Favorite Trails

Yesterday, I was hiking the trail from Pakim Pond to the rangers' station in Brendan Byrne forest, which is roughly 6 miles round trip.  It is my favorite trail.  I asked my hiking buddy Barbara Spector, which is her favorite trail and she said, as I knew she would, Parvin State Park.  I've hiked there with her many times. 

We listed all our favorite trails in order of preference and I was wondering what other peoples' favorites are.  My e-mail is wrightj45@yahoo.com, if you wish to let me know your favorites.  If I hear from you, I'll post them here.

This was my second time on the Cranberry trail this week.  The previous hike had been momentous in that my other best hiking buddy, Barbara Solem, had convinced me it was safe to let Trixie, my new dog of one month, off her leash as she is so very well-behaved and responds well to commands to "stay" and "sit" and "come".  And indeed she stayed right with us the whole time and was practically dancing in her delight at being free to walk at her own pace and stop and sniff at her leisure. 

Barbara Solem's favorite trail is around Atsion Lake.  We all love Estelle Manor, where we hiked last week, and of course, Goshen and Batsto.  Winter i my favorite time for hiking, too, because there are no chiggers or ticks.

There are interesting monuments in the heart of the woods on various trails, for example, the Carranza Monument, and, on the Cranberry Trail,  the David F. Moore monument.  I found the following information on David F. Moore.

I want to thank him and any other devoted workers for conservation for preservign these beautiful places for those of us who go there and find peace and balance as well as joy. 

from a site called Zoom In - "Dave Moore was executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation from 1969-1999 and is now serving on the organization's Board of Trustees.
He is also currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the Delaware River Mill Society. He has served on numerous other nonprofits throughout his career, including the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust, New Jersey Tidelands Resource Council, New Jersey Natural Areas Council, New Jersey Recycling Forum, Council on New Jersey Affairs, the state's Waterfowl Advisory Committee, Natural Area Council in Washington, D.C. and the Stockton Alliance."

Louisa May Alcott at peachfields

There are a few of my childhood books that had a powerful influence on me and that, when I read them, cast a hypnotic spell, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, was certainly one.  Another was Outdoor Girls on a Hike, along with the Trixie Belden series of mysteries and, of course, Nancy Drew. 

On Sunday, a friend and I went to Peachfields, 180 Burrs Road, Westampton, Nj 08060, to hear a history theater performer portray Louisa May Alcott.  This was syncronicity at its best because I had just finished reading Susan Cheever's biography of Alcott. 

This day provided a double delight because I am always happy to visit Peachfields, a most beautiful historic house from the early 1700's and I enjoy the living history theater presentations, a number of which I have been lucky enough to have experienced.  So far, I have heard, among others, George and Martha Washington, at Monmouth Battlefield, Clara Barton, and Molly Pitcher, and a few others whose names I can't recall at this moment, several of which I heard at the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, such as Abigail Adams. 

It was a bright, sunny, cold day with a coat of snow on the fields around Peachfields.  Peachfields is under the guardianship of the Colonial Dames of America in New Jersey.  They also preserve and give tours of the oldest schoolhouse in New Jersy built in 1759 which is located at 35 Brainerd St. in Mount Holly, NJ.

On March 3rd there will be a presentation on Walt Whitman at Peachfields from 2 to 4.    Harriet Beecher Stow will be featured on April 7th and Mark Twain on May 5th. 

Literature was my first love, before I found the magic in History, so putting the two together is a great delight.  I'll be attending all three presentations.  Make reservations in advance, it gets filled up - call 609-267-6996. 

Tomorrow, I'll post a couple of photos. 

A note on a different subject.  Yesterday I was delighted to sell a painting I have done of Atsion Mansion to Barbara Solem who has been the organizer behind getting the volunteers and putting the time in to give tours of that lovely house for the past year.  It will open again in May.

Little hidden gems

From time to time, I like to branch out from historic places into parks and woods and this entry is another about the little hidden parks I find with my walking buddies.

You may remember an entry about a little park on Clements Bridge Road that was so hard to find, my walking buddy of the day, Barbara Spector, who is also a kind and generous volunteer for animal shelters in this area, drove by the park three times and even stopped for directions before we saw the little parking lot.

Similarly, I got lost at least once before I found this park, which is called Woodbrook Park Trail.  Finally, the way I found it was by using my gps with the address of Auletto Caterers, which is directly across the street from Auletto's.  I was told about the park by a dog walking buddy, Terry, whom I know from Knight's Park in Collingswood.

Speaking of 'dog buddies' I was so lonesome after my great lab Blizzard passed away this summer, that I with the help of the aforementioned Barbara Spector, I adopted another lab.  This one's name is Trixie (after Trixie Bleden - the detective).  She is a 3 year old silver lab, which is a mix of Weimaraner and chocolate Lab.

So far, Trixie and I have hiked the CranberryTrail from Pakim Pond to the Ranger Station at Brendan Byrne and back (6 miles round trip) and Parvin State Park Trail, Haddon Heights Park, Newton Creek Park, Cooper River and Kinghts Park where she met all my former dog walking buddies.  And This little park, Woodbrook, is about a mile round trip.  I can't see what I'm typing here so I apologise for any errors.  There is a pop up ad that is covering the bottom of my post and I can seem to move it away, so I guess that signals the end of this post.  Happy Trails to you!  eventually, we will resume our State Parks hiking.