July 24, 2021 Wandering In The Land Between The Lakes
Smith Park Campground Hector, NY Day 4
It was really hard to make myself walk that hill again…but I did! It was a glorious day…just a touch of chill in the air.
Each time I walk, I see something new. Today a doe was really close to the road.
These sweet peas had a heavenly fragrance!
We packed a picnic…because we really do like to eat outside…we have a lot of picnics! We took the Jeep and set out to explore. We are staying on Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake is about 15 miles to the east. We drove from one, across to the other. This is agricultural land. Everything seems to grow well here; grapes, corn, soy beans, and orchards full of fruits.
We followed the Cayuga Scenic Byway to the top of the lake. We had our lunch at Cayuga State Park.
We stopped to walk around in Seneca Falls, a quaint village on the Seneca River. I love the randomness of what we do…no plan, no itinerary, just freedom to wander and explore.
We drove back to the RV down through the middle and then on the Seneca Scenic Byway.
Today was lowkey and restful. We grilled tuna for our dinner with coconut rice and a fresh, REAL tomato salad. Tomorrow it will be time to move on!
Today we took the Jeep and the bikes and drove into Ithaca. We had the idea that we would ride to the center of town and bike around. When we got to Ithaca, it was congested with lots of traffic and no easy parking. Tim pulled into a 7-11 and he saw Stewart Park on the GPS. We wended our way through the city to the waterfront. Here we were able to ride the Waterfront Trail along the shores of Cayuga Lake. It was a pleasant ride.
Cornell University perched high on the hill.
We found GreenStar Natural Foods Market and we stopped and ordered wraps and sat on a bench by the water to eat our lunch.
We got home in late afternoon and then after a short rest, we got ready to go to Hazlitt Winery. It had been a gorgeous day with low humidity and warm temperatures and lots of sunshine. We found a spot under a shade tree. Tim drank a pale ale and I tried the Red Cat wine. We enjoyed our picnic while listening to live music. Friday night…date night!
Our campground is on Seneca Lake. To get here from the Seneca Scenic Byway, there is a one-mile downhill road. Today’s walk was that same long road…uphill to 414 and then back down. It was a challenging walk! It was so steep that I wasn’t able to maintain speed and still breathe…but I got it done!
The roadside was flanked by vineyards. This is wine country. The grapes are small and green and hanging on the vine.
We took the Jeep with our bikes and drove 15 miles south to the town of Watkins Glen. This is a tourist mecca and town was a busy place. We cycled to Seneca Harbor.
Through town.
To Watkins Glen State Park. We locked the bikes and hiked some of the Rainbow Waterfall trail.
We biked around to the community park where we enjoyed our lunch of cheese and bread.
We traveled on to Clute Park.
We circled back to the Jeep and went to Walmart. We needed supplies.
After our quiet time, we hiked down to the beach on Seneca Lake with a picnic dinner.
This evening we took a ride in the Finger Lakes National Forest where we saw wild turkeys and fawns.
We stopped at a community park in Wellsbor for our breakfast.
We left Pennsylvania and traveled a short distance into New York. We passed through Corning and Watkins Glen on our way to the campground.
We had a prolonged quiet time this afternoon. Then, at 4pm, we started looking for something to do. I found a farmers market with live music that was in the town of Trumansburg.
The music was great.
We found lots of fun treats to bring home. We bought rainbow-colored eggs from free range chickens.
We got some raw milk cheese that is a blend of parmesan and Swiss. We haven’t been eating cheese at all…this is a rare treat! We chose fresh apricots…we have never had them fresh. And, blueberries that are sweet and delicious and taste like real blueberries. And, we had to get bread because Tim said it was the prettiest bread he had ever seen. I chose a sourdough, wheat, pecan, and raisin bread. We haven’t had bread in months…if you are going to eat bread, this is the kind to get…fresh and real and worthy!! As you can see, we tasted it before we even got a picture! Oh…and purslane…which is a sweet and crunchy nutritional green…looks like weeds and tastes like weeds…but we are going to eat it!
We had food from a BBQ truck. We selected as healthfully as we could. We ate with two women who summer here every year. They told us that when we needed to go and see Taughannock Falls.
We took a short hike along the rim.
It was a very nice evening. There is nothing that we like better than being in a new place, trying new things!
Canyon Country Campground Wellsboro, Pennsylvania Day 2
A morning walk on a country lane.
Today’s adventure was the Pine Creek Trail. This was originally a well-worn footpath walked by Native Americans. Later when the area was used for logging, it became a railroad. Now it is a rail trail; a multiuse trail for cyclists, hikers, and equestrian riders. You could travel 62 miles in the bottom of the gorge or Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon.
We packed our lunch and took our bikes to Darling Run Access Area. We rode 10 miles south. We saw several waterfalls.
The current of the creek is fast and furious.
A hawk.
A bald eagle.
Another bald eagle…or maybe the same eagle…
Tim taking a picture of me taking a picture of the bald eagle!
The grade on the way was downhill…but barely. We wondered if we were going to be able to tell the difference when we turned around and went back to the Jeep. The change in elevation was so gradual that we only needed to drop one gear and we were able to pedal back easily.
This trail is really a treasure and I completely enjoyed our day. It made my heart and soul happy; though my legs are tired!
I woke up and could hear Tim outside tinkering. I waited until I thought there might a warm fire and hot coffee ready before I crawled out of my warm sleeping bag. The coffee was delicious…the fire never quite got started. It was really dewy and foggy this morning.
We drove back to the RV and showered and unpacked. Not much later, we were on the road again. We traveled several hours east, passing through small towns with main streets and town squares. We passed lots of barns and churches too.
We arrived this afternoon in Wellsboro. This is the home of the “Grand Canyon” of Pennsylvania or the Pine Creek Gorge. The Indians called this place the “River of Pines. In the 1800’s logging operations began and the pines along the creek are long since gone.
We took a one-mile hike from the campground to the overlooks at Leonard Harrison State Park. The canyon rim sits 800 feet above the water. It was hazy today but the views were still expansive.
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt, having just been elected, initiated the program of the Civilian Conservation Corps. This program fed and clothed men who in turn helped to build state parks and plant trees.
I had fun trying to capture images of the buzzards catching thermals.
Tim was happy that I made salmon cakes for dinner…one of his favorites!
We woke up and it wasn’t raining. The forecast was for a cloudy morning with gradual clearing. We got our morning exercise finished and then we packed for an overnight roof top tent camping adventure.
We stopped at Kinzua Point for lunch.
We went back to Jakes Rocks and found a nice site tucked back off of the road. We enjoyed a peaceful afternoon with a couple of short walks.
Tim found this hollow log. It made a perfect chimney for our fire.
The evening was pleasant and peaceful. We made omelets for dinner accompanied by some sangria and some good conversation. We were glad to be able to enjoy the forest in this way appreciating the complete quietness of it!
More rain…relentless, heavy rain…all morning! I could have wrapped up in a raincoat and taken an umbrella to go out and walk but it was sheets of rain…yuck!
Tim went to NAPA and was able to find the parts and then fix the headlight.
At 12:15, the rain stopped. I got ready quickly. The forecast showed a dry window until about 2pm…on your mark, get set, go!
I decided to make two laps around the park and get 4 miles in. I knew that it was supposed to rain again all afternoon. I did 3.33 miles in 60 minutes. I did an additional mile but at a slightly slower pace and finished 4 miles in just under 73 minutes. I am starting to move faster and that is COOL!
Tim was ready to get out of the RV for a while. We went for another Jeep ride on forest service roads…still in search of the perfect tent camping site.
With all the recent rain here, the streams are running fast and muddy!
We drove through the forest for about two hours and we still hadn’t found anything worthy. We were ready to go back and it was intermittently raining. The first road that should have led us out of the forest and to the main road was gated. We found another way out. We were less than a mile away from the highway when a driver coming from the opposite direction stopped us to tell us that the road was impassable. A tree, he said, had fallen across the road, obstructing our route. We wanted to go and see it for ourselves. It was actually 4 large oak trees.
The ground is so saturated that the trees just tipped over.
Just as we had resigned ourselves to a really long drive back through the forest, another truck approached from the opposite direction. The guy in the truck had called his cousin Joe, and he reported that he was the calvary on the way to rescue us. Now this guy was weaving and bobbing and sipping a beer. My vote was to start back. It was a really long ride…maybe an hour and a half. If the obstruction was removed, we were less than ½ mile from the highway. Tim wanted to wait and see what happened next. Cousin Joe showed up in about 20 minutes. It was immediately clear that he knew how to use a chainsaw. His chain was sharp and the saw cut through the large trees like butter.
In 15 minutes, the road was clear. Tim and the other guy worked to move the debris from the road and finally we were on our way again.
On the way back to the RV, Tim suggested dinner out. This is the third night in a row…that NEVER happens. We returned to Table 105 where we enjoyed another delicious meal.
A pleasant morning walk in a pleasant town. From the campground, all the way through town, past the train depot, and around Evergreen Park and back. A good three-mile walk.
Wolf pride is everywhere.
It is also obvious that the people here care about the town. It is clean and places are well kept. There are very few businesses that are shuttered and those that are have artful displays in the windows. There are lots of churches and posters advertising outreach programs. It seems like a thriving community!
The campground is directly across from the hospital…we thought we might hear ambulances but it is very quiet here.
Old truck along the way.
We spent our morning at Kinzua Skywalk. This railroad viaduct was built in the late 1800’s. At that time, it was the longest and tallest bridge of its kind; 310 feet above the stream below. In 1900, the bridge was rebuilt to accommodate heavier and longer trains. The bridge stayed in service for a long time afterward and a state park was built to showcase this engineering marvel. In 2003, an F1 tornado sheared the anchor bolts and in two minutes, one half of the bridge was destroyed. The bridge was repurposed as a skywalk supported by the remaining bridge pillars. We walked to the end and peered out over the gorge. The debris from the damaged portion of the bridge lays in the bottom. It was left as a sobering reminder of the power of nature.
We drove from the viaduct to Twin Lakes. We had a simple lunch, protein bars and water, and then took a walk around the lake.
It rained this afternoon…of course it did! It was a time for resting and for making phone calls to family.
We had planned to cook tonight but we decided to get out for awhile instead. We had our dinner at The Lodge and it was fine.
After eating we took muddy Jeep trails in the rain…still searching for a tent camping spot…if we ever have a dry day!
July 15, 2021 Welcome To Kane – A Star In The Forest
Kane RV Sites Kane, Pennsylvania
What a gorgeous morning for a walk. The camp host told us that today was the first dry day in the past four weeks.
I did 3.25 HILLY miles in 60 minutes. A little itty-bitty snail was my only walking companion.
After breakfast, we drove the Longhouse Scenic Byway all the way to Kane. The campground is unremarkable but it had a spot for us and because all of the state parks and national forest campgrounds are booked on the weekends…we feel lucky to be here! We needed to be in town anyway to get laundry done and shop for groceries and that is how we spent our day.
One of the things we really like to do when we are in a new town is to shop in unfamiliar stores and find things to try. People come from hours away to shop at Bell’s Meat Market. They boast a selection of 40 different kinds of sausage and something they call grillers which is chicken breast stuffed with Virginia baked ham, Swiss cheese, and sausage all wrapped in bacon and ready for your grill! Needless to say, we steered clear of all that unhealthy stuff. We saw this jar of pickled turkey gizzards and although we like to try new things…we left them on the shelf!
It is also nice to have internet and cell service. We were able to make some calls and get some cleaning done as well.
We went into Kane for dinner at Table 105. We both had delicious meals…thanks mom for the birthday dinner!
After our meal, we walked through town.
The high school mascot is the wolf and most of the area businesses had wolf flags and posters in their storefront windows.
This statue of a mama wolf and her pups sits on the corner and is dedicated to E. H. McCleery, the father of the endangered species movement.
We stopped at That Natural Store and bought some museli and some homemade organic lemon pomegranate super bars.
