Recently, we were driving through New York's Catskill Mountains. The morning had been rainy with thunderstorms. As we drove west, the rain dissipated and where there had been fog or mist, it had cleared except for some patches that were evaporating.
This is not smoke - it is the mist evaporating. These pictures were taken along NY17.
This is a winding road which eventually will be I-86 (Interstate 86). Part of NY17 already is.
The Interstate project has been years in the making. There has been good and bad. Good is the elimination of some intersections (one in our area was especially dangerous) but there was, for example, the demise of Parksville, New York. Permit me to share some memories as I share these photos.
Parksville (not pictured) used to have a traffic light that stopped traffic on NY17. Those days, when we drove this road several times a year to get to downstate) bring back memories for me. Sadly, Parksville itself was dying before I came to this area in the 1980's but there was a brief revival. We would stop there with our young son to eat lunch or dinner sometimes. But then Rt 17 being rerouted for the I-86 project bypassed the town and
today Parksville is considered a ghost town. Parksville had an antique store called Memories, which we visited several times, and is now only a memory. One day, NY17 may be a memory, too, and it's these Catskills that are holding it up. Road work still needs to be done in the Catskills stretch on various exits and stretches to bring the road up to Interstate standards. In the meantime, the motorist is left with the beauty of these mountains.
Finally, here is a sky from yesterday afternoon.
Joining with Yogi and other skywatching bloggers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.
...for years I went to a nursery show every January at the Concord Hotel. What an experience.
ReplyDeleteMuch needed road improvement but with unfortunate side effects. Great shots of the mist, though.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. When I was a child my parents would take me to Bear Mountain. Don't know where that is in relation to the Catskills but it was always beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to see that part of the country. Looks so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful scenes and bittersweet memories.
ReplyDeleteI like the misty photos. Kind of mysterious!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. Sad to hear towns turning into memories.
ReplyDeleteYou captured it beautifully. It reminds me of the Great Smoky Mountains - lots of misty clouds that look like smoke.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty pix ... amazing to capture the mist in the air.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos and memories ~ hugs,
ReplyDeleteWishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Interstates tend to do that. Drivers have no reason to stop in town, just drive rest stop to rest stop and gas stations at exits and right back on. Of course, the death of railroad travel didn't help the small station towns either. There's a covered bridge not far from me, where a plaque tells the story of a stage coach stop, and grand hotel that was there.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a scenic road to drive along.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures
ReplyDeleteIt is sad when places decline. It's also sad when places grow out of all recognition.
ReplyDeleteI love misty mornings.
Beautiful photos!!
ReplyDeleteFreeways are the good and the bad. I remember the old days when it would take hours to get through various cities strung together to get anyway. Now we zoom on past and the many places disappeared.
Very nice drive-by shooting.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words