Rock On

    Our geologically inclined friends need a little love this time of year. Looking at rocks is always a challenge. Stop to examine a roadcut and you've got traffic, broken beer bottles, poison ivy, barking dogs and the occasional shotgun toting yahoo to deal with. Come winter and the challenges multiply with snowbanks, short days, ice and cold. It's enough to drive one to chemistry or physics!

     So this post is my holiday gift to those suffering rock withdrawal syndrome. I've compiled links to geology themed videos, blogs and websites. Not much but it will have to do until climate change turns our pastime into a year around thing. And yes, you may hold your rock hammer while viewing these but no swinging allowed.

 

An old  photo of Starks Knob

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     Let's start with a couple of short video visits to a pair of New York State Geoparks, one east and one west of Saratoga Springs. Starks Knob displays submarine pillow basalt near Schuylerville and Lester Park is all about stromatolites near the Milton/Greenfield town line.

Aerial photo of Snake Hill from PLAN's website

     Bordering Saratoga Lake is another interesting site. Snake Hill has been purchased by Saratoga PLAN with the property's management currently being determined. Here is info from PLAN's website and here is more detail on why it is geologically significant.

     Snake Hill is the most westerly remnant of the Taconic klippe. The hills and mountains of this range loom large along New York's border with neighboring New England states. Geologist William Kelly gives a good overview of the region in an August 2020 webinar from the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance's speaker videos. You may have to scroll down thru a number of interesting talks to find Geology of the Rensselaer Plateau. Be advised that it's a little over an hour long but if you're interested in the Taconics it's an hour well spent.

Argyle rocks

Mike Huggins photo

     Mike Huggins grew up in Argyle before a career as a professional geologist took him west (and around the world). Fortunately, he always has his camera with him and he still comes back to the good old hills of home often. He has a flickr page where you can see geology photos from Washington County, Moreau Park, Crown Point and locations far beyond. Makes me itchy to get out there every time I visit his page. 

 

Geologic map of Bald Mountain, Town of Greenwich

by Chul Lim

     UAlbany formerly had a vibrant geology department. It doesn't exist anymore but there is a website where you can see some of the maps and thesis's that former students produced. Because of proximity many students chose to map sections of the Taconic Allochthon in Washington County and adjoining areas. These are the most detailed bedrock maps of the county that I'm aware of. Here's a link to the page where you can click on whatever map you're interested in.

Photo from Vermont Geological Survey

     Other websites that will get you thru the winter and ready for next year's field trips include: New York Geological Association, New England Intercollegiate Geologic Conference, Geological Society of America and Vermont Geological Survey. 

     Short overviews of a dozen interesting geologic sites across the state can be seen on the New York State Museum website. One is in Washington County. Photos, maps and brief description. The DEC has a similar page of Unique Geologic Features listed by county.  Road trip, anyone?

The Trap Dike and Mt. Colden in the Adirondacks

Dr. Jack Share from his Written in Stone blog

     Written in Stone is a geology blog by Dr. Jack Share. These are amazingly detailed posts on sites ranging from the far corners of the Earth to as close as the Adirondacks and Taconics. Inexplicably, new posts ceased in 2021 but there is enough archived content to satiate the geologically hungry over a very long winter.

Ed McNeil still from video

     Finally, time to fly on out of here with an aerial tour of southern Lake Champlain. Not strictly geology but a good way to get a sense of the landforms in the northern Washington County towns of Dresden and Putnam as well as southeastern Essex County and adjacent Vermont. Up, up and away with Ed McNeil. 

Book Tour

      'Tis the Season.

     No, not that Season. I'm not thinking of the time of year when we all eat too much and overindulge certain heady beverages. I do that pretty much year round. What 'Tis the Season means to me is Reading Season. That's when it gets dark by 4:30 in the afternoon and I'm happy to settle in by the woodstove with a good book for a few hours before bedtime. It's a luxury I have a hard time allowing myself the rest of the year.

     Say 'books' and libraries are the first thing that comes to my mind. Washington County has a library in almost every town and they're not cookie cutter. Each one has a personality of its own and I thought it would be fun to profile as many as I can over the next few months. Let's start with the Bancroft Library in Salem.

     It's in the center of the village, at the only stop light, and street side parking shouldn't be a problem. Look for the bell in front of the building and you'll know you're there. That bell has a story to tell. It's a Maneely bell made in Troy, New York and it once hung in the Irving Memorial Clock Tower which was part of an imposing four story edifice known as the Proudfit Building. The Proudfit was built for $20,000 in 1890 with commercial shops on the ground floor and the library, a memorial hall and the village offices on the second floor.

     On January 11, 1976 the Proudfit suffered the same fate as two previous buildings ( the Salem Hotel and the Fairchild House ) that had stood on the site, succumbing to a devastating fire. In a twist of cruel irony the fire apparently started in the firehouse towards the rear of the building. Volunteers were able to get two firetrucks out even as smoke poured out windows and doors. People also risked their lives to remove valuable books and town records from the second floor library and offices. Despite heroic efforts the upper floors were lost and the ground floor sustained smoke, heat and water damage. It's a testament to the resilience of the community that what was salvaged from the fire has become today's cozy library and town meeting hall. 

Fighting the Proudfit fire

The aftermath

  

What's left today: Open and Welcoming

     We had come to Salem to see our friend Chris Hubbard's watercolor show with nine works hanging in the hall between the library and the town meeting room. Her cat and dog portraits are striking and it was fun to try and identify the location of several local landscapes. Then there was the painting titled "Holly and Leif" which brought a chuckle. It's a beauty and the beast image of a girl snuggling with her friendly ox. The thing is, Gwenne and I can take some credit (responsibility?) for this chummy couple since Holly is our daughter and we raised Leif from newborn calf to the big boy he is today.

     After enjoying the art we moved on to the library. It's a bright, inviting space with large windows letting plenty of light into the stacks. There is wifi and several computers for patrons to use along with the usual collection of books, DVD's, newspapers and magazines. To the back is a separate reading room with comfy chairs and a large table that could accommodate big books and note taking. This is a quiet space that gets afternoon sun and houses the Walker Collection of natural history and ornithology. Also of note is the Audubon Collection of journals, published by the famed naturalist's granddaughter Maria who lived in Salem a century ago. The library has a number of books on Salem history as well. 

     One final impression from my visit was the sound of children laughing. They have their own space behind the librarians station and they were having a real good time. Come to think about it, so was I.

Greetings from Rupert

     On my way to Rupert, Vermont late one rainy fall afternoon I found myself wedged between Egg and Bear Mountains. Anyone familiar with these western Vermont villages  (Rupert and West Rupert, with maybe a mile or two between them) knows that the usual approach from New York is out Rt. 153 from Salem. That's certainly a lovely drive along White Creek, gradually gaining elevation as it approaches the border and the high mountains beyond. But there's another, wilder road that follows Camden Creek up into the heart of the Taconics before eventually bringing you to Rupert. I have a long history with this road: driving, biking and using it as starting point to climb the aforementioned mountains. I try to return whenever I can. It's like reconnecting with an old friend.

     There are a few homes, a few seasonal camps and several small ponds but what you most remember is trees crowding in and arching over a narrow gravel lane. It's a nearly perfect road and one I hope will forever escape the asphalt pavers. Maybe there's a little anxiety to driving such a lonesome route on a wet, grey day with an early dusk closing in. I still remember the comforting feel when the warm glow from the windows of West Ruperts cozy homes finally came into view.

            I was in Rupert for a program at the Methodist Church but with a few minutes to spare decided to do a quick tour of town. I'ld driven thru here dozens of times but always when going somewhere else: dinner at The Barn, biking in Dorset or some event in Manchester. What I soon realized is that these villages could easily be a destination of their own. Let others have their weekends in Boston, Montreal or New York. I could find plenty of interest right here. From rail trail to mountain preserve, from old cemeteries to historical architecture. Plenty to explore. And hopefully I will explore more in future posts but for now just a few quick shots I took before darkness settled.

The old Sheldon Store

The Post Office

Wonder if Steve Earle has been here?

     The program I had come to attend was on the early native peoples of Western Vermont and Eastern New York. It was co-hosted by the Hebron Preservation Society and the Rupert Historical Society. Jess Robinson, Vermont State Archaeologist was the featured speaker. The beautiful sanctuary of the Rupert United Methodist Church was nearly full for the presentation and we were treated to a fast paced overview of archaeological insight.

Inside and out. Views of the United Methodist Church.

     It's impossible to do Robinson's power point justice here so I'll just share a few scribbled notes I took from the evening. Modern humans evolved in Africa about 250,000 years ago. It was only about 20,000 years ago when they made it to North America from Eastern Asia. These became the Paleoindians that first populated our region as the glaciers melted 10 to 13,000 years ago. They crafted fine stone points from jasper and rhyolite and harvested the bountiful food supplies in and around the Champlain Sea.

     The Archaic Period stretched from 9000 to 3000 years ago with sites at Chimney Point and Crown Point on Lake Champlain being well documented. Archaeologist have also done excavations at a site near Bennington where an estimated village of a 100 people was located some 3900 years ago. Points were made of locally available quartz, quartzite and chert. Similar artifacts can be seen in a display case at Cambridge Central School. 

     The Woodland Period followed with a warming trend and the introduction of pottery and agriculture. Butternuts were highly sought after and one of the factors that guided native settlement. With European contact in the 1600's the rest is quite literally 'history'. The program wrapped up with a lively Q and A with Robinson explaining the difference between chipped v. ground stone points among many other queries. 

     I think everyone left the church with a deeper appreciation for the long history of our area and I know I left as well with new found appreciation for all that Rupert had to offer. It'll never be a 'drive thru' place for me again. Well, not unless I'm driving a tractor.

 

  

Ghost Hollow

 

"Lord, what fools these mortals be"

     So saith Shakespeare's Puck and who am I to disagree. Take this thing we call Halloween. Isn't it foolish to have a day devoted to trying to scare ourselves silly? Normally, fear isn't an emotion that a rational person aspires to. Unless, perhaps, it's a 'staged' fright, a kind of vicarious experience of danger with a small 'd' and no real consequence. Meaning none of us will be going to Gaza or Ukraine this October 31. Besides, we have an upcoming election that should be scary enough for anyone who cares about the future of our country.

     Still, as one of those 'mortal fools' I have to say that I like this annual celebration of the spooky. I look for some experience with chill potential every Halloween season and this year's search brought me to Ghost Hollow.

The road used to have an ordinary sign but it was stolen so often

that the town painted this boulder in its stead

     For those unfamiliar with Ghost Hollow, it is in the Vermont town of West Haven just across the Poultney River from Hampton in northern Washington County. It's a lonely swatch of fields and forest with a dirt road running up thru it. And it has a story to tell.

Ghost Hollow Road

     Many years ago a young man working in the fields received word that his wife was in labor. Filled with anxiety, he hurried along the moonlit road to be with her. Then, up ahead, he saw a glowing apparition. It was his wife! But what was she doing out here when she was supposed to be giving birth and why did she disappear as he approached?

     The sad answer came when he reached their cabin only to find that his wife had died in childbirth and he knew her spirit had met him on the road to say "Goodbye". Since that awful night over two hundred years ago, legend has it that the ghostly white figure of a woman is sometimes seen wandering thru the darkness of the Hollow.

     If you were in the Hollow a few days ago you would have seen another wandering figure. That would have been me. Connecting an eerie story to the place where it happened is my kind of thing. And the landscape here ... well, it seems fertile ground for 'eerie'. The rock where Israel Putnam ambushed and slaughtered a party of French and Indians in 1757 is just down the road. Their bones may still lie in the mud of East Bay and what of their departed spirits? This is also Bigfoot's stomping grounds with Abair Road, scene of past sightings, not far away. Following the pot-holed road that creeps beside the river brings you to rattlesnake country on the old Galick Farm. It's easy to imagine the ghost of snake killing Bill Galick, pistol on his hip, appearing out of the gloom. Or how about the William Miller Homestead that I'd be driving by on the way home? Who knows? maybe I'ld see the old prophet up on the roof of his house still waiting for the second coming. 

     These are the thoughts that come to you when you are alone in the night, far from light and warmth and anything familiar. What about that woman interred beneath the bar at Whitehall's Skene Manor, the one who feared being buried underground? Or 'Kathi' up on Death Rock above South Bay? Another tortured soul. And the inmates buried in that little cemetery on Quarry Road. Men who came to the end of their lost lives in a Great Meadow Prison cell and were put beneath the ground with little more than a small numbered stone to mark their final passage?

Any 'body' home? Skene Manor

     Back in Ghost Hollow, with nothing but my mind's wanderings for company, I waited. And watched. The sky mirrored my mood. There was a full moon but it was flitting in and out of dark clouds. At times things would brighten, bringing the road and confining hills into view. A moment later all was blackness. Only to the west was there some clear sky and a hint of left over daylight thru the trees. The Hollow's namesake was in hiding. No wandering woman to be seen.

     Until ... up in the sky! Up above the dim horizon. Something was there. But what? A soft glow, a little patch of shimmer. Could it be Her? Part of me wanted to believe. But the logical side (yes, I do have a logical side) said "No. What you're seeing is that comet everyone has been talking about." Nothing but a dirty snowball slingshotting around the Sun. And, no doubt, that was the correct scientific explanation. But who's to say She couldn't come back disguised as a visitor from the Oort Cloud? Who really knows what forms a soul may take as it wanders the sky for eternities? This then is what Ghost Hollow gave me: a memorable night, a little fright and a lot to think about.  

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And:

     Should you find yourself in West Haven, look for this small cemetery on Main Road. Not scary at all. Just a peaceful, lovely spot. I could easily spend days in town biking, hiking and exploring before swinging by The Wheel Inn (my favorite bar and restaurant) for refreshments. So many places, so little time.

  

Gone and (Almost) Forgotten

 

     Let us now praise canoes. Clean, quiet, affordable. Even New York State government hasn't found a way to tax or regulate them (although I'm sure somewhere in the dark heart of Albany someone is trying). In the water dappled world where I live they are a near perfect way to explore place. And this summer I've even used my Old Town Pack as a way to travel thru time. All it takes is a little imagination and a paddle. Let me explain.

     Besides being on the water, another of my favorite pastimes is browsing used bookstores. I always have a stack of old finds waiting to be read and recently I got to An Introduction to Hudson Valley Prehistory by William Ritchie. It's a January 1958 bulletin of the New York State Museum and Science Service describing excavations at seven sites once occupied by Native Americans. The fact that two of these sites were adjacent to places I like to paddle caught my attention and lead to a couple of revelatory outings. Both sites are on private property and should not be trespassed but you can view them from the water like I did.

     Gwenne and I like to float lazily along the shore of the Hudson admiring moss covered shale ledges, clay banks sprinkled with wildflowers and the occasional eagle perched overhead. On one trip this year we lingered under a knoll where a small stream trickled over rocks before flowing into the river. It's an enchanting spot, even more so when you know that the top of the little bluff is where, in 1951, archaeologists investigated the site of Native American activity. They recovered 620 artifacts from several test pits, concluding that a small seasonal camp had been located here over a long period of time (early Archaic to Middle Woodland). Apparently, even back then, waterfront with a view was highly prized.

 

     Under the influence of warm sunshine, a gently rocking boat and advancing age my eyelids grew heavy and my thoughts traveled back thru millennia to a time when I might have been fishing for shad to feed my small family clan back at the camp. Has anything really changed? The need for food, shelter and a safe place to raise kids? Then I dreamt I heard the tribe calling from shore. Awakened from my reverie, I realized it was the landowners talking as they did some yard work. We chatted a bit about swimming here when we were kids, about the many years since our school days and about the archaeological dig. Then it was time to leave my prehistory sojourn behind and paddle back to a present of equipment that needed fixing and bills that needed paying.

     Surprisingly, I got to repeat the experience a few weeks later. That speaks to the ubiquitousness of Native American settlements in the Hudson Valley. This time Tom, Holly and I paddled our way up a tributary of the river to a point where the stream looped around an elevated, wooded peninsula. The shoreline was attractive but otherwise unremarkable. At least until you know that this too had been the site of an encampment many thousands of years ago. Evidence comes from excavations done by the amateur archaeologist landowners back in the '50's. 

     Several factors made the spot appealing to early people. The ease of travel by water and the abundance of food sources was obvious. We saw flocks of waterfowl and signs of beaver and muskrat activity. That and I remember fishing for bullheads on this stream when I was a kid. Other factors that made it a good place to live were its dry sandy soil and a clearwater spring nearby.

The springs outlet?

This way to the Hudson

     Once again the magic of amorphous time took hold as I slipped along the shore. The quiet, the undisturbed banks with towering hickory and white oak...it could have been anytime in the last 10,000 years. Looking down in the shallow water a small shard of rock caught my attention. Probably just a piece of broken shale but shaped such that...could it be? I scooped up the 'maybe' arrowhead as a memento of my time travel and have it on my desk as I write. A small reminder that there were people here before us and there will be people here when we're gone. 

 

           

     And because Holly's phone takes better pics than my camera here's an album of her images: