Blue Heron, Columbia Trail
The past four days I rode a collective 95 miles on three different trails. (Nothing else is getting done at home.) And in the process, I passed the 1,000 Miles Ridden This Summer mark. I think I get some kind of medal for that (Does anyone else remember the President's Physical Fitness Test of the 1960's? -- the embroidered patches you earned for bronze, silver and gold performance? I deserve one of those. I wonder if my old ones are still around.) My prize was seeing this fantastic blue heron on the Columbia Trail. I discovered that the missing trail link in Long Valley was completed and open, so I rode all the way to Chester. On the way back, as I was passing through Califon, I noticed the railway station museum was open. Initially I sped by, thinking of how long I'd been out and other things I needed to do. But then, in all the times I've gone by the museum, it's never been open and I knew this was a good opportunity. So I turned back and stepped inside and couldn't get away for the next 30 minutes. There was the most knowledgable docent in there...a guy who had grown up in the area and was an amazing storyteller. He cleared up the debate about the naming of the Columbia Trail -- declaring firmly that it was in fact named after the Columbia Gas Pipeline Company.
Canal path, Easton, PA
He also told me of other train accidents on the same rails, one quite gruesome where a switchman was picked up by an unsecured mailbag hook, and dragged for many miles. That comes with a good old fashioned Califon ghost story. The other interesting thing he told me was the stone supports on the bridge over the gorge are still the original supports...no mortar holding them together...just good engineering. I'll be seeing lots of railways and rail remnants on my trip and because of these stories, I'll be seeing them entirely different now. And speaking of bridges, this pretty scene came from my ride along the Delaware River canal path outside Easton, PA. I love the reflection in the water.