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November 20 - 26

Looking Back

On this November morning, many of the fields in our rural part of the state contain rows of corn stubble or the ragged remains of hay that has been harvested by this time of year. Memories can be found behind every boulder and around each bend.

Million Dollar Highway

Seen from Promontory Rock, Mt. Tammany rises across the river in New Jersey.
Lost history of the Delaware Water Gap area comes to light along a short drive along the Delaware River north of Portland, PA. A few stops along the way to get out and walk a bit reveal some of the area's old resort sites, all now gone. Of the lost resorts, the largest and most lavish were on the Pennsylvania side of the river.

Eminent Remains

A visitor walking around the Burying Ground of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown will recognize two things right away: a lot of gravestones corresponding to Morristown street names such as Mills, Cutler, Condict, DeHart, Vail and Phoenix (to name a few); and what the ravages of time and nature can do to a place.

A Bubblin' Crude

Discovering oil in New Jersey is not usually the happy occasion it may be in other parts of the world. Most often, it means trouble. But the problems discovered a few years ago in Newfoundland, had an interesting history. The first major oil pipeline in the United States, built by the Standard Oil Company, ran from Olean, New York to Bayonne, crossing Sussex and Morris Counties in the New Jersey Highlands, with a total capacity of over 50,000 barrels a day. More...

Up in Smoke

This eroding field at Wattles Stewardship Center in Asbury was taken out of farm production to protect a nearby Musconetcong River tributary and planted with the warm-season grasses. There is Indiangrass, switchgrass, little bluestem and big bluestem (with the turkeyfoot top). Among the field’s inhabitants are field sparrow, Savannah sparrow, and pollinators like cabbage white butterflies and native bees.
They called it “prairie coal”. The abundant fuel that kept American midwestern farming families warm through the winters of the late nineteenth century was the tall grass that grew wild all around them across the plains, twisted into bundles and burned in rudimentary household stoves. Warm season grasses might still be a steady reliable source of heat-yielding, combustible, carbon-rich biofuel — and 90% emission free!


Thanks for joining us in our appreciation of Northwest New Jersey and all the brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season. Tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our current stories. Pick from a multitude of daytrip itineraries and watch out for our virtual efforts to keep you informed. 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.
Like many other small, independent and specialized information sources, our operation will increasingly rely on reader donations. Help us keep you informed about all the great stuff to do in and around Northwest New Jersey! If you like what we offer, we hope you'll consider a contribution.

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