Hiking in Harriman Park
The entrance to Thendara Camp
I’m not a weather-watcher, but I can stand the capriciousness of April just so long. Two weeks ago I took a great seven-mile hike in Harriman State Park, about an hour drive from my house, and we were in shirt sleeves. Now I’m back in polypro. Think I’ll leave the weather stripping on the windows and doors a bit longer. And the lawn furniture in the garage.
The weekend at Harriman was spent with a group of hikers at Thendara Camp, a rustic cabin near Lake Tiorati on Seven Lakes Drive. Each week there are different hosts who take turns with meals and opening and closing the camp. This week it was Alan and Cathy Gordon, and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. The small lake close to the cabin was a bit too cold even for me, but it was great to get back into the woods, again. We crisscrossed the Appalachian Trail and several local trails, and climbed to splendid views of the Letterback and Hasenclever Mountains, ending up for lunch near a charming old family burial ground circa 1850. It was peaceful, utterly quiet, and somewhat ghostly. I love it just before the end of the winter when you can see the hills more closely through the leafless trees.
After lunch we explored Hasenclever, one of the old iron mines, where ore was dug to make the material for cannonballs during the Revolution. These are dotted everywhere in Harriman and it’s fascinating to see the dark water filling the giant caverns in the earth, and the huge boulders left by the excavation.
I finally taught myself how to upload videos to YouTube. Below is the link. Just click on it. I promise there will be more from my Tanzanian trip in the future. You may notice by the beginning remarks that I was quite a neophyte as I attempted to tape the porters singing and dancing at Lava Tower Camp on Mt. Kilimanjaro. The quality is vastly inferior to the original, due to the size that YouTube can handle, but the spirit of the song is there. Hope you like it.
Here is a video interview with Suzanne Roberts that was made last spring just before l left for two months in Ladakh, India. They filmed for three hours and came up with five minutes. You can imagine how condensed that one was! But at least there were those who found it inspirational that such an ancient creature went to so many challenging places.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv6TEJX6u9g
Several people have asked me to refresh the links to my facebook photo albums—pictures of my first two weeks in Myanmar. I didn’t realize that they expire after about six months. Facebook “friends” can get them anytime by looking at my profile, but, otherwise, just click on the links below or cut and paste them into your internet address bar. I can’t seem to find the sixth album, but here are the first five.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5607&id=584094331&l=b877096ce3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13360&id=584094331&l=607b68d99a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9669&id=584094331&l=fd932161b0
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16605&id=584094331&l=6d16df2222
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15341&id=584094331&l=8b79a8115d
In conclusion, my big opera event at the Met for the month was a double bill: Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. The tenor Jose Cura was the lead in both and is now my favorite post-Pavarotti tenor. Watch for him. He’s terrific…and handsome, too!
