[Leica] IMG: Croton Dam views

[photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)]

Looks like a truly great place to visit on any kind of wheels, and on foot!

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com

Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog



On Dec 8, 2009, at 5:13 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> *I'm hardly as avid a biker as Nathan but during the summer months I ride
> the hills and small roads of my neighborhood for a modicum of exercise.
> Generally I carry a small P&S camera in my saddle bag in case I run across
> an interesting sight. As I was putting the bike away for the winter I found
> that I had not downloaded many of the pictures taken over the last two
> years. The battery was dead flat but I could still pull the images off the
> chip.*
> 
> **
> 
> *If you are in or near New York you don't have to travel to China or Egypt
> to see man made wonders of the world. The New Croton Dam, part of the New
> York water supply system, stretches across the Croton River about 22 miles
> (35 km) north of New York City. This dam is the third largest cut stone
> structure in the world, exceeded only by the Great Wall of China and the
> Great Pyramid of Giza. A gravity aqueduct carries the water 40 miles from
> Croton to the reservoir lake in Central Park.  It's downhill all the way.
> You can still walk the Aqueduct Trail stretching from the dam to the city.
> Or bike it or ski it depending on the weather.*
> 
> 
> *Italian stone cutters were hired enmasse to build the dam. Many brought
> their families with them or married local girls and remained in the area
> after the work was completed. Quite a few were closet sculptors and
> painters. The village of Croton-on-Hudson acquired a reputation as a free
> thinking art center. It was also a hotbed of pre-WWI radicalism. Many of 
> our
> native born socialists and Communists, including Max Eastman, Daily Worker
> editor Robert Minor, and John Reed, author of "Ten Days that Shook the
> World," lived in Croton. Today, however, it tends to vote Republican.*
> 
> 
> *I usually bike to the dam on very nice days or just after a torrential
> rainfall. In beautiful weather the park at the base of the dam is a 
> pleasant
> place to relax. Just after a heavy rainfall, the overflow from the spillway
> makes Niagara Falls look anemic (an exaggeration - but not by much). The
> Croton River below the dam is one of the best trout streams in a state 
> known
> for good fishing.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *This is an exhausted me with my bike. The picture was taken a while back. 
> I
> have a beard now.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/1_+Tired+biker_+Larry+Z.jpg.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *The dam on a nice fall day.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/2+_Croton+Dam+in+Fall.jpg.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *The Croton Gorge. The dam overflow runs to the Hudson River.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/3_+Croton+Gorge.jpg.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *Croton Park. A favorite picnic spot to the sound of rushing water.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/4_+Croton+dam+park+2.JPG.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *Motorcycles too.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/5_+Croton+dam+park+5.JPG.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *The dam is much larger than it looks from the front. The spillway 
> stretches
> over a mile and impounds the Croton reservoir.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/6_+Croton+Dam+spillway.jpg.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *Spring rains send a torrent of water over the dam, flooding the gorge.*
> 
> *
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/7_+Croton+dam+spring+flood.JPG.html
> *
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *The overflow is spectacular. Almost century ago these waters were ducted 
> to
> turbines within the dam to generate electricity for the community. There is
> talk of refurbishing them for green power.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/8_+Croton+Dam+overflow.JPG.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *A view from the bridge over the gorge.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/9_+Croton+dam+view.JPG.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *The waters downstream of the dam provide some of the best trout fishing in
> a state know for good trout streams.*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/10_+Croton+dam+fishing+2.JPG.html*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *Got one!*
> 
> *http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/11_+Croton+dam+fishing+1.JPG.html*
> 
> **
> 
> **
> 
> **
> 
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