up to this area tomorrow to hike to the Kaaterskill Falls and see the other lighthouses. We got back to the Super 8 around 7:30 p.m., checked in, put our stuff in the room, and then walked over to get dinner at McDonalds. We brought dinner back to the hotel and relaxed until bedtime.

Sleepy Hollow Vacation: Day 4

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

We go a little bit later start today because Tracy was not feeling very well last night. By the end of the day, I think we decided he got my stomach flu that I tried so hard not to share...

Our first stop was McDonalds for breakfast and then we headed out to find some covered bridges and waterfalls northwest of where we were staying. It was an extremely frustrating day in that we kept hitting detours that weren't marked correctly and got us lost, NY roads that were not clearly marked and wind all over the place. It was a gorgeous day, though.




Luckily, we did find 5 covered bridges, 2 reservoirs, but no waterfalls.

Perrine Covered Bridge-154-foot long, single-span bridge, built in 1844 and restored in 1993, and crosses the Wallkill River:




Ashokan Reservoir- the reservoir is in the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several reservoirs created to provide the City of New York with water. It is New York City's 2nd deepest reservoir behind Pepacton, being over 190 feet (58.5 m) deep at its deepest.


Pretty colors in the Catskills:

Roundout Reservoir- part of New York City's water supply, it is located 75 miles northwest of the city in the Catskill Mountains, construction began in 1937 and ended in 1954:


Chestnut Covered Bridge or Grahamsville Covered Bridge- built in 1976 over the Chestnut Creek:

Halls Mills Covered Bridge- built in 1912 this historic town lattice truss crosses the Neversink River, this bridge has a short timber approach span, the main span is 119 feet (notice the lack of color/leaves on the trees...):

Bendo Covered Bridge- the bridge is on Conklin Road and crossed the Willowemoc Creek, it has a 48 foot town lattice truss, built in 1860, the bridge was cut in half and moved to this location in 1913, it was originally located in Livingston Manor:

Livingston Manor Covered Bridge- this bridge is in a small park just NE of Livingston Manor, it is a single span town lattice truss with a laminated arch, it crosses the Willowemac Creek, the span length is 117 feet, it was built in 1860 :

The house adjacent to the bridge is the homestead of Dr. John Mott, philanthropist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and founder of the YMCA (it is one of these houses... wasn't sure which one...):


Beaverkill Covered Bridge- in Beaverkill State Park, the bridge is one span 98 feet long town lattice truss, built in 1865:

We stayed at the Andes Hotel in Andes, NY. It was a tavern, restaurant, and motel built in 1850. Our room was very large! We at a late dinner in the restaurant.