During our two lane adventures, we get the opportunity to
see many scenic byways. A scenic byway is a road, but not just a road ... It's
a road with a story to tell. Some scenic byway might offer magnificent views or
fascinating historical sites or amazing wildlife. It might offer access to an
exhilarating array of outdoor activities or reveal captivating cultures,
spellbinding art or spectacular structures. The Shawangunk, pronounced SHON-gum,
Mountains Scenic Byway runs through the Shawangunk Mountain area. It is a true
paradise for hikers, rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts of all types. Towns
and villages along the trail are a blend of the past and present. Historic
sites and architecture mingle with modern shops and activities. This area is
well known for its thriving population of artisans and the unique shops that
sell their wares. The
88-mile byway encircles the northern Shawangunk Mountains
and travels through the Rondout and Wallkill valleys, linking communities that
have a common relationship to the northern Shawangunks and forming a distinct
region of the state with its own special character. The state awarded
designation based on the significance of the scenic, natural, historic and
recreational resources in the region. We followed a portion of the Wallkill
Valley Route from the center of Pine Bush east. The scenery changes
from commercial to rural countryside, with woods, open fields and the
Shawangunk Mountain backdrop at Black Hawk Road. There are more working dairy
farms along this stretch of road than any other part of the Byway. There are several
horse farms and acres of pasture for grazing. The largest farm is the “Blue
Chip,” which is owned by some Wall Street investors, hence the name! At Old
Ford Road the landscape opens up with the most awesome views of the escarpment that
you’ll see along the Byway. Orchards and
woodlands span the country side, this is truly “Apple Country”. Be sure to stop
at one of the farm stands as you travel this roadway; fruit, vegetables, garden
plants and ice cream are all so fresh.
Richard and Vera took us to Watchtower Farms, which is very
near the area they summer at. It is a group of farms that has played an
important role in the worldwide work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The first of the
Watchtower Farms, as the facilities are now known, was purchased 50 years ago,
on January 2, 1963. The first farm was obtained as a cost-effective way to feed
the growing staff of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn. The other farmland that
Jehovah’s Witnesses had been using in upstate New York took between six and
eight hours to reach from Brooklyn. Wallkill is only two hours away. This made
it the ideal spot for their needs. Jehovah’s
Witnesses uses this farm to grow
fruits and vegetables and to produce poultry, pork, and beef, as well as dairy
products. In time, more farms have been added. The Watchtower Farms are more
than just a farm, in addition to producing literal crops that can be harvested,
literature began to be produced that would help with the figurative harvest
work. During the mid-20th century, the print shop located in Brooklyn, produced
the majority of our Bible-based literature. But as the demand for literature
increased, the Brooklyn print shop was no longer able to keep pace. So in 1973,
Jehovah’s Witnesses completed construction of an additional print shop at
Wallkill. Since then, the buildings housing the printing operations have been
expanded several times. Currently, Jehovah’s Witnesses are constructing more office,
residence, and support facilities at Watchtower Farms. This compound is almost overwhelming in size!
To many people, Pine Bush, is just like any of the other
towns found in northern Orange County. It’s small, filled with local flavor,
and is currently being encroached upon by chain stores and condos that are
slowly replacing the more rural life the area is accustomed to. Yes, on the
surface, Pine Bush faces the same problems all the other suburbs face. But we
were told that Pine Bush is far from a normal, quiet suburb. If it were as
average as it seems at first glance, flocks of outsiders would not have swarmed
the town at night for the past quarter of a century, racking up trespassing
fines and clogging local roads. If Pine Bush was normal, it wouldn’t be known
to conspiracy theorists the world over and it certainly wouldn’t be the subject
of almost endless discussion in Internet chat rooms. If Pine Bush was truly as
peaceful as it appears, locals wouldn’t tell tales of their unbelievable
sightings on the checkout line at the local supermarkets, they wouldn’t have so
many stories of treacherous encounters with strange creatures, and they
certainly wouldn’t make so many wild, incredulous claims about alien abductions
and nefarious experiments conducted upon the unsuspecting townsfolk of Pine
Bush.
No, Pine Bush is no normal Orange County suburb. Pine Bush
is widely regarded as the UFO capital of the east coast. The Hudson Valley of
New York has long been referred to as the home of some truly strange
occurrences. Ghost lights are seen in the woods regularly. Ghosts themselves
run rampant throughout the entire area. And, most famously, the Hudson Valley
has long been known to attract strange vessels and beings from outer space.
Pine Bush came to be known worldwide as the primary destination for these
extraterrestrial visitors in the area. Some Pine Bush locals have personal
stories of alien sightings, abductions and encounters dating as far back as the
1960s, but the town’s reputation as a hotbed of UFO activity was cemented
largely during an incredibly active flurry of strange sightings that occurred
in the mid-1980s and continued into the 1990s. Throughout the early part of the
’80s, a mysterious aircraft that has come to be referred to as “The Westchester
Boomerang” was seen over two thousand times in the general area, including a
handful of sightings in Pine Bush. As the craft’s name suggests, however, most
of the sightings occurred not in Orange, but in Westchester County. While the
sensational Westchester Boomerang was occupying the attention of researchers,
curious, quieter, less hyped, but just as strange events were happening on a
frighteningly regular basis in Pine Bush. As the hype over the Westchester
sightings died down, more and more people began to realize that truly strange,
phenomenal things were occurring in the seemingly normal rural village. They even
hold an annual Pine Bush UFO Fair & Parade in May. A few magazines and television programs
visited Pine Bush to conduct their own investigations. Most importantly, Ellen
Crystall’s book, Silent Invasion, chronicling her eleven year investigation
into the mysterious activities surrounding Pine Bush outed the town as a focal
point of UFO activity, and made people much more comfortable about coming
forward with their own personal tales.
out and pizza delivery restaurant chain in the world. Its slogan is "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John's." Internationally, there are over 4,600 Papa John's establishments, including over 3,200 in the U.S. and the remainder spread among 34 other countries. In September 2012, Papa John's Pizza opened its 4,000th restaurant. We did not catch a glimpse of him, but it was a very beautiful homestead. We stayed the night with Richard and Vera and headed out to Connecticut in the morning.
To many people, Pine Bush, is just like any of the other
towns found in northern Orange County. It’s small, filled with local flavor,
and is currently being encroached upon by chain stores and condos that are
slowly replacing the more rural life the area is accustomed to. Yes, on the
surface, Pine Bush faces the same problems all the other suburbs face. But we
were told that Pine Bush is far from a normal, quiet suburb. If it were as
average as it seems at first glance, flocks of outsiders would not have swarmed
the town at night for the past quarter of a century, racking up trespassing
fines and clogging local roads. If Pine Bush was normal, it wouldn’t be known
to conspiracy theorists the world over and it certainly wouldn’t be the subject
of almost endless discussion in Internet chat rooms. If Pine Bush was truly as
peaceful as it appears, locals wouldn’t tell tales of their unbelievable
sightings on the checkout line at the local supermarkets, they wouldn’t have so
many stories of treacherous encounters with strange creatures, and they
certainly wouldn’t make so many wild, incredulous claims about alien abductions
and nefarious experiments conducted upon the unsuspecting townsfolk of Pine
Bush. 
No, Pine Bush is no normal Orange County suburb. Pine Bush
is widely regarded as the UFO capital of the east coast. The Hudson Valley of
New York has long been referred to as the home of some truly strange
occurrences. Ghost lights are seen in the woods regularly. Ghosts themselves
run rampant throughout the entire area. And, most famously, the Hudson Valley
has long been known to attract strange vessels and beings from outer space.
Pine Bush came to be known worldwide as the primary destination for these
extraterrestrial visitors in the area. Some Pine Bush locals have personal
stories of alien sightings, abductions and encounters dating as far back as the
1960s, but the town’s reputation as a hotbed of UFO activity was cemented
largely during an incredibly active flurry of strange sightings that occurred
in the mid-1980s and continued into the 1990s. Throughout the early part of the
’80s, a mysterious aircraft that has come to be referred to as “The Westchester
Boomerang” was seen over two thousand times in the general area, including a
handful of sightings in Pine Bush. As the craft’s name suggests, however, most
of the sightings occurred not in Orange, but in Westchester County. While the
sensational Westchester Boomerang was occupying the attention of researchers,
curious, quieter, less hyped, but just as strange events were happening on a
frighteningly regular basis in Pine Bush. As the hype over the Westchester
sightings died down, more and more people began to realize that truly strange,
phenomenal things were occurring in the seemingly normal rural village. They even
hold an annual Pine Bush UFO Fair & Parade in May. A few magazines and television programs
visited Pine Bush to conduct their own investigations. Most importantly, Ellen
Crystall’s book, Silent Invasion, chronicling her eleven year investigation
into the mysterious activities surrounding Pine Bush outed the town as a focal
point of UFO activity, and made people much more comfortable about coming
forward with their own personal tales.
We even were treated to a bit of “star gazing” … Richard and
Vera took us on a roadside tour of the summer home of the owner of Papa John’s pizza. John Schnatter is the founder, CEO And spokesman for Papa John's. The story of his rise in the pizza business is quite an American dream. The Papa John's pizza business was founded in 1983 when he knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father's tavern in Indiana. He then sold his 1971 Camaro to purchase $1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern's customers out of the converted closet. His pizzas proved so popular that one year later he was able to move into an adjoining space. Today, the company is the third largest take-
We traveled to Nelson Family Campground to spend the night
before we could arrive at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival. This campground has been owned & operated by the Gustine family since 1964. It is located on 175 scenic acres in the heart of central Connecticut. The campground is an ideal place to camp, relax and enjoy the great outdoor life with your friends and family or just kicking back and escaping for a while. The campground shares a border with the Meshomasic State Forest and offers hiking trails into the forest. The campground has it's own pond and sandy "beach" area, but just down the road is Lake Pocotopaug.
For years, it has been a popular resort area. The lake is surrounded by numerous year round residences and summer cottages. It is especially noted for two islands in its center, separated by a narrow, shallow strait. Both islands have cabins. The lake's name comes from the local Pequot Indian word for "lake with pierced islands". Some time long before the area was settled by whites, the tribe living there felt they were being cursed by their irritable Great Spirit. To try and appease him, the main chief agreed to sacrifice his daughter, who willingly threw herself into the lake and drowned. The tribe's shamans announced that never again would an Indian be killed on the lake. Lake Pocotopaug at 512 acres.
We arrived at the 19th Annual Podunk Bluegrass festival. It is being held at the Hebron Lions Fairgrounds. Being members of the Hemlock Lake Union Agricultural Society, they operate the Hemlock "Little World's" Fair annually. We are always looking at other fairgrounds for upgrades or new ideas for our fair grounds. We are staying put for this great four day Bluegrass festival! Looking forward to a great line up of music! With three stages of entertainment, it should be a great time!
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