A Lovely Day, A Rushing River, A Historic Bridge

Here it is, nearly October, and summery warmth continues,  although thankfully moderated to a more comfortable level. It was so nice today, my husband Denis and I took a picnic up to Hadley, to a lovely little park on Dean Mountain Road, overlooking the rushing whitewater Sacandaga River, just upstream from where it joins the Hudson.  The sound of the rapids just below the deck we sat on was tranquilizing, and the view downstream included sight of the lovely old historic Parabolic Bridge linking Hadley to the village of Lake Luzerne.

A bench on this deck offered comfortable seating while we picnicked, accompanied by the music of rushing water just below us.

The sound of the rushing water so close beneath us was delightful. And for good reason. I have read that crashing water (think pounding surf, babbling streams, or waterfalls) creates negative ions in the air that can have a tranquilizing and mood enhancing effect, as this article from WebMD explains.  And the Sacandaga River always provides plenty of negative ions, thanks to its abundance of whitewater rapids.

Our downstream view included two bridges spanning the Sacandaga River, the nearer one a railroad bridge and a second bridge beyond it, a parabolic bow bridge, which is quite an interesting historic structure. 

Here's an entry from Wikipedia that presents some information about this bridge:

"The Hadley Parabolic Bridge, often referred to locally as the Hadley Bow Bridge, carries Corinth Road (Saratoga County Route 1) across the Sacandaga River in Hadley, New York. It is an iron bridge dating from the late 19th century.

"It is the only surviving iron semi-deck lenticular truss bridge in the state, and the only extant of three known to have been built. In 1977 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Shortly afterwards it was closed to vehicular traffic, and at some time later to pedestrians as well.

"The county had considered demolishing it, but held off after heavy lobbying from local preservation groups. In 2006 it was reconstructed and restored with federal and state grants, and reopened without any load restrictions." 

And here's a little closer view of this handsome historical bridge, thanks to my camera's zoom. When I'm heading north toward Lake Luzerne on Rte. 9N, I often take a short detour through Hadley just to cross this bridge and enjoy the view of the river beneath.  So beautiful!