Day off - August 28
Well, our haircuts were interesting. YIKES! My color came
out OK, but Greg’s hair is almost as short at his boot camp photo. The guy took
an electric clipper and just went to town. Mine left the front long, but the
back is almost shaved with the top part left longer. My regular stylist will
have a fun time getting this mess back to normal. At least hair grows……
bushes across the street from the hair salon
I did get caught up on some emails which was nice. I also
booked our 3 day extension for Moscow after the train trip for next year.
Tomorrow we are off to do some hiking and birding near
Albany.
Pine Bush Discovery Center & Vischer
Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve - Albany, NY - August 29
We had a short drive today (about 10 minutes) to the Albany
Pine Bush Discovery Center which is located between the Catskill and Adirondack
mountains and is a 3,300 acre preserve. The Albany Pine Bush is an inland pine
barrens. This ecosystem is similar to coastal pine barrens found in New Jersey,
Cape Cod and Long Island, but this one is different because it occurs inland.
There are about 20 miles of hiking trails to choose from. We
did around 3 miles on mostly sand or gravel paths. There were quite a few
pockets of mixed flock birds with lots of wildflowers and butterflies.
Discovery Center
Field Sparrow
Small Copper
Bronze Copper
American Burnweek
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Common Tansy
Black-capped Chickadee
Prairie Warbler
Field Sparrow
Common Tansy
Touch me Not Jewelweed
Greg on the path
American Burnweek
Orangestriped Oakworm
We grabbed a quick lunch and then went to Vischer Ferry
Nature & Historic Preserve and hiked another mile and a half. The terrain
also was pretty easy.
The Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve is a 740-acre
site along the Mohawk River in the Town of Clifton Park, New York, near the
hamlet of Vischer Ferry.
A segment of the original 1825 Erie Canal and Towpath, a
segment and a number of structures of the 1842 Enlarged Erie Canal, and the
current NY State Barge Canal are accessible within the preserve. The entrance
to the preserve includes a restored 1862 Whipple Truss Bridge, a design used
widely to bridge the canal during the latter half of the 19th century.
pond across the street
1862 Whipple Truss Bridge
they are having an algae bloom
Lythrum
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar
Pale Jewelweed
Pale Jewelweed
Great Blue Heron
Wood Ducks & Turtles
Mohawk River
Great Blue Heron
Swamp Smartweed
After our hike we went back to the same ice cream place as
yesterday at Guptill’s
Ice Cream. It is some of the best ice cream we have had on this trip.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/u91fMqaWV8VgKfbw7
We had dinner back at the hotel and got packed up to leave
tomorrow for Coventry, Rhode Island.
