I mentioned a couple of days ago that the NYSDOT has made great strides in working recreational trails and such into their latest highway projects. A couple of years ago a new expressway was opened in our area, and with it came the “NH&W Rail Trail”, a five mile cycling/walking/rollerblading path along an old railroad bed in the towns of New Hartford and Whitestown. Eventually it will connect to the Canalway Trail I mention in that previous post.
One of the beautiful things about the Rail Trail is that it goes right through the middle of the woods. On one side you’ll find plenty of wetlands, on the other side you’ll find trees, fields and other woodsy things.
NYSDOT built a couple of lookout points over the wetlands when they built the trail. There’s also a couple places where people fish in the ponds. In fact, when I was taking one of my photos tonight, I was startled by a small bird that began flapping wildly and making lots and lots of noise. There was one small problem, it was trying to fly and couldn’t get anywhere as it was tangled up in some discarded fishing line. I couldn’t stand the sight of the bird hanging there and struggling so I tried to set it free. Whenever I went near the bird to try to untangle it, it panicked and started flapping and darting around, so I did my best to keep some distance as to keep the bird calm and tried to break the line as close to the bird as possible. As soon as I broke the line, the bird took off like a shot with a small trail of fishing line behind it. I’m hoping that the rest eventually falls off so it doesn’t get tangled again.
Earl and I walked about 2 1/2 miles tonight along the trail. It was good to get the exercise and enjoy nature a little bit. I’ve never biked along this trail, but I’ve put it on my list of priorities. There’s more pictures available by clicking on the picture above.
