Springwood and Val-Kill

New York's Hudson River Valley has been a pleasant surprise.  We had originally arranged to come here because of the two geo-sites, but we have been awed by the beauty and grandeur of the Valley and the Catskill Mountains. Also by the rich history of the region.  Today we visited Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's homes in Hyde Park, which is about 45 miles from our campground. 

Henry A. Wallace Visitor Center where we began our tours by seeing a short film.

While waiting for our tour to begin we stepped outside and Frederick got his picture taken with Franklin and Eleanor.

Sima Siegel, our tour guide,  met us in theVisitor Center.  She talked about FDR's early life and his career and was very knowledgable.

We then walked about a quarter of a mile to Springwood, FDR's lifelong home.

We could take pictures inside, but the rooms were very dark.  This is a sitting room.

The library.  (So dark you can't even see the books on the shelves that line the walls.)

 A sculpture of a young Franklin that is in the entry hall.

The upstairs bedroom where FDR was born.

FDR's bedroom on the second floor.  He got up there using a large, dumb waiter. 

The adjacent room where Eleanor slept.

FDR's closet with some of his clothes.

View of the Hudson River Valley from FDR's bedroom.

The front of Springwood.

The rose garden where both Franklin and Eleanor are buried.

Franklin's grave with the larger flag; Eleanor's has three flags.

This sculpture, in the so-called Freedom Court, is entitled, "Break Free".  It was created from sections of the Berlin Wall by artist Edwina Sandys, granddaughter of Winston Churchill. 

The four sides of the base have the Four Freedoms that FDR declared were every person's right. Freedom from fear; Freedom from want; Freedom to worship; and, Freedom of speech.

The Freedom Court with a bust of FDR on the left and Winston Churchill on the right.

At the entrance to theVisitor Center is this little wire sculpture of Fala.

Over at Val-kill, about 3 miles away, Ranger Bob Herberger, gave a tour of Val-Kill and talked about Eleanor's private and public life.

Ranger Bob said that Eleanor would welcome her guests at this back door.  She would say, "Welcome to the front door at the back of the house."

Eleanor's study/office.  The whole house is exceedingly modest where Eleanor came to prefer living.  There are Colonial reproduction furniture, knotty pine paneling and dimestore tumbles on the table. She moved here full-time after her husband's death. 

She entertained almost every night. This dining room table could seat six, but she would put up a card table to accommodate another 4 - 8 people.

After dinner guests would come to this room to continue the conversation.

On the way back north, we crossed the Hudson River on this bridge; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Bridge.