New Croton Dam

Sunday was one of those days where we were slow to get started and sorta hemmed and hawed about what we wanted to do. I finally flipped through the "Fun File" - a file full of fun things to do around our area.  I had no idea what I was looking for, but a picture of a dam caught my eye.  A quick wikipedia and google maps search and we were off to the New Croton Dam. 

It was stunning! A little hide away 25 minutes from our front door. It was still pretty hot and sticky out, but being near the water as it rushed over the dam made it feel a bit cooler (wishful thinking, eh). 

 It was nice to just get out and explore a part of the county where we've never been too.  It was even more remarkable to see so much water flowing after days of insane and very unusual heat.

And it's quite the structure. It's really remarkable to think about the engineering and materials that went into this and how it all holds back the water.  We also tried to find a trail that supposedly led up to the top of the dam, but weren't able to, hopefully next time.

 And of course, Flat Judah came along for the ride. He "told" me later that since Un-Flat Judah lives an hour or so from the Hoover Dam, he wasn't that impressed. Even Flat that kid is a comedian!

We then began a walk/hike along a trail at the park. It was so peaceful being alone in the woods, the trail was perfectly framed by trees and we saw some interesting wild berries and other greenery.

It wasn't too long before the stormy clouds in the distance began to thunder and we decided that being in the woods was a really bad idea. Within 30 seconds of getting into the car, the skies opened up! We seriously needed the rain and we will seriously be going back to the Dam to explore some more!