Another Sunny Morning...Boring (Hiking Gorge)

6:50

I am starting to get up later, at 6:45, a sleepy head, as my Mom would say.  Cloudless sky, empty lake, a slight wind, the lake a light blue, almost white at times become of the sun's reflection, and 60 degrees.  This morning,  Ron Mc Clure and I are going on Stage Two of our Intrepid Hike Up Chautauqua Creek.  Another two miles, another two hours!


Just yesterday, however, Evie and I also spent the late morning and early afternoon at Chautauqua Gorge as well.  Our neighbor, Kathy Leonard, had never been to the Gorge and asked if Evie and I would take her and her niece, Isabelle there some day.  Well, yesterday was a perfect day for the Gorge, not too not but sunny enough, so around 10:30, the four of us headed off to Hannum Rd, the route to the Chautauqua Gorge State Park, about a half hour drive.  The walk down to the Gorge is always breathtaking, as out of nowhere, or so it seems, you begin to hear the rush of the water, then see the Gorge, the rocks, the water flowing towards Lake Erie.  We left our backpacks at the bottom of the hill, on the rocks by the swimming hole, then hiked for about a half hour to the south.  The creek was low, though still flowing with some power, great for hiking on the dry rocks if you liked, or in the shallow water if you preferred.  We walked as far as the curve where you encounter tall, bare, layered rock cliffs which eventually disappear as the trees once again take over.  It always amazes me how different the scenery along the Gorge is as you often walk in the shade of trees that overhang the Gorge, then walk into bright sunlight, as we did when we ran into the wall of rock, slate, and sandstone.  Kathy is a geologist so it was fun to learn about the various kinds of rocks we were passing.  Isabelle, Kathy's niece, said something cute after the hike.  "I thought I knew everything about the environment of Chautauqua but this is the best, it's amazing."  She's eight years old and how true.

Hiking the Gorge

Kathy Leonard Cooling it 

Shade of the Gorge

Rocky cliffs

The Usual Detritus 

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We had a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, cheese and crackers, grapes, and homemade chocolate chip cookies.  We also all swam in the bone chilling cold of Chautauqua Creek, the kind that you don't get used to so we did not linger for long.  Both Kathy and Isabelle also rode the rapids and Evie just enjoyed sitting in the rushing water, almost like a sauna but cold.  We enjoyed just laying about on the rocks in the sun.  Then,  I got the bright idea of sending empty water bottles down the creek, watching them make their way, seeing how fast they could go.  This amused all four of us for about a half hour, as we had to grab it before it went over the final falls.  Evie and I decided to bring bottles for all our grandchildren when we come back in late July and have bottle races.  We will have to see if it will be fun for the teenagers.

We stopped at Box Car Barney's in Mayville on the way back and Kathy and Isabelle got ice cream cones, the perfect way to end the excursion to the Gorge.  Evie and I spent the afternoon reading on the dock and had left over Chinese for dinner.  A trip to the Chautauqua Gorge is always a good day.