yestravel

North Lake

View over the Hudson

more unmasked than people with masks😢

Day 8. Our last day on the Hudson

Not to be repetitious but once again we awake to sunny, blue skies. We planned to get out early for once. I stepped out on the deck and heard a loud rustling in the underbrush on the far side of our driveway. Yikes, could that be a bear!?! I do believe it’s a bear cub and I worried where Mama bear was. Fortunately the cub ran off. For a remote location we’ve had our share of excitement...an ant invasion, a bear banquet up the road, a large tree fall 40’ from our deck and now a bear cub ~30’ from the deck. Its indeed time to get back to the city.

We planned to hike Inspiration Point about 40 minutes north of here. As we drove the winding country roads we seemed to be leaving the sun behind. There were more and more clouds that began to hover over and onto the mountains. Hmmm,...maybe today is not the day for a hike up a mt for a view. We went to plan B, Kaaterskill Falls which are the tallest falls in NY State. Oops foiled again, the trail was closed. All was not lost as we had a beautiful drive in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest. We went up a steep road bounded by sheer cliffs and dropoffs. it was striking and different from the bucolic landscapes from where we have been. We ended at the Catskills Forest Preserve at the North South Lake Campground. The Day Entrance fee was $10. The woman at the gate asked if we were NY residents as its free for them. I responded, “No, but we are seniors.”. She replied, “ Go on in for free, its okay.” You gotta get something for being an oldster.

First we stopped at North Lake and watched the kids swim in the fog shrouded lake. We moved on and hiked to the site of the former Catskills Mountain House, a 19th century Inn where the well heeled could escape the summer heat of the cities. Despite the clouds we had an awesome view. On a perfectly clear day one can view parts of 5 largely COVID free states. Ah, the place to be. After that we explored some more and then headed to the Kaaterskills Fall overlook.
For the last week I have been impressed and pleased with the extent of the adherence to mask wearing and SD. We have seen virtually no groups in 8 days...until now. Much to our chagrin and horror there were unmasked groups largely of younger people. We did our best to avoid them, but did want to see the overlook. We found a secluded spot with another vantage point where we stopped for lunch. Finally with great trepidation we made our way to the main site. While there were no huge groups the people there still had no masks on. The view was spectacular and we quickly hightailed it back to the car after taking a few photos. I’m glad this experience was on our last day. Had it been like this on our early days, I would have felt different about this trip.

Another beautiful drive took us thru quaint Phoenicia and then homeward to begin packing up. Dinner tonight was again at Matchbox in Rhinebeck. We spent our final evening enjoying the serenity of the woods.


Kaaterskill Falls


the end

MsLizzy

Great trip report and photos. Thanks for letting me tag along vicariously. Xx

sartoric

You certainly fit a lot in to your time away.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, safe ride home and thanks for reporting

YankyGal

Phoenicia! Forgot about that little town. Friends had a mountain house in the Kingston area, so I used to escape there from time to time. I also used to go up with friends for an Oktoberfest event somewhere in the Catskills, but blanking on where.

Thanks for the great report and safe travels back! Yes, you are coming back on a record-breaking day for consecutive 90+ days. 🥵

yestravel

Thank you! There were so many outdoor choices from which to choose.

TDudette

Brava, yestravel! Wonderful to see gorgeous shots and read about this area. And, I know how great it was to see your peeps. Thanks for sharing this. 😍🍷😷

yestravel

Thanks! Hope you are doing ok. We about passing Annapolis now as we drive home. Stay well! Hope we can GTG one day .

yestravel

Afterwards---
We're home and loved every second of our 8 days in the Catskills. So would I recommend traveling in the time of COVID? I would heartily say yes if you are so inclined. A few suggestions:

Research the COVID situation where you go -- check the websites to see the infection rate and r rate of where you think you might want to go.
Once you figure out where you would like to go make sure that you are allowed in from your state. For example NY now requires visitors for 21 states to quarantine for 14 days.
I would not be comfortable in a hotel and was fortunate that a cabn from a nephew was available. Wherever you choose to say, ask lots of questions about the cleaning, with what, how often, how much time in a apt/room between guests.
I think going to a small town or rural area is a good bet. Less people and wide open spaces. We had planned to eat in most nights, but because outside dining was available and tables were spaced 10" or so, we felt comfortable eating outside for dinner half the nights we were away.
Pick a place that has lots of outdoor activities based on what you like to do. We knew the area we were going to had plenty of hiking and other outdoor venues that we would enjoy.
Take your COVID prevention supplies even though you may not need them. We wore masks alot & used hand sanitizer all the time and barely touched the other supplies. I also took a thermometer and my pulse oximeter that I didn't think I would need, but figured better be safe than sorry. I packed 1 small box with masks, wipes, gloves, disinfectant spray and hand sanitizer. I also had small containers of everything and carried hand sanitizer in my purse, my car, the backpack and fanny pack.
I was most concerned about toilet facilities but found that not to be a problem. Not every place had them open buy many did and we did a lot of hiking, so there was always the great outdoors.

And have a great time!

Please let me know if you have any specific questions, be happy to provide additional insights.


COVID Supplies - Be prepared just in case

Our home for 8 nights in the Catskills

Kaaterskill Falls

progol

What a wonderful report of a gorgeous area! As always, I love your writing and photos. And I do love your nephew's house! What a charming home that is!

Even though I know the Catskills a bit, having spent childhood summers at a cousin's home, and teenage years as a counselor at a summer camp in that region, you've discovered places I've never seen or even heard of. Thank you again for sharing your covid travels!

yestravel

Thank you! We go to the Catskills or HV almost yearly and always find new things to see and do. The trip with the purpose of seeing my daughter and her family far exceeded my expectations.

starrs

What a wonderful trip and TR! Thanks for taking us along. Gorgeous photos!

yestravel

Thank you! It was the great escape for us. It was fun having everyone along.

yestravel

This was such a great escape for us that we are planning another to Maine. Hope we can pull it off.

yestravel

Indeed we did! It was well worth the effort in planning. Covid trip #2 coming up!

yestravel

Fog in the morning

Hiking

Beautiful flowers everywhere

Lobster

Indeed we did travel a second time during Covid. This time to Maine and Mass. We had a wonderful 2 weeks. I highly recommend getting a change of scenery- its good for the soul.

NorenePalmer

wow, looks like you had a great trip. stay safe!

yestravel

Yes, we had a fabulous trip to the Catskills in July as reported. And we had an equally e njoyable trip to Mass & ME this month. It's great to have change of scenery and have some normalcy to my life.

pavanverma5764

Looks like you have a wonderful experience and must say snaps are awesome too.

yestravel

Indeed we did! Thanks.

aurie17

Wow, have a wonderful trip. It is unimaginable to think how we travel has changed, but it makes me so happy to see others able to travel and to reap all the good traveling does us.