Stateline Lookout, in Palisades Interstate Park. An old state road runs along the top of the Palisades overlooking the western shore of the Hudson River. Five-hundred feet above the water, the views extend from the new Tappan Zee bridge to the edge of the Bronx.

Our two-mile loop hike–following a trail down the cliffs to the forest below–leads us to a junction. Almost a mile to the right lay the river. We take it, descending a further 250 feet from the equivalent that we already did. After a snack, and a soaking in of the tidal lapping of the river against the shore, we return the way we came. Upon reaching the junction, we continue on our original course, where we reunite with the old state road and gently ascend to the clifftops from which we began.

afternoon clouds

giving way to

the sun

the distant glimpse

of the Long Island Sound

for 18th July 2020 prompt: Gerry Muse #216 (occasional tanka prose) Walking the Earth