By Bob Difley
Western RVers tend to think that the only true wild areas in the United States lie from the Rocky Mountains west. But Easterners know the secrets of the Hudson River Valley that runs from New York City north through lush forests for 150 miles and is navigable all the way to Albany.
In between you will find thousands of acres of preserved open space land with hiking trails, scenic river views, and challenging ridge tops just waiting to be explored.
But it didn’t always look like the great forests surrounding the river would survive as the population spread out from the exploding metropolis of New York requiring millions of board feet of timber to build houses, barns, and factories. The River became the highway for commerce and movement of goods and, unfortunately, as a convenient depository for waste from factories, farms–pollution from thousands of acres surrounding the river.
In a new DVD Bill Moyers explores the history, the people, and the efforts by some dedicated preservationists to reverse the degradation of the river and to preserve the surrounding hills for the enjoyment of both locals and visitors , and not just for the profits of the large companies that sought to extract its wealth.
If you are planning a camping trip to the Hudson River Valley, Bill Moyers: On The Hudson–America’s First River, is a two-disc 231-minute documentary that explores how early settlers, expansionists, conservationists, fishermen, entrepreneurs, and factory operators viewed the river.
Their views, as could be expected, were often at loggerheads and vicious fights between disparate groups nearly resulted in the permanent destruction of the river. Moyer takes an intimate look through the eyes of the local population of how the river was saved and what the Hudson Valley has become today, making this DVD a valuable source of information and entertainment for anyone interested in and traveling through the Hudson River Valley.
The DVD will be released on July 16, 2013 and will be available from various sources for media for an SRP of $39.99.
For more RVing articles and tips take a look at my Healthy RV Lifestyle website, where you will also find my ebooks: BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (PDF or Kindle), 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for your RV Lifestyle Buck (PDF or Kindle), and Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts (PDF or Kindle), and my newest, The RV Lifestyle: Reflections of Life on the Road (Kindle reader version). NOTE: Use the Kindle version to read on iPad and iPhone or any device that has the free Kindle reader app.