Jump Off Rock - A Leap of Faith

The late afternoon sun played hide and seek behind an obliging team of thick clouds. It could even rain again, or maybe not. It was just that kind of day. It's been several months since I've ridden to the top of Jump Off. I always love that ride because it has a defined beginning and and very well defined end. You can almost hear the ratchet of the straining chains as you inch up winding hills like the aged coaster at Palisades Park as it escorts it's pensive patrons to the pinnacle overlooking the Hudson. In this case the pinnacle is the highest peak for miles with views that challenge the minds eye to seeing beyond the village centers below to perhaps the very dawn of civilization. Within that eternity, one visitor shared with us her story behind the legend of Jump Off Rock. The American Native  Ingénue  having lost her love to the insanity of war chose to end her life in a fatal leap of faith from a ledge from which she felt she could envision heaven. 

 For those of us who yearn to 

capture these images of splendor so that somehow we can keep them, it's our awareness of the transient nature of our fragile lives, the novelty of our digital canvas to isolate and preserve each moment with a click and our leap of faith to be there in the moment.