[Journal Entry for November 13, 2010; Ft Lee Historic Park and nearby sites on the Hudson Palisades]

[Tallman Mountain State Park, Sparkill NY] The weather is beautifully clear this morning. While Dallas jogged along the Tallman Park bicycle path, I took a more leisurely loop around the park’s southern end. Fall colors are pretty much over here, although an occasional tree is still colorful. A few fruit are still hanging from the Osage Orange tree at the turn in the bicycle path. I would not like to have one fall on my head! They are more the size of grapefruit. I take a side trail to the cliff edge, which overlooks the Hudson River. I can see Piermont Marsh below me. The tall Phragmites grass is tasseled and completely brown. The Tappan Zee Bridge, which spans the river north of here, is brightly lit up by the sun. I return via a trail that follows the shore of a little pond. Its water level is low, reflecting the dry conditions that have prevailed during the last month or so. Bushes, red in their fall colors, reflect in the still waters. I surprise a pair of deer, a doe and a stag with a large rack. The hustle off a few tens of yards, and then resume their browsing. I also sight a pileated woodpecker, high up in a Tulip tree. About 0:30.

[Fort Lee Historic Park, Fort Lee, NJ] Later in the morning, I tour Fort Lee Historic Park. I have been here many times, but only to its north overlook as part of geology fieldtrips with hurried and narrowly focused agendas. I visit the north overlook again. It is situated on the cliff edge of the Hudson Palisades. The view is dominated by the George Washington Bridge, which spans the Hudson River, connecting New Jersey with northern Manhattan Island. Looking northward through the cables, I can see the cliffs continuing northward along the west shore of the river. The fall colors, while well past peak, are nevertheless more vivid here than at Tallman Mountain Park. The weather must be just a little warmer close to the city high rise buildings, so that the trees have been delayed a week or so. Looking down, I can see the Ross Dock picnic area, a low-lying rectangular landfill that extends out into the Hudson River. I walk southward along a path that parallels the cliff edge. It passes the museum and then a Revolutionary-era historic restoration that includes several log and earth fortifications and a group of smallish log cabins. The earthworks are semi-circular in outline. They protect against gun fire from ships on the river, below. Two cannon are on display behind the earthworks. The larger is embossed with a crown-shaped emblem reminiscent of Columbia University’s. The southern overlook is as interesting as the northern. I can see the ridge of the Hudson Palisades extending southward and the tall building of Jersey City in the distance. The New York City skyline dominates the view to the east. Walking back north, I pass a spot that has a nice view of the Manhattan side of the George Washington Bridge. The archway of the base of the tower dwarfs the Little Red Lighthouse, which stands nearby at the river’s edge and is only about a third as high. Yet the archway doesn’t even extend up to the bridge’s roadway.

[Ross Dock Picnic Area, Ft Lee, NJ] The volcanic rock that forms the vertical cliffs of the Hudson Palisades extends only about halfway down to the river and is underlain with softer sandstones and shales that have more gentle slopes. Henry Hudson Drive is build at the top of the shallow slope, extending from Ft. Lee Historic Park to Alpine Boat Basin, about seven miles north. I drive to Ross Dock Picnic Area, passing beneath the roadway of the George Washington Bridge along the way. I walk around the park, first viewing the Hudson River to the east. Some large barges powered by tugs, including The Patriot, are heading south. The Cloisters, an art museum, is situated on a prominent hill on the Manhattan side. The river is only a little choppy and owing to the general brightness of the day, is bright blue. The view to the west is dominated by the spectacular Palisades cliffs. The lower two third are wooded and the fall colors are pretty good. The upper third is bare rock face, vertically jointed, dark brown except for the scars of recent rock falls, which are light beige. I spot a hawk, floating on air currents at the level of the cliff top. Though the day is brisk, in the 50’s Fahrenheit, the park has numerous visitors. The north end sports an elaborate playground and jungle gym, which has attached quite a few children and their parents. A patch of Spartina alternaflora, a marsh grass, is growing in the shallows off the protected northwest corner of the park.

[Englewood Boat Basin, Englewood NJ]. I take Henry Hudson Drive a few miles further north. I pass a stone staircase that provides pedestrian (well, hiker) access from the river level to the cliff edge. I’ve never used this one, though I’ve climbed several of the others further to the north. I stop at the Englewood Boat Basin. This is another river level picnic area which, unlike Ross Dock, also has a large boat basin. Many boats are still in the water, tied up to the dock, but still more have been hauled out, shrink-wrapped in white plastic and are lined up on the shore. I walk northward along the river for a few minutes, past stone park buildings and old rock walls. I then double back. A stream flows down off the cliff, guided by a stone sluiceway. I hike the sluiceway uphill to an archway where the stream passes below Henry Hudson Drive. The water volume is pretty small but nevertheless makes some nice cataracts and small waterfalls. Bright yellow leaves adhering to the wet rocks adds to the beauty. The stream forms a relatively wide embayment, lined with bushes, where it connects with the Hudson River. A flock of gulls are darting about it and a few mallard ducks are swimming on its surface.

[Rockefeller Lookout]. I continue north on Henry Hudson Drive to Palisade Avenue and then drive it steeply uphill to the top of the ridge. Past this point, Henry Hudson Drive is closed to vehicular traffic. I connect with the Palisades Parkway and take it a mile or so north to Rockefeller Lookout. This point is about even with the northern tip of Manhattan. The Harlem River, which separates Manhattan from Spuyten Duyvil (“Devil’s Whirlpool”, part of The Bronx), connects with the Hudson River here, creating a fairly narrow notch or canyon. I can see two bridges spanning the Harlem from this vantage, the Henry Hudson Bridge, a high a decked arch highway bridge and the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, a low swing railway bridge.

[Alpine Lookout]. I make a final brief stop at Alpine Lookout, a few miles further north along the Palisades Parkway. The view looks eastward to the city of Yonkers, NY. Prominent along the Yonkers waterfront are the Blue Cube, a disused undersea cable testing facility, and then New York Central Railroad’s Glenwood Power Station. Several barges are moored mid river, including The Potomac.