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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Rail Trails

Summer Vacations with a Fun Twist

This summer, consider the convenience and relaxation of watching the world go by outside a panoramic side window instead of focusing on driving the road ahead. Train travel is also more cost-effective, affordable and eco-friendly than flying. SmarterTravel.com highlights railroad discounts for children, seniors, students, AAA members, military personnel and other demographics. Additional advantages include accessible central city terminals, a generous luggage policy and less time waiting until departures. If a station has an unattended parking lot, arrange to be dropped off.

Amtrak (Amtrak.com) encompasses 300 daily trains on more than 21,000 miles of track to more than 500 destinations. Particularly scenic routes include the California Zephyr that winds through the Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountains between San Francisco and Chicago; and the Adirondack train between New York City and Montreal, Canada, offering spectacular views of both its namesake national park and the historic Hudson River valley.

Amtrak’s 75 vacation packages (AmtrakVacations.com) range from three days to two weeks. Sights include the Grand Canyon and Glacier, Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks. Most long-distance routes provide sleeping accommodations with passenger amenities for day and night.

Advanced technology electric locomotives began enhancing Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor runs in 2016. Designed for maximum energy efficiency with a regenerative braking system that feeds back into the power grid, this innovation saves electricity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Amtrak’s partnership with CarbonFund.org allows passengers to offset the carbon emissions footprint from their rail travel. Custom contributions can be made via the Rail Calculator or short- or long-distance traveler or Amtrak Trainiac preset options on Amtrak’s website.

Many travelers also enjoy narrow-gauge, short-rail junkets. Popular options include Colorado’s Durango & Silverton Railroad (DurangoTrain. com), a nostalgic trip back to the mining days of the Old West; the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (CumbresToltec.com), a 45-mile ride along the New Mexico/Colorado border; and the Conway Scenic Railroad (ConwayScenic. com) in New Hampshire, within two hours of both Portland, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts

Neighboring Canada affords many scenic trains including trips connecting Toronto with Vancouver and Calgary. Visit RockyMountaineer.com and ViaRail.ca.

Eco Tip
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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