Morrell:  After his Esopus, one of the first trout streams my husband frequently wandered was the upper Rondout Creek.  This little headwater brook trout stream drew the attention of such angling notables as: John Burroughs, Edward R. Hewitt, Everett E. Garrison, and Cecil E. Heacox--- all men of distinction in their chosen earthly paths.  In "A Bed of Boughs" Catskill naturalist wrote the following about his Rondout Creek, "My eyes had never before beheld such beauty in a mountain stream."  

Sadly in this 21st Century the upper Rondout is often subject to abuse and disregard by unruly summer visitors who flock to the Blue Hole, just upstream from Morrell Field and the Ulster County 42 highway bridge.  Even the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) displayed a mild level of disregard when they renamed this landmark to Trailer Field; how Catskill is that notation?

My husband and I often stop here, where little wild brook trout still make their home, while pondering John Burroughs' words above, bringing the watercolor below to life.  This watercolor appeared on the March 2021 Gazette, newsletter of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild.

Morrell Field(NFS):