Rondout Valley
The creek, here wider and deeper, forms the bed of a widening valley as it continues northeast past Eastern Correctional Facility, where the first remnant of the canal, an empty ditch next to an old railroad station, can be found alongside. The creek continues towards Kerhonkson, where Route 55 and US 44 cross over. US 209 continues paralleling the Rondout towards High Falls, as it begins to curve to the east around the northern end of the ridge.
Here, it goes over the spectacular waterfall that gives the community its name, just below NY 213. These have been the subject of much controversy in recent years, since they are considered both a popular swimming hole and an attractive nuisance. The local fire department, which owned the land, had to sell it to keep its liability insurance premiums affordable, and the new owner has posted the property for the same reason. However, swimmers routinely descend on the area on warm days.
Read more about this topic: Rondout Creek, Course
Famous quotes containing the word valley:
“As I went forth early on a still and frosty morning, the trees looked like airy creatures of darkness caught napping; on this side huddled together, with their gray hairs streaming, in a secluded valley which the sun had not penetrated; on that, hurrying off in Indian file along some watercourse, while the shrubs and grasses, like elves and fairies of the night, sought to hide their diminished heads in the snow.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)