Taconic State Park, 10/6-9/2006

Around noon on Friday, I called Fahnestock to find out how late I could arrive. The conversation went like this:

Fahnestock: "Do you have a reservation?"
David: "No, I didn’t think one was needed in October."
Fahnestock: "Then you’re not camping here this weekend."

Fahnestock had sold out! Time to make other plans. I called Taconic State Park, they had sites, and that’s where we went.

Renee and I arrived late Saturday morning and took two sites (36 and 37). Site 38 is one of the best, but it always seems to be taken. (Hint: reserve it next time.)

We set up, ate lunch, and were preparing to take a walk to Bash Bish Falls when Katie and David G. showed up. Renee and I welcomed them, and while they were setting up, we went to see Bash Bish. Katie made it there separately and joined us at the falls.

The campground was noisy on Saturday night. Around 11, David G. and I took a walk to the lake to see the stars (there weren’t many because the moon outshone them) and passed by the office. A couple of junior rangers were locking up and I mentioned the noise problem. The male ranger said his next task was to drive around the campgrounds and shush the loudmouths.

When David G. and I returned to our site, a radio was still playing on site 35 next to ours. I politely asked the site’s occupants to turn it off and they did so immediately. As I went to sleep, I heard a country music tape in the distance but I chose not to continue playing the policeman.

On Sunday, Katie, Renee and I hiked the South Taconic Trail to Sunset Rock. It’s a steep climb, about five miles round trip. I went earlier, came back, and advised the two women on the trails. While at Sunset Rock, I overheard this conversation:

Little girl: "How did these names get in this rock?"
Father: "Someone must have carved it."
Little girl: "Ooh! Can we do that?"
Father: "They must have used a chisel. We don’t really have the right tools."

With difficulty, I stifled my urge to comment. The kid had Oreos for lunch--the father offered me some but I politely declined.

David G. took a long bike ride on Sunday afternoon and got a little lost. He had some great views, but returned much later than expected.

Many campers on other sites left on Sunday, which had two advantages for us: 1) it was quieter that night, and 2) we scavanged leftover wood from nearby campsites. Our campfire, made up of scavenged wood and some logs that I sawed up, was bigger than the previous night. Katie supplied marshmellows and we made s’mores. To cap off the evening, I revenged my recent loss to David G. in chess.

We drove back on Monday. Renee and I stopped off at McEnroe’s, an organic farm stand on Route 22, and I re-filled my cooler with cool produce.

David Levner