Tuesday - Monday, August 29th – September 5th 2022 … Two Lane Adventures Continue!

While I was on my last walk in Letchworth State Park this morning, I walked all the camping loops and I found this unique camper. Only our military friends will know what it is!

Today we travel back to Chemung County for our last week in New York. Although, we have spent just about 40 days in New York, we were only close to where we raised our family for about 10 of those days.

We had to go to the grocery store and get gas, so we decided to go to the diner for breakfast. That is the name, The Diner. It is a renovated railcar, located just outside historic Hanover Square in Horseheads NY. 

It is a local place that treats visitors just like family. We were well taken care of and we overheard conversations between staff and locals that just made my heart melt. The owners or staff, whichever, were so caring about the health and well-being of their regular customers. 

Charlie had 1 giant pancake and I had the veggie omelet, minus cheese. We enjoyed our breakfast and then we headed into town for groceries and gas for the car.

We enjoyed a few quiet days here, just sitting out relaxing and enjoying the nature that surrounded us. The setting in this park is just so beautiful!

It is starting to look a lot like fall around here. The locals say the leaves are changing early because it has been such a dry summer. Leaves changing tells me winter is getting closer and I don’t like the thought of that!

Charlie and I agreed to have dinner ready for everyone when they arrived on Friday. So I simmered sauce for 2 days. I made one chock full of vegetables and the other all meat for the goulash! It will be a yummy dinner, when everyone arrives!

On Saturday, Rob & Sheila and Charlie & I headed into Watkins Glen. There was a store that Rob wanted to go to. I am always up for a ride! We enjoyed the shopping at Famous Brands Store. Famous Brands including Carhart, Columbia and Patagonia have been sold in their Watkins Glen clothing store since 1983. Yes, they are a real brick and mortar clothing store. They started with only 900 sq. feet, but now they have grown into three shopping floors consisting of over 13,000 sq. feet of casual clothing, outerwear and footwear representing over 600 brands. Everyone struck out at finding bargains, but me! I found 2 pairs of smaller sized shorts for $20 each, regular price $60! Charlie got 1 pair of shorts and I got 1 shirt! Great day of shopping for the Parsels!

We stopped at Rooster Fish Brewing Pub for lunch. They offer passionately brewed, uniquely world-class craft ale from locally sourced ingredients. They have a rotating offering with at least 5 craft-style small batch beers and up to 4 seasonal and special brews. Charlie & Sheila got a craft beer, I can’t remember the flavor. Rob got Pepsi and I had water. 

Today is Sheryl Lalonde’s birthday, so Rob, Charlie and I channeled our inner vegetarian. Rob had a portabella burger, Charlie had French Fries and I had cauliflower tacos. Shelia was the renegade she had a chicken burger.

After lunch, there was a set of “angel wings” on the wall of a building. I am a sucker for these and I made Sheila pose for a picture. 

She snapped a picture of me too! After seeing the picture of myself, I realize this shirt and shorts need to go into the “too big” bag!

We also drove to these “big” waterfalls that Sheila raved about. But, the weather has been so dry … there is hardly no water! Shequaga Creek, which begins in the hills 8 miles west of here, near and shortly after falling over Shequaga Falls, it flows north and empties into the Seneca Lake inlet. Normally, it is a large frothy cascade of water, 156 feet in height. It passes under the Mill Street Bridge as it starts and empties into a large basin at the end of the park.

At the base of the falls is a sign labeled "She-qua-ga", a transliteration of its Seneca name. A bridge above the waterfall spells the name as "Che-qua-ga". Many historic names have been recorded under a wide variety of spellings, especially as various peoples tried to transliterate them from one language to another.

There is a second waterfalls that we passed by on the main road, it too was dry!

 

On Saturday night, we all chipped in with ingredients for a pizza night. Royce & Karen brought their pizza oven and we had many varieties of pizzas created! 

Karen was the chef and Charlie was her sous-chef! 

It was a great night with friends, food and fire!

Saturday night gave us the best sunset of our time here! Beautiful, just beautiful!

On Sunday, it threatened rain most of the day and Dana wanted to be sure that his wood stayed dry! I called it camping with a “city boy” … he said it was like camping with a boy scout … always prepared!

Dana and Dawn treated the NY Camping FRamily to a low country boil for dinner. 

It was delicious and everyone enjoyed it! Rob made Dutch oven corn bread, which was excellent too! 

The rain spitted just a bit, but held off so we could have a fire too! Rain came after 9pm and lasted all night!

Monday morning should have been our last day to sit around with “our gang” … but Mother Nature kept the rain coming. So, we wandered around to each of our friends, as they packed up in the rain and headed out. It is always bitter sweet, but it is never good-bye, just see you later! There were hugs and a few tears. But we stay in touch, when we are not in NY!

It rained all day Monday, so it was a great day to clean the RV and do our laundry. It was the first day that I have not walked since May 28^th! I tried to head out a couple times, but Mother Nature kept the rain falling!

  

  

All the walks I did here covered almost every trail that they have here! I got to see deer a couple times and get a picture. I saw several other deer, but was not quick enough to get a picture! I enjoyed every walk I had here. Tuesday, we head west and out of New York.

Friday - Sunday, August 26 - 28th 2022 … Two Lane Adventures Continue!

Friday, we traveled from Chemung County to Letchworth State Park. It’s a short drive and we took the highway, to avoid the hills of New York.  I did get a walk through the woods before we left the park!

The sights here are spacious, partly wooded and all gravel. The park really thought about the campers, when they built this park!

Charlie and I toyed with the idea of changing our reservations around a bit, because Letchworth is closer to our old home area. But after we arrived, we are very glad it did not work out. All of the sites our group had were the worst sites we have ever had here. Un-level, steep drop offs when you exit your rig and Royce and Karen had to back high on a hill to get level! Karen and I did some walking here. Roscoe joined us, so we did 2 miles out on the main road and 2 miles back. This route kept him away from the other dogs. He loves to try and “herd” everything he sees!

Royce, Karen, Sheila and I made a trip to the “Amish Bulk Food Store” in Warsaw NY. In 1995, Lantz's Bulk Foods was started by Ivan and Cheryl Lantz at a local farmers market known then as "The New Farm." Searching for a facility of their own, they purchased the Top of the Hill Restaurant and converted it into a bulk food store / restaurant in 1997. In late 1997, Ivan was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after a courageous three-year battle, God called him home. In 2002, Lantz's was purchased by the current owners & a nephew to Ivan, the Dwayne & Rosie Glick family. My biggest purchase was peas... I am not a cooked pea lover, but I am addicted to these dried peas!

This was the second time we got to camp with Walter, this summer. This trip just proved that he is ruling the Driscoll household! LOL!!!

We enjoyed group meals and our campfires with FRamily! The one night the bourbon was flowing, after a few went to a distillery, winery and cidery! The conversation around the campfire was very lively that evening! It was great fun for those of us soberer!

Charlie & I had Sunday afternoon to ourselves, so we went to Mount Morris to check out more of the Livingston County Murals, then Applebee’s for an early dinner and then went to check out the falls in Letchworth State Park. The first-ever county-wide mural festival hosted in New York State happened in Livingston County this July 2022. The LivCo Walls Mural Festival welcomed nine international artists to paint large-scale murals in each of the nine villages of Livingston County. The nine villages of Livingston County are: Avon, Caledonia, Dansville, Geneseo, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Mount Morris and Nunda. I already shared the work from Livonia. The newest mural is the Flowers of Letchworth, painted by Louise Jones from Detroit, Michigan. It was painted on a business on Main Street in Mount Morris. 

However, to me, the more interesting mural was created by Shawn Dunwoody, a local activist and artist. It mural encompasses the many faces of history in the town of Mount Morris. Dunwoody was careful to take input from students and community members to be sure all stories were told. In Haudenosaunee culture, women were traditionally responsible for crop cultivation. 

The Three Sisters represent corn, beans, and squash, three important main crops grown by the Seneca people in Western New York. Mary Jemison, also known as Dehgawanus and the "White Woman of the Genesee." She was captured by a group of French soldiers and Shawnee allies. Jemison was subsequently adopted by the Seneca and spent the rest of her life with them. Numerous immigrants came to the area to work on the 124-mile canal, which connected Rochester and Olean. The canal operated from 1840 to 1878 and was abandoned when Mt. Morris became a railroad hub. William Pryor Letchworth became a wealthy businessman in the iron industry. After visiting the Genesee Valley, he purchased a large plot of land and expanded a farmhouse into the Glen Iris estate as his private residence. Letchworth retired to his estate at the age of 48 and devoted his life to charity, including helping to establish a regional hospital for people with epilepsy and modernizing "poorhouses" and orphanages. Letchworth donated his estate and 1,000 acres of land to New York State as a public park in 1906. Mary Seymour Howell, born in Mt. Morris in 1844, frequently traveled with Susan B. Anothony and wrote the full suffrage bill that was passed by the NYS Assembly in 1892. Ross Barnes (1850-1915), born in Mt. Morris, hit the first home run in what was to become Major League Baseball. He played nine years as a Boston Red Stocking. Francis Bellamy, author of the Pledge of Allegiance, was born in Mt. Morris in 1855. The pledge was written as a "salute to the flag" and meant to be a pledge of loyalty. 

New York is home to many fantastic state parks, but few are as awe-inspiring as Letchworth State Park. For those of you not from New York, let me explain. 

Letchworth State Park straddles the banks of the Genesee River along a canyon that is as much as 550 feet deep, garnering it the nickname the “Grand Canyon of the East”. While the park is said to be home to dozens of waterfalls, there are three large falls on the Genesee River that are the stars of the park. These are creatively named Upper Falls, Middle Falls, and Lower Falls. The Genesee River starts in northern Pennsylvania and flows north through the park. This is important to know as, despite what you would assume, Upper Falls is actually the southernmost of the waterfalls. As the river leaves the Letchworth State Park, it passes through the Mount Morris Dam, the largest concrete dam east of the Mississippi. North of the park, there are two more large waterfalls in downtown Rochester before the river flows into Lake Ontario.

As I said before, the Upper Falls is actually the southernmost of the three waterfalls in the park on the Genesee River. It is the second tallest of the three main waterfalls at approximately 70 feet in height. The water here falls in a horseshoe shape, which gives it a lot of beauty.

Probably the most unique feature of Uppers Falls is the bridge that stands more than 200 feet above the river. This active railroad bridge creates a unique scene for both viewing and photography, and its amazing to watch trains pass over the bridge.

The Middle Falls is the tallest waterfall on the Genesee River the Letchworth State Park at 107 feet in height. Middle Falls is located just a few hundred yards downstream from Upper Falls. The concrete path next to the falls offers many great vantage points including looking directly over the crest of the falls. Middle Falls is located just below Glen Iris Inn, the former home of William Pryor Letchworth, the man who donated much of the park’s land. 

Rob suggested that we visit Inspiration Point, not sure what his intentions were... But, it is one of the highlights of any visit to Letchworth State Park. From here, there are fantastic views of Middle Falls and Upper Falls together.  

It was a quiet evening in the camper, because we get no internet, cell signal or TV stations! Luckily, we get a signal for our Sirius radio, so listening to Willie’s Roadhouse is the fun for the evening!

On Monday, we head back to Chemung County to finish out our camping in New York!

Monday - Thursday, August 22 - 25th 2022 … Two Lane Adventures Continue!

Today we departed Livonia NY and headed to the southern tier of NY to Chemung County Park Station campground. Before we left, I had time for my morning walk. It was my last 4-mile square in the 14466 area for this year!

Charlie had time for his favorite travel day breakfast... Cinnamon Rolls and Bologna! Our friends have stayed here before. We are staying here for 4 nights, to camp with an old friend and his wife because it is close to where they live now.

We are camping with Ted & Linda Decker. Let me back up, when Charlie & I lived in Hemlock, Ted and his wife Sharon were our best friends. Sharon was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident on October 11, 2011. We all lost a dear friend that day. Ted was later able to reconnect with a friend from high school and they were married. We have met them at campgrounds in past summers. This is the first time we are able to camp with them. We enjoyed a great deal of time visiting and catching up. Ted & Linda have two dogs that were at home with a dog sitter. But, that did not work out … so they went and picked up the dogs and had to cut our time together short.

Ted walked with me our first morning here and we did see our first set of deer!

 

We did enjoy two dinners together and a night of “chocolate covered cherries.” Which is a very smooth after dinner drink … I did the WW calculations and it was 20 smart points for one drink. Good thing, I only had one!

On Thursday August 25^th, Charlie & I drove to Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen is home to The Watkins Glen International a world-famous car race track, known for the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it has hosted for more than 20 years. Also in the town of Watkins Glen it is where Mother Nature Meets Main Street with waterfalls, gorges, trails, parks, and more.

When in Watkins Glen, you must walk the gorge! Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks, with a reputation for leaving visitors spellbound. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course.

We followed the gorge path that winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. This is one of two waterfalls you can walk behind. This is made possible by the wearing away of a thin layer of shale rock underneath a tougher layer of sandstone. The waterfall has eroded this narrow section of gorge and the deep pools below. Cavern Cascade and other waterfalls have created Watkins Glen State Park by eroding the rocks deep into the hillside.

Beyond the next tunnel and staircase are the Narrows. The gorge here has its own “micro-climate.” It is shady, cool and very moist most of the time, similar to a rainforest. Plants including ferns and mosses prefer these conditions and thrive here.

The rim trails overlook the gorge in many spots. I found a unique rock table with tons of Cairns. Piles of rocks have been used since the beginning of humanity, mostly to set marks to not get lost in nature. Later, cairns were used as burial monuments and as landmarks to locate buried items.

There is a koi pond here too! It was full of lily pads.

My walking in the park afforded me some beautiful views! 

There are 3 major walking trails, all of them go all the way around the lake. The blue, is the flattest and closest to the lake. 

The red is part way up the hill, with some up and down. The green is the highest trail, with the most up hill. I tried all of the trails this week!

 

Charlie had a little friend that enjoyed his company! We enjoyed our time here with our friends, the wildlife and the scenery!