Georgi on my Mind

     I really enjoyed my summer vacation this year. All two hours of it. It happened late on a Saturday afternoon when we miraculously finished chores before the day was over. You don't question miracles, you accept them on faith, so I suggested to Gwenne that we knock off early. Maybe go for a ride and find some water to sit beside. With endearing logic all her own she responded, "Yes, that would be nice, after I give you a haircut." That's how I got scalped and we headed for the Battenkill.
     We traced a squiggly line thru the hills being careful to give the fairgrounds wide berth. It was peace and quiet with a side of coolness that we wanted, not the hot sweaty mayhem of the fair at full throttle. Soon enough we were in downtown Shushan, turning down Adams Lane. This is the dirt path where Clarence Jackson used to lead his cows to pasture before he sold the property to the Georgi family in 1952. Since then a house was built, the grounds were landscaped and several generations of Georgi's came and went. 

     When Jessie Georgi passed in the late 1980's the property was bequeathed to the people of the Town of Salem. There are nine acres cradled in a bend of the Battenkill River. At the end of the short lane is a former garage tastefully repurposed as a community center with a meeting room, kitchen and bathrooms. The Georgi's former home is off to the right on a low bluff above the river. In front of the house is an expansive lawn sprinkled with shrubs and trees. 

     All summer long the property hosts concerts, theatre performances, weddings and reunions. But you don't need a special event to enjoy the Georgi. It's a great place to just hang out. That's what we did until dusk when the park closes. We walked the short path between the water and the house. It leads to a small beach. You can see the river do a little "S" wiggle thru ledges of slate and phyllite. It's a great place to study the dynamics of moving water. There are deep holes on the outside of the bends where the current is faster with more energy. On the inside of the curves are sand and gravel bars and eddies where the flow is actually upstream. 

     Unfortunately you'll also find empty beer cans in the shallow sections. Most likely the tracks of a local form of wildlife called the Battenkill River Drunken Tuber. It's an invasive species closely related to the Log Bay Party Animal found up on Lake George. Now tubing with the kids can be fun on a hot summer day. But towing a cooler full of alcohol?!? The stream is a public "highway". Anybody ever heard of open container laws? Tossing the empty cans and bottles is disgusting, even dangerous - glass breaks, kids wade barefoot. You get to see the best and the worst of our relationship with place here at the Georgi. The volunteers who take care of this lovely spot deserve our gratitude. And those who trash the river? They deserve their sunburnt hangovers. 
     In addition to the Georgi family and the parks volunteers we may have the last glacier to thank for this spot. I've seen theories that the pre-glacial Battenkill flowed south thru what is now Cambridge and the Owl Kill valley, joining the Hoosic before emptying into the Hudson. Some 13,000 years ago, as the last ice sheet waned, a huge block of detached ice sat where Eldridge Swamp is today. This, along with massive amounts of outwash deposits (The Plains) were enough to divert the flow of the river north thru the valley where Shushan and the Georgi are located. 

     We spent a pleasant evening at the Georgi swimming and wading in the river and strolling the grounds. There are interesting trees that I'm not sure about. They aren't the common black locust  but they look a little different than honey locust. A mystery and challenge to figure out what they are. Naturalists will find a nice variety of plants to identify and birders will also enjoy a visit. We saw just one other family. All was quiet, still and cool - just what we were looking for. 

     I left the Georgi feeling rejuvenated. Isn't that what vacations are for? And I left with a fresh perspective on legacy. Few of us are wealthy enough to leave a park and museum to our community. But we all have some impact on the place where we live. Will our lives make that place better for those who follow? It's worth thinking about. 

     Here's a link to The Georgi's website.

Fair thee well?
     It was getting late by the time we drove home from Shushan so I thought it would be safe to stay on Rt. 29 and drive past the fairgrounds. Wrong again. 
     We were treated to clouds of black, sooty smoke and an ear-splitting roar. This with our windows rolled up. Apparently some kind of evil beast of a tractor pull was in its death throes. Now I've spent my entire adult life and a good chunk of my childhood driving tractors. I've put my share of carbon into the air and probably irked my neighbors with early morning diesel noise. My defense is that it was done in the service of food production, not cheap thrills. Maybe it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black but I think we could do without all the motorized "agritainment" at the fair.
     Cultural habits are often slow to change and fossil fuel based recreation is certainly part of our culture. But we know these fuels won't last forever and that burning them has consequences for climate, our health and even the world's political stability. For the foreseeable future, fossil fuels seem necessary to grow our food and provide other basic needs. But is it smart to burn them just for frivolous amusement? The fair showcases so many good things - the county's agricultural productivity, the mutually beneficial relationship between people and animals, the solid values rural kids grow up learning. Fair management (somewhat reluctantly) finally got rid of the confederate flag and its hurtful symbolism. Maybe roaring, guzzling, belching "monster" machines should be the next to go. 

Tool or Toy?

Songlines
     Finally, here's a link to the song that inspired my title. It's not about Shushan's park and museum but rather an ode to some place down south where they grow peaches and peanuts. Enjoy Ray Charles singing Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on my Mind".

Fort Found

     No one said storming a fort would be easy. Still, this was starting to get ridiculous. Upstream the river was blocked by a thick cable and buoys. Off my stern the current was sweeping over a dam and crashing onto the rocks below. To the right the bank was guarded by patches of poison ivy. Then it got worse. Much worse. There in the bow seat of the canoe, just a couple of feet away, sat a very unhappy wife.

     Unhappy but resourceful. She looked the situation over and thought that maybe, just maybe, we could slip under the cable right near shore. Inching slowly forward we each in our turn laid all the way back horizontal, imagined ourselves young and thin and squeezed beneath the barrier with a cat's whisker to spare.
     Sneaking beneath the cable was like Alice stepping through the looking glass. Just like that we were in a different world. The river above was calm, even serene. To our right a shale ledge hosted its own little rock garden. Perched on top of the bank were the back porches of village homes. People out enjoying the evening gave us a friendly wave. Ducks flew overhead and looking across the water a point of land beckoned. That was our destination.

Fort Miller hamlet from the river

     Our ill-advised launch had started in the hamlet of Fort Miller. We parked across from the Fire Department and carried thru Mill Park to the Hudson River. If you zip by on Rt. 4 you'll hardly know there is a Fort Miller. You have to turn off the highway, slow down and ideally give the car a rest. This is a place best appreciated on foot, from a bike or (maybe?!?) in a canoe.

     Think of ribbon candy with stripes running side by side. The Hudson is the biggest stripe with River Road, the Barge Canal, Rt. 4, what's left of the old Champlain Canal, and a long abandoned trolley line all paralleling it.

     In and around the hamlet you'll find historic homes, the classic Reformed Church, a tree shaded Riverside Cemetery and both well kept contemporary and old, but well preserved canal locks. There's also a ball field park on a former industrial site, an osprey nest or two and places to fish in the river. What you won't find in Fort Miller is a fort.

     Historical sources suggest that the site of the fort was actually on the west side of the river. Paddling across the Hudson we made a border crossing from Washington County into Saratoga County somewhere out in the middle. Then we approached a level, open peninsula that forced the water to flow in a lazy bend around it. For the last several years this has been used as a staging area for the PCB dredging project. Prior to that it was a farm field and long before that, the site of Fort Miller.

Gone but not forgotten - the site of Fort Miller

     The fort was built by an English Col. Miller in 1755. The purpose was to defend against French and Indian attack. It is thought that there was a small earth covered timber wall with a ditch in front. Having the river on three sides added to the locations security. I'm wondering if there has ever been an archeological dig here. Anybody out there know?
     The site is private property and there's certainly nothing left of the fort so it's best to tour from the water. On the upstream side of the peninsula Tuttle Brook flows into the river and it's possible to paddle a little ways up the creek. Several miles away, near its headwaters, this stream flows thru our farm. I've been hopping across it since I was a boy. Now days we have a small grassy area next to the brook where we spend some evenings watching birds, frogs, turtles and minnows.

Take a seat - my chair on Tuttle Brook

     On our paddle we saw a huge fish stir up the mud beneath our canoe. Probably a carp or catfish. There was also a variety of birds attracted by the diverse habitats of riverbank, overgrown field and lowland woods. Eagles, ospreys and all kinds of waterfowl are often seen here. Mostly we experienced a sense of peaceful serenity. This section of the river is an isolated pool between the Fort Miller hydro dam and another low dam at the upper end of Thompson Island. Boat traffic is diverted thru the canal and there are no launch sites so it's very quiet here. 

Fort Miller Hydro Dam

     I can't recommend putting in at Fort Miller - it's awkward and potentially dangerous. The best access may be along West River Road on the Saratoga County side. There is a small pull-off on a sweeping S bend with room for a car or two. This is mostly used as a fishing spot but it's easy to carry a canoe down to the water. Thompson Island splits the river into two channels and it's possible to go upstream a short distance to the dam on either side of the island. You can go downstream several miles until you encounter the warning cable and buoys above the Fort Miller hydro dam. 

     
     Hope you get to paddle here soon. Watch closely and you may see a variety of wildlife, the site of a long gone fort and maybe even a happy wife in a canoe.