Having been to the Catskills to lead Photo Weekends so often, it is challenging to find something new each time. On this most recent trip I had two of my friends ride up with me, a day early to scout for the weekend tour. The company made it all the more enjoyable and we stopped in Highlands to walk across the Hudson and 1.3 mile bridge to Poughkeepsie. The mid-day sun didn’t make for very good photos but I managed one image, full of specular highlights that I enjoy. We stopped at the Esopus Lighthouse on the Hudson and the late-day sun was in the right position to ‘light up’ the lighthouse. The next morning it was raining so after breakfast at the diner we decided to take the tour of Olana … something we had never put down our cameras down to do. It was well worth it and afterwards the rain stopped and the clearing sky added some cloud interest to the estate. Cranes and scaffolding surrounded the mansion for repainting, so we ventured down to the barn and lake. Our Saturday morning spots included Bastion Falls, which you must get to first before the mobs. Then at the top of Kaaterskill Falls we could look down at the edge and see the tiny trail below. Our last stops before lunch included a picturesque stone church and Mountaintop Arboretum. In the afternoon we visited the Roaring Kill Bridge cascade area where I enjoyed looking for reflections with fall color, upstream from my usual spot. We stopped at the ever-popular and spooky, Cold Springs Inn before it became overcast and our light for the day faded. On Sunday morning it was raining lightly and we went to a nearby waterfall, a mountain lake, a great red barn and Ice Box Falls which is a short walk behind the Glen Falls House Resort. I thought that the autumn scene at the falls was especially nice and a perfect way to end the tour.
Denise Bush's Photo Blog 