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 Robert H Treman State Park, NY

We explored Robert H Treman State Park which is a nearby NY State Park that we had not visited on our prior trip to the Finger Lakes Region.  It is just outside Ithaca, NY (home of Cornell Univ.) and is about a 30 minute drive from our campground in Watkins Glen.

Our first stop was to see the unique swimming area that is just below one of the park's waterfalls.  The water was a bit cool for our tastes - 60 degrees.

The we began a hike that was only a mile or so in length but was very strenuous.  We first went along the rim trail that climbs up and along the top of the gorge carved over the eons by the water flow.  We came upon a nice overlook to the main waterfall.  To the right you can see the trail and some of the stairs going beside the falls.

Then we started down a long steep set of stairs that switched back and forth to reach the bottom of the gorge.  (I felt like we were climbing down those long steep stairs that Frodo, Sam and Gollum climbed in "The Lord of the Rings" except with a lot more lush green vegetation)

Looking back up some of the steps we had just descended:

Once we reached the bottom we crossed over a small bridge and climbed back up the other side of the gorge where we reached some beautiful overlooks to the falls.  Following are some photos and a short video clip of the waterfalls.

Monique is standing to the right at the top of the falls.

This rock face looks like it is in the process of being carved like Stone Mountain Georgia near Atlanta, but it is just a natural occurrence.

Just after we crossed the first bridge and started up the other side of the gorge, a young man in a blue shirt came scurrying down past us.  When we climbed up to one of the overlooks, we spotted him way down below along the edge of the water below the waterfall.  He was taking photos.  I thought he must have been some type of botanist taking photos of some rare plant growing in the water mist from the falls.  He later came back past us on the trail.  He said "no, he was just taking pictures of the falls from below with some flowers in the foreground".  I thought he sure was taking a lot of risk for those photos.  In the photo below you can see his blue shirt against the green foliage.

The walk along the gorge was just gorgeous, and looks much like parts of the walk along Watkins Glen.

We stopped often to rest and admire the view.

There are some pretty blooms on vines that grow in places along the trail.  Here is a closeup and then a large grouping next to the 2nd bridge we crossed.

Here is a little grouping of ferns growing on the rocks.  It is almost like they were placed there to show three of the different varieties of the ferns growing along the trail.

I especially like this one that grows in a spiral shape.

At the beginning and end of the trail is an old grist mill that is about the same age as Hagood Mill in SC, built in the 1840's.

I love seeing all the gears and mechanical workings of these old mills.

We look forward to visits to more of the State Parks and hikes along the waterfalls in this region.

2011-05 Bald Rock, "Pretty Place" and DuPont State Forest

We took several drives up Hwy 276.  This is a very winding road that climbs sharply up to Caesar's Head and then continues on through Brevard, NC.  We saw the beautiful red Rhododendron shown above at the Chamber of Commerce in Brevard. 

Not far after leaving the campground is a roadside pull off we subsequently learned was called "Bald Rock".  We had seen a number of cars stopped there but did not know why.  So one day we parked and took a short stroll to discover a large rock outcropping with long distance views.  We were glad we stopped to explore.

In the distance you can see Table Rock:

Past Caesar's Head just before you come to the NC border is road leading to Camp Greenville YMCA.  Monique had driven there once before with a group of ladies on a church retreat to see "Pretty Place".  She knew it was a place I would want to see.  "Pretty Place" is the name given to the YMCA camp's open air chapel that has a fantastic overlook.  It is generally open to the public unless there is a wedding or other scheduled activity.

 

Continuing along Hwy 276 after crossing into NC there is a road leading to the DuPont State Forest.  This property once belonged to the DuPont Company and has recently become a NC State Forest.  There are a number of beautiful waterfalls.  Here are the two we visited:

This is just a gorgeous area.  We went to Hendersonville, NC each week while at Solitude Pointe so James  could get his allergy shots.  Usually we traveled Hwy 25 which is a relatively new 4 lane highway.  There is limited development along this route, and it is a beautiful drive with long mountain vistas.  Twice we traveled along Hwy 276 and then past DuPont State Forest.  This was a longer route but equally beautiful with part of the route through the state forest and part through pretty mountain valleys.  We certainly recommend these areas in SC and NC to visit and tour.

07-09 Taughannock Falls

Our last tour before leaving Bath, NY and the Finger Lakes Region was to Taugannock Falls. We took a pretty drive across country of about 1 1/2 hours. We drove past Watkins Glen at the tip of Seneca Lake over to Cayuga Lake and Taugannock Falls State Park. The falls at 215 feet are among the highest east of the Rockies, and I think are the tallest east of the Mississippi River.

We enjoyed a 3/4 mile walk along the stream although it was a very warm day.

The falls are certainly pretty, but we liked the falls at Watkins Glen and at Letchworth SP better.

We then drove the short distance down to Ithaca, NY and rode around the campus of Cornell University. It has some lovely buildings spread over several hillsides and sits in a pretty spot right on the southern shore of Lake Cayuga. However we were happy to get away from there because the traffic was really slow and congested – due to lots of students and relatively small streets combined with the occasional train blocking major intersections (just like Columbia, SC at certain times of the day).

07-09 Letchworth State Park

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

Monday July 13th we drove northwest about an hour to Letchworth State Park. Locals call it the Grand Canyon of the East. It is a large park that follows a deep, wide gorge created by the Genesee River. It is much different than the Grand Canyon in looks, primarily because there are so many trees and such different rock formations. However it is very beautiful, and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour.

This was a trip where we could take our dog Clay. We stayed close to the car most of the time. Primarily we were driving from one overlook to another. Periodically we would lift Clay out of the car for a brief stroll. He is now in a state where he can not jump in or out. So Monique and I jointly lift him.

Our first stop was at the Mt. Morris dam. It is used for flood control in the spring when snow melts in the surrounding areas and during periods of heavy spring rains. There is no water backed up at present and some work is underway at the base. You can just see the large trucks that look like small insects in the pictures below.

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

We progressed along the river stopping at different overlooks. The park stretches about 17 miles along the river and the gorge.

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

In the shot below I have zoomed in to show a couple of folks in kayaks far below on the river.

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

The highlights were the three large water falls. Here are several pictures from different angles and locations.

Lower Falls:

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

Middle Falls (the most spectacular) from a distance and the mist from the upper falls still further in the distance:

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

Water just about to plunge over the middle falls with a rainbow in the mist

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

Just beside the middle falls:

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

From the front of the middle falls:

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

The upper falls. Note the tall railroad trestle overhead. It must be breathtaking to cross. In the picture below there are people standing on the bridge. They are just tiny dots if you can see them. (I do not believe you are supposed to walk on this bridge.)

From 07-09 Letchworth State Park

When originally built in 1852, it was the largest wooden railroad bridge in the world. It took 300 acres of timber to build it. Then it burned in 1875 and was replaced by the iron and steel structure seen today.

This was our favorite outdoor excursion so far. We would love to go back and camp for a few days. We saw a motor home coming in as we arrived so we know they could accommodate ours. I have read that one publication has rated it one of the top 100 campgrounds in America. However they only have water and some sites with 30 amp electric hook-ups. So we could only stay a few days at that campground.