Happy Fourth

The Man and I spent this 4th July back at the Mohonk Preserve in the Catskills, this time minus the children who prefered to stay at home with Grandma and Grandpa.

So we went for a more ambitious hike, which for a large section involved scrambling over and under rocks and through narrow crevices - a trail called the Labyrinth. It was pretty challenging, but worth it for the moment we emerged onto a plateau of rock so high up we could look down on a hovering hawk.

From there we went even higher, up Sky Top, a stone folly, from the top of which we could (said a notice) see four states.

A weird moment happened part way through our hike when we'd been walking a couple of miles or more mostly through quiet forest with just a few other hikers to say hello to. Then suddenly we were in the grounds of a grand hotel, in the middle of a 4th July parade with a band and a fire engine and people dressed in stars-and-stripes shorts.