Come Along With Me...

...for a little history lesson! No, no, not the boring kind, the cool kind! My Family and I love living just outside New York City, since this area is so historic and beautiful. This morning, my human and Girl Twin took me for a long walk along the Croton Aqueduct.

Well, actually, on the footpath that runs on top of it, since the aqueduct itself is an almost 9 ft x 8 ft elliptical, brick-lined, mostly-underground tunnel (but wouldn’t that be a pawsome walk?!).

The Croton Aqueduct is a National Historic Landmark, and is considered one of the great engineering achievements of the 19th century.

Now, you might be asking how a puppy could possibly know all this…I’m a good listener! My human told Girl Twin all about the aqueduct and the village of Irvington, NY, where we stopped for a drink, and I was all ears. Beauty and brains, that’s me!

The Croton Aqueduct helped to fuel Manhattan’s explosive growth in the mid 1800’s by bringing its first supply of clean and plentiful water. Opened in 1842, it was still in use until 1955, when it was replaced by a bigger aqueduct which serves NYC to this day. It carried water 41 miles (!!!) from the Old Croton Dam in Westchester County (north of NYC) to two reservoirs in Manhattan, where it was distributed to the rest of the city.

Here’s the cool part…how did all that water continue to flow nonstop for 41 miles? Gravity! Based on engineering principles from the Roman times, the tunnel drops gently 13 inches per mile. Imagine having to maintain that angle, tunneling through rock, over valleys, through streams, all before the advent of modern technology! No wonder it was (and still is) an astonishing feat.

Today, about half of the original aqueduct footpath is a walkable trail. We walked along the portion that connects the villages of Dobbs Ferry and Irvington. It’s a great spot to meet other doggies!

Billy the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Enzo the French Bulldog

Jasper the Tibetan Terrier (very cool...never met one of those before!)

Taz the Goldendoodle (who has dreamy hazel eyes under that hair!)

And lastly, a Portuguese Water Dog whose name I didn't catch (that didn't stop me from playing kissy-face with him!). I asked him if he knew Bo...he didn't.

This is one of the many marble ventilator turrets, set about a mile apart on the path, that kept fresh air circulating in the aqueduct beneath. Wow, that thing is 167 years older than me!!

We stopped in the picturesque village of Irvington, named for one of America’s greatest writers, Washington Irving (he lived here for a bit). The village of Sleepy Hollow (yep, as in “The Legend of”) is just down the road.

Main Street. It slopes down to the majestic Hudson River, seen just through the trees.

Da Man himself, Washington Irving: America's first internationally-known writer. His beloved home on the Hudson, Sunnyside, is in the next village over (Tarrytown).

A bronze statue of Rip Van Winkle, one of Irving's best-known characters.

Some refreshing H2O with Girl Twin, in front of the Town Hall.

A quaint groomer for humans.

Some of the charming houses along the way (can you tell they're purple & pink?)

Checking out the Irvington peemail before heading for home.

Does your human take you to visit any cool historic places near where you live?