|
|
|
|
April 11 - 18
Happy Returns
Jacob sheep await their spring haircut at Jenny Jump Farm.
You’re ready to submit your tax return to the government and clear your desk of all suspicious matters (correct?) Do not let Spring depreciate further; time to dig yourself back into Mother Earth! And what finer place to dig than the New Jersey’s Great Northwest Skylands? Take advantage of a calendar budding with intriguing things for you and your family to enjoy. Or use the
Outdoor Directory for links to all sorts of hikes and outdoor fun!
Schedule SeeThe massive 32-foot-high stone blast furnace at Split Rock was erected in 1862 during the Civil War, the last charcoal-fired furnace built in New Jersey. It operated for only about ten years, consuming approximately one acre of woodland each day for charcoal fuel. The original Splitrock tract consisted of 3,000 acres in the Farny highlands that included forges, mines and a village, remnants of which are evident throughout the area.
Split Rock Reservoir’s charm lies in its remote, almost hidden location. You can approach it from Rockaway Township via Hibernia Road or through Boonton Township via Split Rock Road. Either way, you end in a mile-long unpaved stretch that brings you to parking and to a one-lane bridge with an unspoiled view down the length of the nearly six-hundred-acre body of water.
Not far from Split Rock Road, accessible by trail, stand the towering Split Rock Furnace ruins. This Saturday (April 13, 10am) you can enjoy a heritage walk through the tract (map) guided by Joe Macasek, New Jersey's foremost expert on our state's industrial era. For additional information and to reserve your spot ($5 parks donation), please email Joe at macgraphics2@gmail.com.
When you're done, there's much more to do!
Hidden Assets
This spring, head for the woods on a special type of hunt. You won't find explicit directions, but if you log any appreciable trail time in the spring, you'll eventually come across a vernal pool. These distinctive wetlands are seasonal surprises, maybe something that you've never noticed before. The pools play hide and seek with woods walkers and the critters that inhabit them.
This Sunday (April 14, 2pm), visit some vernal pools on a special guided hike sponsored by Friends of Lusscroft Farm. Donation requested. 50 Neilson Road, 973/262-4732.
Avian Audit
Silent in winter, a loon's spring call is eerie, from the age of dinosaurs. (Dan Bacon)
The pursuit of birds in view
appeals to lots of people for lots of reasons.
Beyond the activity's obvious natural allure, "chasing" birds
keeps watchers physically fit. Learning and identifying
hundreds of species on the fly challenges the
intellect and intensifies awareness. And for
photographers and illustrators, there is no better
subject. The concentration of ridges, valleys
and wetlands in our area holds a fortune of interaction
with the avian experience any time of year,
but
especially in spring...
Net Worth
Picatinny Peak rises above Picatinny Lake, once known as Clifford Pond.
The Cultural Resource Program at Picatinny Arsenal has documented dozens of historic and Native American archaeological sites that tell a story that spans centuries in the New Jersey Highlands. More...
Household Income
The Jim and Mary Lee Museum
Jim Lee, Sr., a railroad conductor who grew up in Phillipsburg, was so fascinated with the Morris Canal that he bought what had been the site of one of the canal's inclined planes, and moved his young family to a trim two-story house where the man who operated the plane had lived. If it weren't for Mr. Lee's extensive work documenting the Morris Canal era, it may have been entirely forgotten. Today, the former plane tender's home at the Morris Canal's Inclined Plane #9 West in Greenwich Twp., houses a collection of Morris Canal artifacts as the Jim and Mary Lee Museum. The museum is open for visitation this Sunday, April 14. 477 County Route 519, Stewartsville.
Sign up for Warren County Wanderings, and get regular updates on things to do in Warren County. Or visit the Explore Warren website.
Subscribe!
Spring is here, and so is our latest issue.
Sign up
to receive your copy of the spring
Skylands Visitor magazine
here.
Meanwhile, while you wait for the mail, tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our current stories. Stay tuned to our Day Trip Map for good ideas for a scenic drive! For the more aerobically inclined, the
Outdoor Map
shows the way to go, or
choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website. Northwest New Jersey and destinations just beyond those borders, in Pennsylvania and New York, offer brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season.
If you prefer to receive updates on stories, upcoming events, and special offers via Facebook, you can follow along here.
Share this email
*|MC:TOPSHARE|*
Skylands Visitor Magazine, PO Box 329, Columbia, NJ • Privacy Statement |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
