Letter 15: New York II
Thursday, May 28 we moved into New York State for the second time on this trip. We entered on US Highway 20 through the Berkshire Mountains. This was a pretty drive and would have been better if it hadn’t been drizzling rain. We passed through Troy, NY, birth place of “Uncle Sam,” the origins trace back to soldiers stationed in upstate New York, who would receive barrels of meat stamped with the initials US. The soldiers joked that these initials were a reference to the troops’ meat supplier, (Uncle) Samuel Wilson of Troy, NY.
Moving further west on Highway 20 the fog set in. It was scary. Visibility was less than 100 feet. As we neared the turnoff for the state park the highway was divided 4 lanes and we began to fear missing the turn and if we did find it, would someone hit us as we turned left? Olivia said a little prayer for help and around the next turn the fog lifted. Don’t tell us prayers aren’t answered. “Thank you God, again.”
We settled into Glimmerglass State Park to find ourselves in the middle of another language arts class. This is “The Glimmerglass” of James Fennimore Cooper’s the Leatherstocking Tales. For those of you that have forgotten high school English like we have, Natty Bumppo is known by European settlers as “Leatherstocking,” “The Pathfinder,” and “the trapper” and by the Native Americans as “Deerslayer,” and “Hawkeye.” Among his books is The Last of the Mohicans. Cooperstown is just south of this park.
Hyde Hall mansion is also in this park and their
covered bridge is THE oldest covered bridge in the states and
is on the National Register.We were told by a local resident we are in the geographic center of the state. New York is a large state. We are crossing a large portion along Highway 20—east to west. This area is so different from NYC. It is populated in small clusters (cities and villages) very close together with light population between. Wild animals are abundant, especially deer.
Friday, May 29 we drove into Utica, to try to locate where Peter, Mary and John Hastings were living in 1850. John was Fred’s great grandfather. We visited the library and were given directions. We knew from the census that Peter and family lived with the Sink family and they were in the cap, hat and fur business. The Hastings only lived there a few years according to the city directories. In 1960 in Kentucky, they then show up in Texas (Dallas County) in 1970. From the address we discovered that location is now a bridge entrance next to the
Children’s Museum in a very old building. So we pretended this was where they lived.Don’t confuse Ithaca and Utica as Fred has. Two different NY towns. We have not visited Ithaca. For an extended time during the 1800s and into the early 1900s Utica was a fur processing and textile milling center. Great red brick factories, offices and warehouse buildings were built to support this industry. Also majestic residences, tenements and middle management houses were built. It was a grand prosperous town in its good times. Sadly, it is not so today. The core of the city is still alive, but decay can be seen, especially with the large brick buildings. Some of the stately old homes are well kept, some are in bad shape. Suburbia springs from the surrounding area with new jobs and a new vitality. It’s a very interesting town to visit.
Fred had suspected some brake problems, so we spent the rest of the afternoon in a GM dealership. The mechanic told us he was very surprised we had, at 106,000 miles, the original brake discs. He went on and on. Cars have a difficult time here, he explained, with the winter road salting. Only the newer or out of state cars are rust free. The salt is especially hard on brakes. New brakes every few years are the norm here. Later that day Fred met a man from NY who spent his working years in Arlington, Texas. After retirement he moved back to NY. Soon he realized he needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to get around in the winter. He looked at local used cars, but they were all very rusted. So, he flew to Arlington, Texas, bought the car he wanted and drove it back to NY. Our brakes had apparently overheated and cooled too fast causing a warping of the disc. We’re surprised this happened. Fred is careful to use the trailer bakes, without the Suburban brakes, and gearing when in a long down hill stretch. It wasn’t a dangerous situation, but the vibration when braking with the trailer was a bother. We had the discs turned and now we are all set. While there we caught up on our food network shows.
The area around our campground is beautiful. It is a farming area. The rolling hills are about 60% tree covered, mostly hardwood. Cultivated pasture land grazing areas fill the rest. There are a number of dairies.
All of the farms 
appear to be prosperous. Most have large well kept farmhouses and large barns with multiple silos. We passed many signs warning of Amish buggies, however we didn’t see one. We did see Yoder’s outbuilding sales, which we believe is Amish.Saturday, May 30 we drove into Cooperstown and enjoyed driving around
this little town and the 
view of Lake Ostego. Lots of gingerbread houses. We went to the
Baseball Hall of Fame. Their introduction show was really cute with the 
baseball setting. The museum has lots of memorabilia and Fred enjoyed reading the
Hall of Fame plaques. We thought of our nephews Andy and Logan.
Believe it or not there is no chewing or spitting allowed in the hall of fame!
Sunday, May 31 we attended church at
Church of Christ Uniting, Methodist & Presbyterian in Richfield Springs, NY. Even though it was a united church we felt at home. The sanctuary was very
view of Lake Ostego. Lots of gingerbread houses. We went to the
Baseball Hall of Fame. Their introduction show was really cute with the 
baseball setting. The museum has lots of memorabilia and Fred enjoyed reading the
Hall of Fame plaques. We thought of our nephews Andy and Logan.Believe it or not there is no chewing or spitting allowed in the hall of fame!
Sunday, May 31 we attended church at
Church of Christ Uniting, Methodist & Presbyterian in Richfield Springs, NY. Even though it was a united church we felt at home. The sanctuary was verypretty with lots of stain glass. The building was very old and showed it’s age by the walls tilting outward. They had braced it back together with
Erie Canal Village to step back in time and visit a
village of the era and ride a passenger boat on the canal. First we walked around the village and talked with
the blacksmith who just happened to be the same person who
drove the mules to pull the boat up and down the canal.
This location was where they started the canal, right in the middle of the state, because the Mohawk and the Wood Rivers were very near each other, so connecting them started the route.
“I’ve got a mule, her name is Sal,
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal. (a good 8 hours)
She’s a good old worker, and a good ol’ pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
We’ve hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lumber, coal and hay,
And every inch of the way we know,
From Albany to Buffalo. OH
Low bridge everybody down,
Low bridge as we’re coming to a town.
And you’ll always know your neighbor
You’ll always know your pal,
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal.”
Toward the end of the ride we chanced upon a family of
geese with 20 goslings.
long pipes across the breath of the room. We have notice in many sanctuaries the common light chandeliers as our church. After church we stopped for cappuccino and met a delightful local couple. She likes jewelry like Olivia and they told us about places to see.
We headed to Rome, NY and the
We headed to Rome, NY and the
Erie Canal Village to step back in time and visit a
village of the era and ride a passenger boat on the canal. First we walked around the village and talked with
the blacksmith who just happened to be the same person who
drove the mules to pull the boat up and down the canal.
This location was where they started the canal, right in the middle of the state, because the Mohawk and the Wood Rivers were very near each other, so connecting them started the route.“I’ve got a mule, her name is Sal,
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal. (a good 8 hours)
She’s a good old worker, and a good ol’ pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
We’ve hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lumber, coal and hay,
And every inch of the way we know,
From Albany to Buffalo. OH
Low bridge everybody down,Low bridge as we’re coming to a town.
And you’ll always know your neighbor
You’ll always know your pal,
If you ever navigated on the Erie Canal.”
Toward the end of the ride we chanced upon a family of
geese with 20 goslings.We discovered the boat ride to be very smooth. We were told there was speed limit on the canal! 4 mph! Mules pulled the barges in a walk only. Agents enforced this limit. Even after the railroads came, many preferred to travel on the canal because it was so much more pleasant—very little noise and a smooth ride.
While we were in Herkimer county NY we went into an information center/store. They had jewelry and loose Herkimer diamonds. Very pretty. They told us of a place a few miles away where we could pay $10 and dig all day and keep what we found. When Olivia saw the loose stones she decided to pay $15 for 2 and make earrings. She figured this was a sure thing and we didn’t have to get dirty. The two
she bought are about the size of a dime and both have babies growing on them. They all have a little black spot (anthraelite) in them which is their fingerprint. Each one is different. This picture shows more of the background than the fingerprint, but does show the babies.
Monday, June 1, was a maintenance day. We drove back to Utica to see about the dead drill. We were lucky to find a place to repair it, but they will have to send it to our home when complete and therefore we were forced to buy a new one. Ouch! Fred uses this drill to raise and lower the stabilizing jacks and is a necessity to trailering, so we price checked and compared apples to oranges and finally settled on one.
While we were in Herkimer county NY we went into an information center/store. They had jewelry and loose Herkimer diamonds. Very pretty. They told us of a place a few miles away where we could pay $10 and dig all day and keep what we found. When Olivia saw the loose stones she decided to pay $15 for 2 and make earrings. She figured this was a sure thing and we didn’t have to get dirty. The two
she bought are about the size of a dime and both have babies growing on them. They all have a little black spot (anthraelite) in them which is their fingerprint. Each one is different. This picture shows more of the background than the fingerprint, but does show the babies.Monday, June 1, was a maintenance day. We drove back to Utica to see about the dead drill. We were lucky to find a place to repair it, but they will have to send it to our home when complete and therefore we were forced to buy a new one. Ouch! Fred uses this drill to raise and lower the stabilizing jacks and is a necessity to trailering, so we price checked and compared apples to oranges and finally settled on one.
We had a freeze warning this last night. The low was about 34 at our spot. Generally the temperature has been 40s to 60s with some rain during the day.
Tuesday, June 2 was moving day and as Fred pulled the chock from one of the trailer wheels, he realized that tire was flat, so we went through the process of calling road service to take care of it. The repairman said his grandmother was from Spring, Texas. We find a surprising connection between Texas and NY among the people we talk with. Maybe with size of each state it shouldn’t surprise us, but it has.
While we were at the tire store Olivia explored a little shop in Springfield Center NY. If you don’t already know, Olivia collects the International Santa Claus’s that are about 5” tall. She has all but two. This store had a collection of
Clothtique Possible Dreams Santa’s. 
They are much larger and instead of nations they are dressed as careers, i.e., Dentist, Baseball player, etc. and are very well done. She took pictures 
to send to her internet Santa collectors.
Tuesday, June 2 was moving day and as Fred pulled the chock from one of the trailer wheels, he realized that tire was flat, so we went through the process of calling road service to take care of it. The repairman said his grandmother was from Spring, Texas. We find a surprising connection between Texas and NY among the people we talk with. Maybe with size of each state it shouldn’t surprise us, but it has.
While we were at the tire store Olivia explored a little shop in Springfield Center NY. If you don’t already know, Olivia collects the International Santa Claus’s that are about 5” tall. She has all but two. This store had a collection of
Clothtique Possible Dreams Santa’s. They are much larger and instead of nations they are dressed as careers, i.e., Dentist, Baseball player, etc. and are very well done. She took pictures to send to her internet Santa collectors.We headed on to Green Lakes State Park between Chittenango and Syracuse, where we set up for the night with electricity. Fred then drove east about 20 miles to an Indian Reservation to try his luck with poker. Fred lost for the first time, but enjoyed playing anyway. Well, except for the midnight drive back to the trailer over unfamiliar country. In this part of NY people go to bed at a reasonable hour - the roads were almost deserted. Olivia vegged out at the trailer catching up on blog, bookkeeping, and reading.
Green Lakes
are well hidden by the trees. This picture was taken about 100 feet above looking almost straight down and was about the only view we had. They are two glacial lakes from the last ice age. The meltwater torrents from this great glacial waterfall carved out the basins of the two beautiful lakes. They are green due to light absorption, deep clear water and the presence of calcium carbonate. Round lake, thought by Indians to be bottomless has been measured at 180’, while green Lake is 195’. Both are meromictic, new word to us, two of only of a few such lakes in the US. That means the surface waters do not mix with the bottom water, therefore, no fall and spring turnovers. There is potential for finding evidence of ancient plant and animal life. There are also “reefs” in shallow areas near the shoreline.
Three groups of colorful photosynthetic bacteria live here. On top, one group plus diatoms, (a small type of algae) provide the food source for tiny floating animals. At 55-75’ below the lake surface there is a three foot thick layer of rosy pink water due to the presence of photosynthetic purple plus green sulfur bacteria. Our science lesson for this day.
Wednesday, June 3, we heard that
Oneida Cutlery had closed the factory, so we drove to Oneida to see if they had a factory store still open. Sure enough it was also closed, but someone else is opening a closeout store in about two weeks. The owner said their prices would be comparable to www.oneida.com prices. So if any of you have their silverware and want replacement or additional pieces now is the time to act. NO more will be made.
Back in Chittenango we were “Off to see the Wizard,”
of OZ that is! The author L. Frank Baum grew up and lived in this town when he wrote, The Wizard of Oz. The whole town is into the theme. In the library they have a
section for the story.
With a little door for the children to enter the Emerald City. (something about good luck to go through the door) There is a
tornado on the wall. Also the library had a 
huge collection of cookie jars. There must have been over 100. They had them everywhere. Lots of times relating to the books below. There was a
play room in the old bank vault,
Cardboard cut outs of the
figures and>
cookie jars of the 
characters and lots of collectables were in their community room. 
A yellow brick wall lined 
the sidewalks of the 
main street. There was an
Emerald City Café and even the
insurance company was going with the flow. This next weekend the town is having an ‘OZ-stravaganza’ and we are sorry to miss the big celebration. About half of the original munchkins will be the Grand Marshalls for the parade.
My goodness, all this literary education we are being exposed to.
When we left the city, we drove out to
Chittenango Falls and walked around the little state park. Winter temperatures freeze the falls. We saw a picture on the information billboard of the frozen falls in winter—it was an awesome sight, very beautiful. The name Chittenango is a Haudenosaunee word meaning “where waters divide and flow north.” In 1887, this property would have been sold to a gunpowder manufacturer if not for a Mrs. Fairchild who intervened by asking friends to establish a fund to buy the scenic fall for a public park. This group ran the park until 1922 when it became a state park. Again we noticed buildings and the rock steps made by the CCC’s. Their work is all over this country and still stands. They did good work.
Olivia has been admiring the pink flowers along the road side and we finally decided they were
phlox.
Thursday, June 4 we moved to the Finger Lakes area of New York. We drove on Hwy 20 over about seven small mountains. It was a beautiful drive, but hard on Fred, gear down to go up, gear down to go down. It reminded us of our trip with Muddie, Cecil and Teenya when we went over the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia. This road is a much better road and didn’t have any turkey trucks with flying feathers. We passed three of the five finger lakes (there are several more smaller ones) then turned south to Sampson State Park. We are in the middle of the Finger Lakes. This park was previously a Naval training station, then an Air Force station and now a State Park. It is a huge park with lots of campsites with electricity. The terrain around these lakes is fairly flat, rich farm land and this park reminds Olivia of Lake Whitney in the spring.
All the finger lakes are glacial. The ice melted about 12,500 years ago, filling the gorge left by the glaciers with water, They run north and south. Each one is long and skinny. The longest is about 40 miles. They are about 3.5 miles wide. If you use your imagination you can see they are the fingers of an unseen hand. Maximum depth is 600 feet. Distance between the lakes varies from 3.5 miles to maybe twenty miles. This is a resort area. Lakefront property is prized and sells for about $2,000 a running foot. Between the lakes is lush farm land. A substantial part is used for grapes. This a big wine area. We counted 90 wineries in our immediate area. Most of the wines aren’t to our taste.
The farms look prosperous. Houses and barns are in good repair. There are some Amish farms. We figured about ten per cent. We asked one man about the percentage of Amish and he said in his area 60% of the farms were Amish—including his. That was a surprise. It is a wonderful area. Fred has been both confused and curious about what Amish can do. He saw one talking on a cell phone while seated on his horse-drawn wagon.
Prior to our revolutionary war, this area was populated by Indians who were agitated by the local British soldiers to be hostile to the USA. After we won our independence, the Indians were moved off and the Finger Lakes area land was given as rewards to NY state veterans. Settlement was immediate. Clearing and cultivating started prior to 1800.
After settling in we drove back to a couple of wineries and tasted their wines. One map we saw listed 97 wineries in the Finger Lakes area. And we thought California had a lot of wine!
Green Lakes
are well hidden by the trees. This picture was taken about 100 feet above looking almost straight down and was about the only view we had. They are two glacial lakes from the last ice age. The meltwater torrents from this great glacial waterfall carved out the basins of the two beautiful lakes. They are green due to light absorption, deep clear water and the presence of calcium carbonate. Round lake, thought by Indians to be bottomless has been measured at 180’, while green Lake is 195’. Both are meromictic, new word to us, two of only of a few such lakes in the US. That means the surface waters do not mix with the bottom water, therefore, no fall and spring turnovers. There is potential for finding evidence of ancient plant and animal life. There are also “reefs” in shallow areas near the shoreline.Three groups of colorful photosynthetic bacteria live here. On top, one group plus diatoms, (a small type of algae) provide the food source for tiny floating animals. At 55-75’ below the lake surface there is a three foot thick layer of rosy pink water due to the presence of photosynthetic purple plus green sulfur bacteria. Our science lesson for this day.
Wednesday, June 3, we heard that
Oneida Cutlery had closed the factory, so we drove to Oneida to see if they had a factory store still open. Sure enough it was also closed, but someone else is opening a closeout store in about two weeks. The owner said their prices would be comparable to www.oneida.com prices. So if any of you have their silverware and want replacement or additional pieces now is the time to act. NO more will be made.Back in Chittenango we were “Off to see the Wizard,”
of OZ that is! The author L. Frank Baum grew up and lived in this town when he wrote, The Wizard of Oz. The whole town is into the theme. In the library they have a
section for the story.
With a little door for the children to enter the Emerald City. (something about good luck to go through the door) There is a
tornado on the wall. Also the library had a huge collection of cookie jars. There must have been over 100. They had them everywhere. Lots of times relating to the books below. There was a
play room in the old bank vault, Cardboard cut outs of the
figures and>
cookie jars of the characters and lots of collectables were in their community room. A yellow brick wall lined the sidewalks of the main street. There was an
Emerald City Café and even the
insurance company was going with the flow. This next weekend the town is having an ‘OZ-stravaganza’ and we are sorry to miss the big celebration. About half of the original munchkins will be the Grand Marshalls for the parade.My goodness, all this literary education we are being exposed to.
When we left the city, we drove out to
Chittenango Falls and walked around the little state park. Winter temperatures freeze the falls. We saw a picture on the information billboard of the frozen falls in winter—it was an awesome sight, very beautiful. The name Chittenango is a Haudenosaunee word meaning “where waters divide and flow north.” In 1887, this property would have been sold to a gunpowder manufacturer if not for a Mrs. Fairchild who intervened by asking friends to establish a fund to buy the scenic fall for a public park. This group ran the park until 1922 when it became a state park. Again we noticed buildings and the rock steps made by the CCC’s. Their work is all over this country and still stands. They did good work.Olivia has been admiring the pink flowers along the road side and we finally decided they were
phlox.Thursday, June 4 we moved to the Finger Lakes area of New York. We drove on Hwy 20 over about seven small mountains. It was a beautiful drive, but hard on Fred, gear down to go up, gear down to go down. It reminded us of our trip with Muddie, Cecil and Teenya when we went over the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia. This road is a much better road and didn’t have any turkey trucks with flying feathers. We passed three of the five finger lakes (there are several more smaller ones) then turned south to Sampson State Park. We are in the middle of the Finger Lakes. This park was previously a Naval training station, then an Air Force station and now a State Park. It is a huge park with lots of campsites with electricity. The terrain around these lakes is fairly flat, rich farm land and this park reminds Olivia of Lake Whitney in the spring.
All the finger lakes are glacial. The ice melted about 12,500 years ago, filling the gorge left by the glaciers with water, They run north and south. Each one is long and skinny. The longest is about 40 miles. They are about 3.5 miles wide. If you use your imagination you can see they are the fingers of an unseen hand. Maximum depth is 600 feet. Distance between the lakes varies from 3.5 miles to maybe twenty miles. This is a resort area. Lakefront property is prized and sells for about $2,000 a running foot. Between the lakes is lush farm land. A substantial part is used for grapes. This a big wine area. We counted 90 wineries in our immediate area. Most of the wines aren’t to our taste.
The farms look prosperous. Houses and barns are in good repair. There are some Amish farms. We figured about ten per cent. We asked one man about the percentage of Amish and he said in his area 60% of the farms were Amish—including his. That was a surprise. It is a wonderful area. Fred has been both confused and curious about what Amish can do. He saw one talking on a cell phone while seated on his horse-drawn wagon.
Prior to our revolutionary war, this area was populated by Indians who were agitated by the local British soldiers to be hostile to the USA. After we won our independence, the Indians were moved off and the Finger Lakes area land was given as rewards to NY state veterans. Settlement was immediate. Clearing and cultivating started prior to 1800.
After settling in we drove back to a couple of wineries and tasted their wines. One map we saw listed 97 wineries in the Finger Lakes area. And we thought California had a lot of wine!
Friday, June 5 we goofed off all morning, then met our neighbors. They live about an hour north of here close to Lake Ontario. They gave us some tips on camping locations around the Lake and gave us a Finger Lakes map. They even invited us to come camp with them as they have hookups next to their apple orchard. Unfortunately they went home this afternoon.
We took off to retrace part of our route we passed through as we came into the park. We visited Waterloo, Seneca Falls and Auburn. In Waterloo we stopped at
Mac’s Drive-In for a hamburger and fries. Fred had their famous Root Beer. This drive-In was born June 18, 1961. this was the first fast food and curb service in the area. Soon they enlarged by moving the whole building, along with the ramp for curb service. The glass paned doors of the front section for indoor dining can be slid away to give the place an “open air” effect.
Auburn was planning a big founder’s day for the next day. They had Alaska Flags 50 all over town. The town was a buzz with activity. Later we heard the Governor of Alaska would be there for the founder’s day, as
Seward was a large player in the purchase of Alaska. Seward lived in Auburn and we saw
Steward’s statue and
home. We noticed the
slate side walks around the home.
Then drove out to
Harriet Tubman’s home.
This area is where the First Women’s Rights convention was held in 1848 started by a 32 year old Quaker mother of three who felt like a “caged lioness” trapped and isolated in her home. When she shared her frustration with a group of Quaker abolitionist, they planned this convention. There are several houses, chapel and a visitor center dedicated for this cause.
On the way home we drove down the west side of Cayauga Lake, then in to scout the Varick UMC for Sunday.
Back at the trailer we decided to walk the loop and saw a SunnyBrook (same brand as ours) trailer with several people enjoying a campfire. We asked about their trailer, we chatted a while and they invited us to join their fire. Others joined the group. There are seven trailers of friends (five here this weekend) and reminded us of our travels with the Daniel’s, Smith’s, Clemmer’s, and Burton’s. They are from close to Rochester. Three of the ladies are nurses and several of the men are firemen. The fireside chat ranged in many directions and we enjoyed their company, except when a discussion of the Dallas Cowboys came up. Just kidding, but they aren’t, as you would expect, Cowboy fans.
Saturday, June 7, we took off to a farmer’s market at Penn Yan on the other side of Seneca Lake. We bought strawberries, spinach, and fresh garlic from a young Amish man. He had a lot of Bee products and Fred enjoyed asking him about how bees winter in the harsh climate here. Several of the vendors told us to go to the Windmill south of town, so we drove south near Dundee to this farm and craft market. There were over 200 shops and reminded us of a little Canton. They did have Amish baked goods and we bought a raspberry tart. There was an Amish man taking people on wagon rides. We had planned to go to some of the 97 wineries for a taste or two, but there were at least ten wineries giving free tastings, so why bother driving to any of them. We ate the best Reuben Sandwich made by Amish ladies and some curly potatoes piled about 7” high. We walked by all of the shops and decided it was time to go back to the trailer.
Arriving back to the trailer a neighbor from Pennsylvania invited us to join them for happy hour, so we grabbed a few items and shared a few hours with them.
Sunday, June 7 we started our day at the
Varick United Methodist Church not far from our campground. They had a brochure in the office of this State Park and it made our decision easier. It is also a small UMC, but very warm atmosphere. They were so glad to have visitors they gave us a loaf of home made bread! How’s that for hospitality. This was communion Sunday and we were glad to participate with them.
On the way back to the trailer we saw
“white deer” in the government owned fenced property. They have been enclosed and inbred that there is now a whole herd of them here.
We drove from there to Watkin’s Glen town and Watkin’s Glen State Park. We took a shuttle ride to the top of Watkin’s Glen, the Glen, and started down the 800 steps back to the car. This is a beautiful little canyon one and a half miles of trail. We chose the gorge trail down close to the water. The first of this trail was 180 steps down
Jacob’s staircase. Olivia decided right then it was a good thing we took the shuttle to the top because she would have never hauled herself up these steps.
The trail is well maintained, but we could tell the influence of the CCC’s building many years ago. The first falls we came to was called
Rainbow because in the late afternoon the sun hits it and makes a rainbow. We tried to get people in the pictures to give a perspective to the size of this glen.
Below rainbow is Central cascade.
We crossed over falls then the trail dropped to go through the tunnel on the right and followed the narrows to the
Cavern Cascade
to the spiral staircase tunnel to come out under Cascade Falls.
This was the highest falls in the canyon/ Look to the top where the green is, that is the top of the spiral tunnel. Lower to the right are the steps leading down to behind the falls. On down the canyon was 
Minnehaha falls, named because the water had formed a heart shaped pool at the bottom.
We took off to retrace part of our route we passed through as we came into the park. We visited Waterloo, Seneca Falls and Auburn. In Waterloo we stopped at
Mac’s Drive-In for a hamburger and fries. Fred had their famous Root Beer. This drive-In was born June 18, 1961. this was the first fast food and curb service in the area. Soon they enlarged by moving the whole building, along with the ramp for curb service. The glass paned doors of the front section for indoor dining can be slid away to give the place an “open air” effect.Auburn was planning a big founder’s day for the next day. They had Alaska Flags 50 all over town. The town was a buzz with activity. Later we heard the Governor of Alaska would be there for the founder’s day, as
Seward was a large player in the purchase of Alaska. Seward lived in Auburn and we sawSteward’s statue andhome. We noticed the
slate side walks around the home.Then drove out to
Harriet Tubman’s home.
This area is where the First Women’s Rights convention was held in 1848 started by a 32 year old Quaker mother of three who felt like a “caged lioness” trapped and isolated in her home. When she shared her frustration with a group of Quaker abolitionist, they planned this convention. There are several houses, chapel and a visitor center dedicated for this cause.On the way home we drove down the west side of Cayauga Lake, then in to scout the Varick UMC for Sunday.
Back at the trailer we decided to walk the loop and saw a SunnyBrook (same brand as ours) trailer with several people enjoying a campfire. We asked about their trailer, we chatted a while and they invited us to join their fire. Others joined the group. There are seven trailers of friends (five here this weekend) and reminded us of our travels with the Daniel’s, Smith’s, Clemmer’s, and Burton’s. They are from close to Rochester. Three of the ladies are nurses and several of the men are firemen. The fireside chat ranged in many directions and we enjoyed their company, except when a discussion of the Dallas Cowboys came up. Just kidding, but they aren’t, as you would expect, Cowboy fans.
Saturday, June 7, we took off to a farmer’s market at Penn Yan on the other side of Seneca Lake. We bought strawberries, spinach, and fresh garlic from a young Amish man. He had a lot of Bee products and Fred enjoyed asking him about how bees winter in the harsh climate here. Several of the vendors told us to go to the Windmill south of town, so we drove south near Dundee to this farm and craft market. There were over 200 shops and reminded us of a little Canton. They did have Amish baked goods and we bought a raspberry tart. There was an Amish man taking people on wagon rides. We had planned to go to some of the 97 wineries for a taste or two, but there were at least ten wineries giving free tastings, so why bother driving to any of them. We ate the best Reuben Sandwich made by Amish ladies and some curly potatoes piled about 7” high. We walked by all of the shops and decided it was time to go back to the trailer.
Arriving back to the trailer a neighbor from Pennsylvania invited us to join them for happy hour, so we grabbed a few items and shared a few hours with them.
Sunday, June 7 we started our day at the
Varick United Methodist Church not far from our campground. They had a brochure in the office of this State Park and it made our decision easier. It is also a small UMC, but very warm atmosphere. They were so glad to have visitors they gave us a loaf of home made bread! How’s that for hospitality. This was communion Sunday and we were glad to participate with them.On the way back to the trailer we saw
“white deer” in the government owned fenced property. They have been enclosed and inbred that there is now a whole herd of them here.We drove from there to Watkin’s Glen town and Watkin’s Glen State Park. We took a shuttle ride to the top of Watkin’s Glen, the Glen, and started down the 800 steps back to the car. This is a beautiful little canyon one and a half miles of trail. We chose the gorge trail down close to the water. The first of this trail was 180 steps down
Jacob’s staircase. Olivia decided right then it was a good thing we took the shuttle to the top because she would have never hauled herself up these steps.The trail is well maintained, but we could tell the influence of the CCC’s building many years ago. The first falls we came to was called
Rainbow because in the late afternoon the sun hits it and makes a rainbow. We tried to get people in the pictures to give a perspective to the size of this glen.
Below rainbow is Central cascade.We crossed over falls then the trail dropped to go through the tunnel on the right and followed the narrows to the
Cavern Cascade
to the spiral staircase tunnel to come out under Cascade Falls.
This was the highest falls in the canyon/ Look to the top where the green is, that is the top of the spiral tunnel. Lower to the right are the steps leading down to behind the falls. On down the canyon was Minnehaha falls, named because the water had formed a heart shaped pool at the bottom.Visible in this picture is the top of the heart if you were looking down from the steps at left.
There are huge cracks and faults all along the canyon walls.
We don't know the names of these falls,
The last
bridge and falls came out to the parking lot at the bottom of the glen. Years ago men dug out the tunnel seen under the bridge to build a slough to provide water for a mill. It’s a wonder the mill held up with the potential force of water coming down this canyon.
We scouted the camp grounds for future reference. Several had recommend their spots to be too small for us. We drove through the loop with electricity and found spots 54, 62, 63, 64, 71, 75,78, 80, 82, 84 ,85, 95, 97, 98, 99, 102, 103, 104, and 105 wide, long, and level enough for us. Of those 82 and 104 were the most desirable. This campground is forested, and the spots are well cleared. It is located overlooking the Glen. We know several of you readers also camp and would appreciate knowing numbers for reservations. There is no water at this park so be sure your tank is full. Along the entrance to this park were
blooming plants, maybe roses, we have seen other places.
Watkins Glen Nascar Race track was only a few miles away. This track is 60 years old and started out with a different style racing in the streets of town.
Back at the trailer we invited our new friends
Dick and Sue Rein from Mechanicsburg, PA to come over for happy hour. We chatted until it became too cold to sit out. She was a critical care nurse and his career was with naval oceanographic as a civilian employee. He mapped the oceans and would be gone 2-3 months at a time. They lived up north and also on the Mississippi coast. They hope to meet us at Gifford Pinchot State Park between Gettysburg and Harrisburg in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to see them again.
Monday, June 8 we packed up, told the Rein’s goodbye and headed to Pennsylvania. Yes we are going south before we head back north. Screwy route, but the one we planned. We stopped just a few miles inside Pennsylvania at Ives Run Recreation Area operated by the Corps of Engineers. They have full hookups and for us seniors it is only $15. When we arrived on a Monday morning, there were 4 rigs in front of us and by the time we checked in there were four behind us. Olivia commented she had never seen so many coming into a park on Monday and one lady answered, “we never go on the weekend!”
It is a beautiful park with nicely scattered trees, paved sites with a graveled patio for table and fire ring. The mowing crew was out when we arrived and it was fun to watch all five of them going around trees and not running into each other. It was not long before one of the host couples stopped to see where in Texas they were from. They winter and work in Donna, in the Texas valley. The couple working registration winter and work in Summerville, TX.
Tuesday, June 9 we drove back into New York to see the Corning Museum of Glass. We spent three hours looking at all the beautiful and interesting pieces in this museum. They started with a private collection that was outstanding, then moved into the history of glass making and the various forms glass can take. Pressed glass, cut glass, molded, fiber optics, planetarium lenses. It was surprising just how many uses glass has been adapted for.
We saw
furniture
Chandeliers,
Mosaic pictures
Paper weights, including one that weighed 100 pounds. It is like Mike Fenton’s fishbowl. One in the museum store similar to this on was priced at $44,000. Did you get yours here, Mike?
Cut glass and we thought of the Farrar's. Have you been here?
One large ball 4-5’ in diameter was all spun glass
And two bowls were made of
colored strands of glass. Look close to see the tiny strands.
Even how Owens made
glass beverage bottles in Waxahachie.
We watched a glass blowing demonstration as well as learned about how fiber optics works. Very interesting day.
There are huge cracks and faults all along the canyon walls.
We don't know the names of these falls,
The last
bridge and falls came out to the parking lot at the bottom of the glen. Years ago men dug out the tunnel seen under the bridge to build a slough to provide water for a mill. It’s a wonder the mill held up with the potential force of water coming down this canyon.We scouted the camp grounds for future reference. Several had recommend their spots to be too small for us. We drove through the loop with electricity and found spots 54, 62, 63, 64, 71, 75,78, 80, 82, 84 ,85, 95, 97, 98, 99, 102, 103, 104, and 105 wide, long, and level enough for us. Of those 82 and 104 were the most desirable. This campground is forested, and the spots are well cleared. It is located overlooking the Glen. We know several of you readers also camp and would appreciate knowing numbers for reservations. There is no water at this park so be sure your tank is full. Along the entrance to this park were
blooming plants, maybe roses, we have seen other places.Watkins Glen Nascar Race track was only a few miles away. This track is 60 years old and started out with a different style racing in the streets of town.
Back at the trailer we invited our new friends
Dick and Sue Rein from Mechanicsburg, PA to come over for happy hour. We chatted until it became too cold to sit out. She was a critical care nurse and his career was with naval oceanographic as a civilian employee. He mapped the oceans and would be gone 2-3 months at a time. They lived up north and also on the Mississippi coast. They hope to meet us at Gifford Pinchot State Park between Gettysburg and Harrisburg in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to see them again.Monday, June 8 we packed up, told the Rein’s goodbye and headed to Pennsylvania. Yes we are going south before we head back north. Screwy route, but the one we planned. We stopped just a few miles inside Pennsylvania at Ives Run Recreation Area operated by the Corps of Engineers. They have full hookups and for us seniors it is only $15. When we arrived on a Monday morning, there were 4 rigs in front of us and by the time we checked in there were four behind us. Olivia commented she had never seen so many coming into a park on Monday and one lady answered, “we never go on the weekend!”
It is a beautiful park with nicely scattered trees, paved sites with a graveled patio for table and fire ring. The mowing crew was out when we arrived and it was fun to watch all five of them going around trees and not running into each other. It was not long before one of the host couples stopped to see where in Texas they were from. They winter and work in Donna, in the Texas valley. The couple working registration winter and work in Summerville, TX.
Tuesday, June 9 we drove back into New York to see the Corning Museum of Glass. We spent three hours looking at all the beautiful and interesting pieces in this museum. They started with a private collection that was outstanding, then moved into the history of glass making and the various forms glass can take. Pressed glass, cut glass, molded, fiber optics, planetarium lenses. It was surprising just how many uses glass has been adapted for.
We saw
furniture
Chandeliers,
Mosaic pictures
Paper weights, including one that weighed 100 pounds. It is like Mike Fenton’s fishbowl. One in the museum store similar to this on was priced at $44,000. Did you get yours here, Mike?
Cut glass and we thought of the Farrar's. Have you been here?
One large ball 4-5’ in diameter was all spun glassAnd two bowls were made of
colored strands of glass. Look close to see the tiny strands.Even how Owens made
glass beverage bottles in Waxahachie.We watched a glass blowing demonstration as well as learned about how fiber optics works. Very interesting day.
Next letter Philadelphia.
So much for this letter. Let us hear from you, comments, stories from home, what we need to be sure and see on our future route,
OR If you want your name removed
Contact Olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com
So much for this letter. Let us hear from you, comments, stories from home, what we need to be sure and see on our future route,
OR If you want your name removed
Contact Olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com
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