Category: Travel

The Piermont Pier

On By mvschulzeIn 1800's, 1940's, 1990's, Airplanes, Boating, Boats, Cars, Curiosities, Daytrip, driving, Exploring, Geology, Hiking, History, Hudson River, Lighthouses, Memorial, Nautical, New Jersey, New York City, New York State, Perspectives, Photography, Pondering, Railroad, Remembering, Telephoto, Trains, Travel, WW II5 Comments

 

           About four weeks ago, in one of our last ventures before the Corvid-19 Pandemic, we visited the little town of Piermont, New York …on the Hudson River, and explored its 182 year old rock and earthen pier, which by 1851 served as a loading and unloading track bed for Erie Railroad trains picking up steamboat passengers from Lower Manhattan, twenty-five miles to the South.  On the then longest rail line in the world, vacationers would travel 450 miles (724 km) to Dunkirk, NY and the shores of  Lake Erie.   Some hundred years later, long after the excursions were outmoded, tens of thousands of WW II troops would depart from this same mile long pier to ferries, and transfer onto troop ships in NY Harbor. Sadly, thousands would literally leave their last footsteps on U.S. soil right here. A monument nearby is solemnly named “Last Stop, USA.”

The Piermont Pier is located about two miles (3.2 km)south of the new Mario Cuomo Bridge, jutting out a little less than one mile (1.61 km) into the Hudson River.
The old steamship/ferry slip from years ago is seen above,  …to the left.
Above: Today, the pier is a commercial, residential, and hiking park.
Remnants of the steamship/ferry docks can still be seen in this 2/23/20 view looking south. New York City would be just beyond Tallman Mountain to the right.
Above: A bollard, used for securing heavy lines, is seen here near the end of the pier, looking south.
Above: The trestle part of the new bridge, carrying the New York State Thruway, is about two miles (3.2 km) to the North; and Hook Mountain, overlooking the Hudson, is seen beyond.
Above: The striking new Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge; and two miles (3.2 km) further, Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse off Tarrytown, NY seen to the left of center span.
Taken some years ago while boating on the Hudson, Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, also know as Tarrytown Lighthouse or Kingsland Point Lighthouse, was “installed” in 1883.

Thanks for viewing. Zoom in for a closer look.

And a special note: BE WELL, …and please use best judgement practices as we “navigate” through these un-precedented difficult times.    M

I’d like to thank the Piermont Historical Society for their added information concerning this topic, and Wikipedia. I am a proud contributer/donator to both sources.

 

 

 

Yosemite Falls – Silhouette

On By mvschulzeIn 1970's, California, Close Up, driving, Exploring, Family, Geology, Hiking, History, National;Parks, Photography, Road trip, Summer, Telephoto, Travel2 Comments

Offering a break from winter blues, below is a late summer image of the top of one of the world’s most photographed waterfalls – during the dry season.

August, 16, 1972
Cascading 2,425 feet (739m) into Yosemite Valley, California, water flow reaches maximum volumn during late spring snow melts.

EXA SLR 35mm film camera, 200mm Vivitar, f 3.5 lens

          Thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

In Quest of Punxsutawney Phil

On By mvschulzeIn Adventure, Automobile, Car, Daytrip, driving, Exploring, Family, New jersey, Pennsylvania, Photography, Road trip, snow, Travel, Trees, Uncategorized, Vacation, Winter10 Comments

         February 2nd is Groundhog Day here in the United States (and Canada.) Although the tradition begs for a relatively large imagination, lore has it that this particular rodent, Phil, who lives just outside town, can forecast the weather. As it was my wife’s birthday, we added this somewhat iconic town, Punxsutawney,  to our weekend road trip through parts of Pennsylvania. So, despite some issues with snow, we did join the throngs of Phil worshippers, and made it back home by nightfall.  Oh, and he did NOT see his shadow, indicating an early spring!

Thanks for viewing. Zoom in for a closer look. Comments are always welcome. M :-)

 

 

1813 Turnpike – Stone Arch Bridge

On By mvschulzeIn 1800's, driving, Exploring, History, Pennsylvania, Photography, Pondering, Road trip, Travel9 Comments

On a road trip in Pennsylvania last week, we came across a 207 year-old bridge spanning “Jacks Creek” in Lewiston, (located roughly in the center of each map image below.) It was constructed as part of the increasingly important “Harrisburg to Pittsburgh Turnpike.“

Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome. Zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂

Swiss Army Knife meets Mt. St. Helens

On By mvschulzeIn 1980's, driving, Explore, Family, Geology, History, Mt. St. Helens, National;Parks, Photo, Photography, Pondering, Telephoto, Travel, Vacation, Volcano, Washington StateLeave a comment

         Lately, I seem to be hung up on Swiss Army Knives. See here.  Originally, in that post, I wanted to compare the enormous display with my real knife. Unfortunately,  I couldn’t find the knife. But …here it is. I had used it as contrast to the ash from the Mt. St. Helens explosion, nine years earlier.  The two pictures below, from our vacation in August, 1989, were taken on the banks of the Toutle River some 30 miles downstream from the catastrophic event which literally blew the top off the mountain.

ABOVE: A few miles east of the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center in Washington State, Rt. 504 crosses the Toutle River, (located near “Toutle” on the satellite image below.)  BELOW: Topless Mt. St. Helens is visible from Interstate 5, about 35 miles away.


                    The Visitor Center is between “Castle Rock,” and “Toutle.

                     Thanks for viewing, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂

 

 

Promises, promises.

On By mvschulzeIn 1980's, Art, California, Daytrip, Exploring, History, Photography, Travel5 Comments

Within the invisible digital world we play in, the past three weeks have been frustrating as about 35,000 select archived images appeared to have been lost. As of this morning, however, all have been recovered. 🙂 As promised (in a comment on my last post,) below is the “missing” 1987 capture of the now long gone Swiss Army Knife at the Museum of Contempoary Art, Downtown Los Angeles.


Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome. Zoom in for a closer view. M 🙂

Fun in Downtown L.A. Then and Now

On By mvschulzeIn 1980's, Adventure, Airplanes, Art, Buildings, Cars, Curiosities, Daytrip, Exploring, Family, Hiking, Holiday, Photography, Pondering, Remembering, Skyline photos, Travel, Vacation7 Comments

Family Vacation, 32 years ago. American Airlines 747 from NYC’s Kennedy Airport to LAX. After the image below, is the story of  “Early A.M. in L.A.  on 11/10/87”   

 Images: Above: Giant Swiss Army Knive at Museum of Contempoary Art, Downtown L.A. – and L.A. as seen from Griffith Observatory, 11/11/87 with  City Hall to left – 5.6 miles (9 km) distant.
Above, the iconic L.A. City Hall, known at the time as “The Dragnet Building.”

Twelve hours after landing, I would be exploring Los Angeles by foot before the morning’s rush hour, while the family slept off jet-lag in the Holiday Inn about a mile away. An awesome two hour adventure into an “architectually diverse” downtown, with parks and plazas, and… WHAT??? – a Giant Swiss Army Knife???   Yes indeed!  

 

And, not far away, …Swinging Cars!hi

Years later, and of course living 3000 miles away, I wondered exactly where these two photos were taken. I searched maps, and photos where I could, without success – until now. Thanks to the remarkable 3D satellite image and orientation tools available on most any smart phone and/or computer, I “flew” between the buildings and first found the cars: W. Fourth street, and S. Grand Ave.  See it below?

The Swiss Army knife was a lot harder. In fact, it’s not there anymore. BUT, by looking at the photo I took in 1987, and specifically for the glass pyramid in its background,  I zoomed way in on the “Tom Tom” 3D map, and searched until noticing the glass pyramid structure. Below is from today’s mapping app, zoomed in showing that same glass pyramid. A “new” contempoary display is in the exact place where the knife was 32 years ago. 

Above: The Plaza at The Museum of Contemporary Art, on S. Grand Street, L.A. (From Tom Tom Maps,  Apple I-Pad)

Below, another photo of downtown Los Angeles on that beautiful morning.

Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂