you can see in the future of a thousand years

When I was planning my trip to New York City. I grouped my day's activity in roughly the same neighborhood. My usual pilgrimage to Victoria's Secret, was coupled with my introduction to Dylan's Candy Bar and the Whitney Museum, all on the east side, within ten blocks of each other. I knew I was going to The Cloisters and I found out that Inwood Hill Park was nearby so I decided to pay it a visit.

different kinds of oak leaves

a passing airplane reminds me that i am not as much in the wilds as it seems

secluded trail

i took a picture of this tree as a reminder, so that i would not become lost

i placed my laptop bag at the base of the tree to give you

 some perspective of how massive the trunk is

gnarly

i had a moment of pause as i advanced along the trail, and realized that the park trail was lot more secluded than i was planning for a lone visit this morning

i thought this fire hydrant off the path was very lion witch and the wardrobe

1933?

i treated my trip to NYC this go round just like my trip to Rome. i found out that Inwood Hill Park contained the only remaining old growth forest on the island of Manhattan. This park is on the northernmost tip of Manhattan, known as the Washington Heights area.

(black squirrel) hi, little feller

a steep hike to reach the top of the trail

here by my left foot, is a small treasure trove of sycamore seed balls when we were in elementary school, we called these itchy balls and threw them at one another

wow! flying squirrels

the park is massive

i would have loved to have explored this park all day. But i wasn't at all equipped. i was wearing a dress, and i was starving. As i walked along the trail i thought you just need to bring a lunch and spend the day, then I reckoned this was more of a two lunch situation. I would love to come back to the park in the spring with Nails and spend the entire day giving it a thorough combing over.

a cobblestone drainage path

railroad tie retaining walls and draining ditch to prevent eroision

a stellar view of the henry hudson bridge

the distinctive and lovely camouflage pattern of the sycamore tree

i must apologize for taking so many pictures of this bridge but it seemed to me the crown on this landscape and enthralling. From here, i could hear the commuter train sounding, across the river

it snowed friday night but soon thereafter the snow all melted but by the following wednesday it is cold enough that the swamp is starting to ice over. brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

the inwood hill park nature center

washington heights is mountainous and i felt sorry for the elderly, but they seem to take their san francisco like terrain in stride. but man oh man did i ever get my exercise that afternoon.

There's old New York, and then there's old New York.  Inwood Hill Park is a living piece of old New York.  Evidence of its prehistoric roots exists as dramatic caves, valleys, and ridges left as the result of shifting glaciers.  Evidence of its uninhabited state afterward remains as its forest and salt marsh (the last natural one in Manhattan), and evidence of its use by Native Americans in the 17th century continues to be discovered.  Much has occurred on the land that now composes Inwood Hill Park since the arrival of European colonists in the 17th and 18th centuries, but luckily, most of the park was largely untouched by the wars and development that took place.

 - text courtesy of www.nycgovparks.org/parks/inwoodhillpark

Copyright 2011 the City of New York