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| Waterfowl Breakfasting |
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| Ice, Open Waters, Blue Skies |
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| Sitting Ducks |
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| 7:56 |
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| Flocking Birds, Early Morning |
Another (shock) sunny winter morning here on the lake, so bright that I have to move to another seat. It's still cold out, 16º, but seems to be warming up. And we should have sun for another couple of days, thanks to Zeus and his cohort, Helios. And strangely, seemingly hundreds of birds, ducks I think, are hanging out in the few open spaces left in the rapidly freezing lake, catching their last meal before heading South.
Yesterday began with the usual, coffee and writing the blog before heading off to yoga on a bitterly cold 6º morning. Class was great, only four of us, so that we could get some individual attention and I am finding that I am still in 'yoga shape,' able to handle most of the positions without straining too much. And the teacher makes such a difference as Danielle, who owns the studio, is exceptional at teaching and explaining the basics. It was a good way to start the day.
And despite my gut that told me we should put off a hike in this cold weather and go to a movie, Evie convinced me that we should take advantage of the sun and drive forty five miles to hike in the Allegany State Park. So, when I got home, we both started getting ready for our hike, taking lots of water, dressing warmly, making sure I had my anti bear spray, safety blanket, and camera. Once all was ready, we relaxed for some lunch, soup and cheese sandwich, until 12:45, our target time for heading off. We wanted to make sure we were hiking in sunny weather, before the sun began to set behind the hills of the Allegany Forest. Our drive was easy though there was little snow on the hills as we went, disappointing because we wanted to walk through snow.
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| Trail Map |
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| Sweetwater Trail |
Fortunately, the park had a base of four or five inches, which made hiking easy and fun. We decided on the Sweetwater Trail, which ended up being a four mile hike through snow, woods, and hills. I had assumed this trail was the one that had a vista of the valley, kept waiting for it, and even began to think we were on the wrong trail after an hour and a half of hiking. Fortuitously, we reached a cross roads and I realized that Sweetwater was not the trail with a vista. We could relax; we were on the right trail. After the crossroads, the trail headed back to the cars, a pleasant half mile back, mostly flat. We were never cold on our hike despite the 19º temperature when we started out. And the sun was glorious, felt wonderful on our faces whenever we rose above the valley.
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| Winter Happy |
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| Naked Trees In Winter |
We then drove to the 1929 mansion called the Red House, to relax and warm up, and Evie browsed the gift shop, picking out a few items for the treasure chest. There was little traffic at the building though there were three people working behind the desk, for information or to rent the cabins that are available year round.
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| Red House Sitting Area |
We then drove back to #86, got off at the Steamburg exit and drove along the Allegheny Reservoir to Evie's real destination for the day, Horseshoe Inn, in South Valley, about ten minutes from the Nic L Inn. We had been there a couple of months ago, met two guys and coincidentally, when we walked in, both were there at 5:00, just like last time. Dan lives in PA but owns a liquor store in Frewsburg, and spent summers on Chautauqua Lake. We also struck up a conversation with the bartender, Dustin, who lives in Falconer. The Inn had six of us at the bar but slowly older, probably retired couples like us dribbled in as the afternoon wore on.
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| Horseshoe Inn |
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| Enjoying Winter |
We enjoyed getting to know Dustin, reacquainted ourselves with Dan, and the waitress, who was struggling with quitting smoking. Evie could sympathize. Coors Light Drafts were $ 1.25, a deal, and I ordered the Horseshoe Burger with fries and Evie ordered a double order of homemade fries. We were both very happy. It was a nice way to end the day, getting to know new people. And just as we were leaving we met a guy who is part of the Cross Country Ski Patrol; it would have been fun to talk with him.
We left just after 6:00, drove home in the dark of course, and we ensconced in our TV room, cosy and warm by 7:15, ready to watch the last two episodes of RIVER. Its a confusing and at times aggravating series because River, the lead character, lives with voices in his head, mostly from the past, and they are palpable, visible only to him. And interesting premise but at times annoying.
We finished out TV watching with some Stephen Colbert.
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