Fourth of July... 2003. More late tree stuff. Went out of the City for a trip to someplace high up where its cool. We settled upon New Paltz ( Neu Pfaltz) as a destination, with a run up to Lake Minnewaska for advanced cooling. As we drove up into the mountains, we discovered the Mountain Laurel are in full bloom- a full month late. This is usually a Memorial Day experience. They are especially full this year, and the floor of the forest looked like it had 3-4 foot drifts of fluffy pink scattered under the trees. The forest gloom surrounding the hiking trails around Lake Minnewaska is lit up by the pink and white blooms, and the meadow we like to hike to was filled with bowers of bloom. People were swimming in the sun warmed lake and the beach was also surrounded with the late Mountain laurel blooms. Even without the Mountain Laurel this is one of the most scenic spots on the East Coast, if not the world.