Day 39, I ❤️ NY

Growing up in the city, I never quite paid attention to just how rural New York State is. Staying at the campground gave us the opportunity to travel the byways past numerous honor system stands selling home grown fruit and vegetables and firewood. I was surprised to find that just about 87% of the state is considered rural. We went past a number of dairy farms and found out that New York is the fourth largest dairy producer in the United States.
We did not need to drive on the Thruway today and didn't need to leave early since we were only going a little one 100 miles. That was nice since it rained in the early morning. How nice of nature to notice that.

We arrived at Watkins Glen, a place many race fans may be familiar with since it hosts the Watkins Glen International Grand Prix every September. We were here because it is part of the Finger Lakes region, a tourist destination and wine growing region.

Once we got settled, we hiked the Gorge Trail.
It was one waterfall after another, 18 in all, and every one of them was picture worthy. 
The 1.5 mile trail turned into a five-mile hike along the Gorge and through the surrounding forest. We kept imagining just how beautiful it must be here during the height of the fall colors. Unfortunately, that's more than a month off so we'll have to be content with the lovely calming green and the colors of our imagination.

Location: Watkins Glen State Park, 1009 N Franklin St, Watkins Glen, NY 14891, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 9, Rockin' n Rollin' all Night Long

Image
Our crash wrap survived the night. The forecast called for a high wind warning with gusts up to 50 miles an hour. We are pretty sure that wasn't an exaggeration. That was accompanied by heavy rains. Our RV developed a small leak around where the slide comes out but it only required a rag on the floor to keep the water from spreading in the night. We were really relieved and thankful that the temporary fix held.  Ardith and Jim decided to head back to Ashland today. They'd planned to stay an additional night. Tomorrow we would continue north and theywould head back inland and south. If the night's storm and the forecast for continued rain, wind, and chilly temperatures (as I write this at 6 pm it is 46°) wasn't enough to convince them to leave, the standing water in their campsite was. We didn't have too much on our list of things to do given the weather but we headed out to Oceanside Beach. We got there during a break in the rain. Luckily, it was low tide. A walk do...
Read more

Day 7, The Long and Lonely Road

Image
March 28, 2023 Death Valley, at 3.4 million acres, is the largest national park in the contiguous 48 states. More than 90% is protected wilderness. As we left the park, we made sure we had gas since we'd be driving for a long time with not more much besides vast expanses. We drove through Death Valley Junction. Pretty much at all that is there is the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel. It was originally built by the borax company but was abandoned in 1925. In 1957, Marta Becket came across the abandoned building and felt it was asking her to ressurect the building. She moved from NYC and began offering dance and mime performances but the audiences were small so she began to paint an audience on the walls. It took her four years. There were no tours anytime close to when we passed through so the image is from the web. From Death Valley to the Mohave. We are outside Barstow tonight. It is about halfway to our next stop. I found a Harvest Host at Slash X Cafe, abou...
Read more

Day 1, On the Road Again. Destination Olivia

Image
Since our big adventurer, we've only been out in the pod on a few occasions and then only for a few days at a time. Even though I made lists of what we'd taken on our long trip, it took a while to assemble it all together. We also need to sanitize the fresh water tank. When we finally drove away, the planning and packing already seemed all worth it Driving to our first stop was a bit unremarkable. We made one rest stop at the Dunnigan Rest Area. It has lots of eucalyptus trees which makes it a nice rest stop by California standards. Our first night is at MoonBeam Farms, a lavender and loofah farm. It's a Harvest Host, meaning RVs can stay one night but you must have your own water, power, and there are no trash facilities. In return, you are asked to support the host by spending $20-40. Caz gave us a tour. She currently has ten different varieties of lavender. Some are culinary, others are more fragrant and provide buds and oils for her many products. As we walk...
Read more