Two free hours in the Hudson River Valley on Saturday and a walking trail that quite literally took my breath away. It was Walkway Over the Hudson, a New York state park that gave a whole new meaning to rails-to-trails.

When the first trains crossed the Hudson on the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railway the bridge was the longest in the world. It became a park six years ago and claims to be the longest pedestrian bridge in the world.

But what struck me most wasn’t the length but the height. I tried not to look over the edge, my stomach was doing too many loop-the-loops.

So instead I looked straight ahead until I got acclimated, then a glance to the left and a glance to the right to take in the scenery. Ah yes, this was walking. A long paved path to stride on and a sweep of valley and mountain to admire.