Sepia hues dotted the landscape amidst sparse, lingering amber and burnt crimson. Goldenrod danced in the breeze. Waterlogged clouds released their burden as the Deer Haven Park tour bus pulled away from the Visitor Center. Tourists had requested optional walking tours and obliging, the park had sold out for this maiden journey.
A bus ride hosted the beginning and end of the event as the tour guide relayed historical highlights during the roughly two-mile drive deep into and out of the park. While entering the Bravo block, senses were heightened as a herd of brown whitetail were encountered calmly grazing.
Upon disembarking, the adventurers were pleased to see the rain had dissipated. A few hundred feet ahead the group made their first stop to assess an abandoned red ceramic building. Built in 1941, these buildings once accommodated black powder silk ammo bags, later transitioning to mini on base military maintenance and storage facilities. A ghost repository within, the soul of this building’s former self currently exhibited a mere frayed thread in the vast fabric of time. Nearby, perishing corn husks rustled in the breeze, skeletons of their former selves. Their presence served to enhance the overall sense of what once was.
Beyond those, sight unseen, a chorus of transient geese could be heard honking their appreciation of the nearby 60-acre pond. The pond’s water acted as a professionally amplified sounding board, lifting the fowl’s chant into the atmosphere.
As the explorers ventured onward, a rarely seen dispossessed family farm foundation came into view. Its cement stone rising staunchly from the earth in a manner which suggested it would never relinquish its stake in history.
Northward bound, a pause was noted by some as a hush fell and zoom lenses raised to capture distantly foraging white whitetail deer. Further down the trail, the group encountered the rear entrance to the secreted “Q” area. Standing as mere nuts near its triple perimeter fencing, the former 295th Military Police security surveillance equipment still commanded an astonishingly dominant presence. The gray of the day added an eerie essence when, as if on cue, the drizzling rain returned.
Undeterred, the group ventured westward into the Alpha block where numerous brown whitetails pranced gallantly here and there, making their presence known. Discussions incorporated not only the military history, but the land prior to the Revolutionary War, as well as the plethora of wildlife who call the park home.
The group’s entire hike covered 1.7 miles and put into perspective the immensity of the over 3,000-acre conservation site. A rarely accessed Alpha block igloo was visited, as was a personnel bomb shelter. By the time the group reached the beaver activity area, the two-hour hike was nearing its end. After a lesson on the beavers, and encountering their immense dam, the group reboarded the awaiting bus for the last leg of their journey. Delightfully, a row of wild turkey trekked across the exit road just ahead of the vehicle.
A slightly damp but jubilant crew arrived back at the Visitor Center, all with greater appreciation of what once was, and what now is. The land beyond the fence tends to whisper its secrets to those who care to listen.
Coincidentally, this maiden walking tour opened the door to two private walking tour events for both the University of Rochester’s Kristin Doughty’s anthropology class, and Cornell University’s Amiel Bize’s class on the area’s ecological history.
What an absolute honor for DHP to host both educational events whose attendees gratefully expanded their horizons to now include those which lie beyond the fence.
Dee Calvasina is an author, freelance writer and monthly columnist who supports the conservation of military history, nature and wildlife at Deer Haven Park, LLC.
BEYOND THE FENCE: A walk to remember
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09.12.2023
Sepia hues dotted the landscape amidst sparse, lingering amber and burnt crimson. Goldenrod danced in the breeze. Waterlogged clouds released their burden as the Deer Haven Park tour bus pulled away from the Visitor Center. Tourists had requested optional walking tours and obliging, the park had sold out for this maiden journey.
A bus ride hosted the beginning and end of the event as the tour guide relayed historical highlights during the roughly two-mile drive deep into and out of the park. While entering the Bravo block, senses were heightened as a herd of brown whitetail were encountered calmly grazing.
Upon disembarking, the adventurers were pleased to see the rain had dissipated. A few hundred feet ahead the group made their first stop to assess an abandoned red ceramic building. Built in 1941, these buildings once accommodated black powder silk ammo bags, later transitioning to mini on base military maintenance and storage facilities. A ghost........
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