2011-07-11 Sunset over Lake Seneca

We saw another spectacular sunset over Lake Seneca at Watkins Glen last night.  The colors were just dazzling!  It was wonderful watching the colors change as the sunset progressed.

One interesting side note about Watkins Glen:

In the photo below you see a tower to the left.  This is the original tower used for salt mining in Watkins Glen.  There is a huge vein of salt deep below ground that runs from just north of the Canadian border down through this part of New York into Pennsylvania.  It is left from some ancient sea.  They "mine" the salt here by forcing steam down into the vein and pumping back up a brine mixture.  Then they evaporate the water away and are left with table salt.  There are two such salt mining operations here in Watkins Glen.  There is also what I think of as a more traditional mine with deep shafts and tunnels about 30 miles from here a short distance above Ithaca.   I believe most of the salt from that mine is used for melting ice on winter roadways. 

2011-07 Watkins Glen Gorge

We will soon leave NY.  We had one last place we wanted to visit - the gorge in near-by Watkins Glen State Park.  It has been so hot lately we held off thinking we would get up early one morning, but that never happened.  So we finally went late Saturday afternoon.  As it turned out, we probably could have gone in the middle of the day.  It is very shady down in the gorge and the cold water makes the walk much cooler, especially when you get hit by the spray from some of the waterfalls.

I'll quote from the park's trail guide:

"The park features a spectacular narrow gorge where you can hike alongside Glen Greek past deep pools, water-sculpted rocks and nineteen waterfalls...Water has shaped the natural landscape of the park.  During the past million years, water in the form of giant mounds of ice, or glaciers, covered New York State several times, dramatically transforming the land in its path.  In this region, the most recent glacier moved through shallow river valleys leaving in its place deep, steep-sided troughs.  When the glacier receded north about 10,000 years ago, water filled these new troughs, creating the 11 Finger Lakes which include Seneca Lake.  Since then water in the form of Glen Creek has poured down the glacially-steepened hillside, cutting away its soft sedimentary rock.  This on-going process has formed this park's rugged gorge and spectacular waterfalls.  Glen comes from a old Greek word meaning "small, narrow, secluded valley.""

Here are a few pictures and short videos from our walk:

This is the first waterfall you walk behind:

This video shows the second waterfall you walk behind and the surrounding gorge:

You can see how we got sprayed with the cool water:

Another short video from another part of the trail:

2011-06 General Update

(We visited Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens several times during our stay in Columbia)

This is our first series of updates in almost a year.   We have begun our 2011 summer and fall travels and will try to be more diligent in making posts about our travels and activities.

Our last series of postings were in August 2010 while we were in Mackinaw City, Michigan.  As I believe you all know, we interrupted our travels to return to SC for a series of medical exams for Monique that ultimately lead to a diagnosis of a type of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma called SLL/CLL.  This is a slow growing form of cancer that at present requires no treatment.    We also went to Duke University for a second opinion which confirmed the diagnosis (see November post.)  Monique is on what is generally called “Watch and Wait”.  So we are periodically returning to SC somewhere between 4 to 6 months for tests and visits with the Oncologist.  We are thankful that no treatment has been required so far, and we appreciate all your prayers and good wishes.

Except for a short break to travel up to Duke University Medical Center, we stayed in Columbia from August until mid-December.  We enjoyed meeting some new friends and  spending time with them and our other friends we see at the Barnyard RV Park when in Lexington.  Then we headed to Florida for the winter which is discussed as you work backward in some of the following posts.

Note:  This Blog works backward from the most current posting.  As you reach the bottom of the page, there will be an arrow or link pointing to the next set of postings.

2011-07 Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University

We visited the Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.   The building was designeed by I.M.Pei.  He is a very famous contemporary arctitect who was born in China, but was educated and has lived in the US.  This building opened in 1973.  It is a very modern concrete structure.  On its own it is very unique and interesting, but is radically different that the surrounding buildings at Cornell.  This is an "Ivy League" school and has a beautiful campus with many classical buildings.  Here are a few examples;

These views show how the campus flows over and down the surrounding hillsides.

The campus overlooks Ithaca and Cayuga Lake.

This is a very fine museum with a variety of art works.  While there are many lovely paintings, I was primarily interested in all the ancient art objects from China, Egypt, Greece, Iran, etc. and their Pre-Columbian objects.  Here are just a few of the things that caught my attention:

China
2000-2200 BC
earthenware

China, Ming Dynasty
Porcelain
top 1506-1522
bottom early 17th century

Iran
Spouted vessel in the form of a stag
burnished earthenware
1000-550 BC

Pre-Columbian Art
Moche, Peru
Kneeling Warrior Effigy Vessel
400 BC - AD 100

Egyptian
380 - 342 BC
(about 12" tall)

Coin,
Gold aureus
portrait of Licinius
Emperor 308 - 322 AD

Southern Italy
Red-figure pelike
Orestes and Electra at the tomb of their father Agamemnon
410 - 380 BC

French
Two leaves from a Book of Hours
1460 - 1470 AD

Nepalese
Garunda Mask, 20th Century

Note that if you are interested in seeing more photos from this museum click on this link.  That will take you my library of photos kept in the online Picassa Web Albums. 

2011-06 Corning Museum of Glass - Glass History

This is the first of several posts on our visit to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY.  This is one of our favorite museums. We came back to NY again primarily to see this museum again.  (Here is a link to our  Blog Post about our first visit if you are interested in seeing even more.)  We find glass so interesting.  There are so many different artistic styles expressed in glass.  Plus there are so many practical applications of glass.

The photos in this posting show examples from the "History" section of the museum.   There are items on display dating back to the beginning of glass making around 2000 BC through the late 1990's.  We could spend days in this section if we looked at every item and read every description.  Here are a few of my favorites: (I say a few because I took over 600 photos over two days.  I am showing several photos, but this is just the "tip of the iceberg".

A very rare portrait of an Egyptian Pharaoh, probably Amenhotep II, who ruled about 60 years before Tutankhamen.  Made about 1400 BC.  It is about 2 inches tall.  

Another very rare piece - a complete Egyptian figure dating from about 300 - 100 BC.  About 9 inches high.

The Romans invented/discovered glass blowing and figured out to make glass items in large quantities.  This made glass items available for more everyday use.  Prior to this glass items were only made for royalty and the very rich.  These jars date from 50 - 200 AD.

 

This body of this "Head Flask" was blown into a two part mold.  Then molten glass was attached to the neck and drawn down to the head to form the handle.  Dates from about 350 - 400 AD.  (Once belonged to the celebrated operatic tenor Enrico Caruso.)  About 7 inches high.

 Jumping ahead in time, this is an "Armorial Panel" of painted glass about 15 inches high made about 1560 AD in Switzerland.  It was likely displayed in a home and included the family coat of arms.

St. Peter's Square.  

What appears to be a water color painting is actually a "micromosaic" made of thousands of tiny pieces of glass glued to a panel.  Made in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop about 1879.  About 20" high by 30" wide.

Hyalith Jug made in about 1820 in Bohemia (Czech Republic)  About 9" high.

Cut glass copy of the Liberty Bell.  Made in 1905 for the "Lewis and Clark Exhibition" in Portland, Oregon by the HC Fry Glass Company.  It must have been very difficult to make.  It is about 18" high and weighs 30 lbs.  To cut glass, the craftsman holds and rotates the glass piece against a cutting wheel.  He must have been very strong to hold this piece up for as long as it must have taken to cut this intricate design.

Stained Glass Window by Louis Comfort Tiffany made in 1905 showing a Hudson River landscape.  About 14 feet high.

 A modern "one-of-a-kind" Studio Glass piece.  (I  forgot to take a photo of the details about the artist and date created.)

2011-06 Corning Museum of Glass - Contempory Glass

The first gallery you visit at the Corning Museum of Glass has contemporary glass from some of the best glass artists around the world.  Here are some of the items from the current exhibits:

2011-06 Cornimg Museum of Glass - Market

The Corning Museum of Glass has a wonderful marketplace with a wide variety of glass for sale.  Prices  reach up to $44,000.  Needless to say we did more looking than buying.  Here are some of the items for sale: