Back To The Grid (After Hiking Letchworth Park Gorge)

Foggy Morning at 7:17

It feels like it has been days but actually I have only missed one morning sunrise here at the lake, that was Wednesday.  It is always good to come home, to your own bed, back to wifi after a long trip of 36 hours.  This morning the lake is obscured by fog, only the dock is visible and it's 52º. Today is a big day for us...we write a big check and come home with a new Subaru Outback.  Scary stuff.

Resting During Our Climb

We spent most of yesterday at Letchworth State Park, heading home to the lake around 3:00.  It was another clear, warm day.  We started our day with breakfast in the Inn: eggs, sausage, home fries and toast.  We don't usually like breakfast out but this was a good day to have it.  We ended up talking with another interesting couple, from Binghamton, NY, also here for a day.  We have met a number of couples that we have struck up conversations with and if we were staying longer, we might suggest having dinner together.  We met another couple on our hike later in the afternoon, a couple we had talked with Tuesday night, and visited with them for a good twenty minutes, finding out about their lives and we both wish we had more time to talk.

Upper Falls

After breakfast, we checked out, put our bags in the car and drove to the parking lot above the Upper falls, near the railroad bridge.  We then hiked down five to ten sets of steps, so that we could get a picturesque view of the falls and the bridge.  The view was almost worth it as we then had to climb back up these steps to get to the car, more than a good workout on a stair machine at the YMCA.

We then stopped at the Letchworth Museum, across the road from the Glen Iris and browsed it and its native American artifacts and history of the park for a half hour.  Letchworth comes across as not only a philanthropist but a humanist, contributing time and money to the dispossessed, the poor, homeless, even prisoners.  An amazing American.

The Gorge Beyond The Falls

We then drove to another section of the gorge, towards the north end, parked our car at the St. Helena lot and hiked to Wolf's Den, about forty five minutes through pine forests, with a final climb down some steep steps to the picnic area, abutting a huge water fall.  We sat and relaxed on some rocks near the origin of the falls, then walked back to St. Helena.  We were tempted by a sign at St. Helena's that mentioned a path down to the Genesse River, about a mile in length.

Evie was all for it, so we parked our car and headed down the road, steep at first but it quickly and fortunately flattened out.  It took about twenty minutes to get to the river and vast shore of rocks.  It was sunny, warm, and we were the only ones on the river, so what did we do?  Stripped down to our shorts and went into the water, wading and cooling off because it was fairly shallow.  Evie loved it, of course, and ended up sitting on a rock in the water eating her lunch.  We stayed there, enjoying the sun and water, looking at rocks, for about an hour before walking back up the path to our car. It was a good choice.  By the time we got to our car, we had enough hiking, having walked over four miles, much of it up hill.  We were ready to head home.

Happy Rock Sitting On The Genesse River

Our ride home was easy and scenic, as the valleys and tree filled hills around the Ellicottville area were just starting to turn gold.  What a beautiful part of the state, as scenic as any of the venues in the East.  We stopped in Ellicottville for a coffee, browsed in a shop briefly, then drove home, getting back at 5:30. The lake was still there, blue and inviting but we resisted the temptation to go for a swim to assuage our sore muscles.

We unpacked, relaxed in our living room, with a glass of wine, happy to be back on our Ipad and computer.  I finished and published my blog, eight hours later than usual, as we agonized over which photographs to include.  Dinner was a no brainer, hot dogs and a salad, no fuss, no muss, and watched two more episodes of The Fall, a series which is becoming increasingly maddening, as they are drawing out the eventual capture of the serial killer.  What could have been five episodes is being  drawn out to ten.  Bed at 10:30 felt good but the smoke alarm going off at 12:30 was enough to make me want to rip it out of the ceiling.  This happened four days ago, so I changed the batteries and that night, all seemed well.  Obviously it's not.

An Overnight Trip To Letchworth State Park (Glen Iris Inn)

6:41

7:28

7:35

We are hoping to be off to Letchworth State Park by 8:00, so we are both up by 6:30, and have a lot more to do than we thought.  A huge cloud bank fills Bemus Bay but its supposed to be a sunny cool day, perfect for a hike along the Letchworth Gorge.

Yesterday was cool, breezy, with blue skies and lots of puffy clouds.  For some reason, we did not take advantage of it like we should of, perhaps because we were thinking about our trip this morning. Even though its just an overnight, the decisions we have to make, what to take, what to leave behind, can be maddening.  As much as we have traveled, one would think it gets easier but it doesn't.  It just gets harder and we always over pack, thinking that it's no big deal if we have an extra this or that. Well, it adds up, so we bring an extra bag.  We are hoping to get every thing in a duffel this time, no blue IKEA bags this trip because we are staying in an Inn, not our kids homes.

So, what did we do yesterday?  We drove off to Falconer, to Roberts Nursery because they had some nice privets in June, said they would be half price in late September, so we waited, too long  as it turned out because they were out of them, just our luck.  We are also looking for a tree to take the place of the one we lost in June.  They had a couple of maples on sale, 50% off, and an Autumn  Red Sunset was only 120 bucks, with a three inch trunk.  Of course, there's a cost to transporting it and planting it but it still seems like a good price.  And, after googling the tree, I liked it even more.  We will have to wait and see if we pull the trigger.  We are not good at that though we did buy a car so maybe we have changed.  We also stopped at Home Depot, to pick up batteries for our annoying smoke alarms which went off in the middle of the night, telling us I suppose it was time to change the batteries.  We also looked at refrigerators but they very few in stock that we liked and the one we were looking for, was not available and we don't want to buy one unless we can see it, catch 22.

We were home around 12:30, tired from shopping and not finding what we wanted.  So I made my lunch, avocado and tomato sandwiches, some cauliflower soup and watched another episode of Ray Donovan.  Evie quickly cleaned up the kitchen, then went out to enjoy the outdoors.  It was too windy on the dock so she went to the side year, protected from the wind and read and dozed.  Around 4:00, I took a walk through the Woodlawn/Victoria woods, a nice circle but at the moment, it's overgrown, so I went up with a rake and hacked away at the trail, making it easier to hike.  There are a number of trees down across the trail so if we want to cross country ski in the winter, we are going to have to remove them with a saw.

Neither of us felt like prepping much for dinner, so we had a Turkish omelet, toast, leftover stuffed portabellos and sweet corn.  And just to add a little class, Evie made a peach crisp late afternoon, so with a scoop of ice cream, we were more than happy with our meal.  We watched two more episodes of The Fall, then Bill Maher's Real Time, then off to bed.''

Tomorrow's blog will not be published until noon or later as the park we are visiting, the Glen Iris Inn where we are staying has no wifi.  So we are going to live without the internet for twenty four hours.  Yuk.

There Is A God (He Hangs Out At Letchworth State Park)

Lower Falls

One Hundred and Twenty Seven Steps

Gorge

It's 3:30 in the afternoon we are sitting in Katy's Internet Cafe in Ellicottville, NY, our first chance to get on the Internet in 36 hours. It's been hell for both of us, no gadgets, just the two of us, a couple of books, and a TV that rarely works. Fortunately, we had Letchworth State Park yesterday and most of today...an amazing State Park.  So I am getting my blog from this morning ready to post, about our first day at the park.

Well, we are staying at the cabins at Glen Iris Inn, just behind the Inn proper.  It’s early morning, 6:15, and I am sitting in the cabin, sipping my coffee along with Evie watching Morning Joe but no WIFI, which is why this blog is so late in posting.

Yesterday, Monday, was a miserable day when we got up and we wondered why we were going off to stay at Letchworth State Park, a two hour drive through driving rain, cloudy skies, with no end in sight.  But we went, stopped at Nellie’s in Arcade, for breakfast, to break the monotony of the rain and clouds before driving the last forty-five minutes to the park.  We stopped in at the Welcome Station, then, drove down to the Glen Iris Inn to see if our rooms were ready, even though it was only 12:15.  Fortunately, they were ready, a relief, so we relaxed and just browsed in the gift shop, actually picking up some Xmas gifts, three down, and many more to go.

 

Genesee River Gorge

Big Bend

We then went back to our room , unpacked, and decided to go off to the Lower Falls, then work our way back south along the Gorge.  And like a miracle, THE SUN APPEARETH and stayed out, playing hide and seek for the next three hours.  Our starting with the Lower Falls was a good choice, even though we had to walk down a stone stairway of steps, 127 of them to be exact, to a great view of the falls and we were able to cross over a stone bridge spanning the Genesee River taking us to the other side of the Gorge, the only bridge on this span of the Gorge.  After walking there, we went off to Wolf Creek, another cool area where we sat on benches, and ate a lunch of eggplant sandwiches on stone tables, wet from the mist from the waterfalls, amazing views the entire way. We then hiked along the trail following the Gorge’s edge till we came to the road, and then headed back to our car.  We drove north through the park , stopping at various vistas,  arriving back at our cabin about 3:30, and relaxed there till dinner.  I did take a walk down to the Middle Falls and beyond before we ate, to wake up from my nap.  It was misty, with few visitors but still, it was great to be outside, despite the wind and mist, as the sun set.

 

Lower Falls Bend

Wolf Creek Falls

Glen Iris Inn

We left for dinner at the Glen Iris Inn at 6:30, and it was a good decision.  We had a great waiter, Joe, who works at the Inn during season, takes Unemployment in the off-season, and is the process of buying a new home.  He liked to talk.  The dining room is hard to describe, not as atmospheric at I would have thought for an old Inn but pleasant, like a hotel restaurant in the 1980’s, dropped ceiling, pictures on the walls but well lit.  Evie had tilapia, with a honey ginger glaze, and I had a New York strip, with onion rings.  Both of our meals were average, nothing to rave about but we had a good time, perhaps because of the bottle of wine.  Mid way through our meal, a busload of retirees descended upon the restaurant, paraded by our table, to the far end of the dining room, all white haired, looking alike.  I would have fit in.

We got back to the room around 8:30, read because the Direct TV was not working, and Evie fell asleep by 9:15, me following soon after.  We were fortunate to have such a good day. 

First Morning at Letchworth State Park

Middle Falls

Upper Falls

Gorge and Genesee River

Four to Five Hundred Foot Drops

It’s just 6:00 in the evening, the sun is peaking though the pines as I sit in my beach chair, outside my tent, beer and kielbasa nearby.  I am in the Letchworth State Park, as I mentioned, close to two and a half hours from Woodlawn.  I got here about 1:30, taking my time,  going back roads, getting off of #86 at Randolph, up through Little Valley, Ellicottville, then # 242 to Arcade, where I took #39 almost to Castile, then to the park.  I was not sure where to enter, as they have three or four entrances.  I paid eight dollars to enter for the day but got it back when I signed to camp for two days.  The campground was about ten miles from the entrance.  It cost me 41 dollars for two nights and I  got to pick out my spot, among the pines and other campers, not far from the WC.  It’s a very pleasant place to camp, with a store as well, laundry facilities, so you could stay here for a while and be comfortable.  It took me about 35 minutes to set up the tent, get things in order and feel at home.

I then spent the next three hours driving around the park, getting my bearings, as it’s 17 miles long, the west side following the gorge created by the Genesee River.  At the south end, I walked for about an hour along the seven miles gorge path,  to both the Upper and Middle Falls, spectacular water falls, though you cannot get very close to them.  I checked on kayaking but no one could tell me much other than I would have to carry my kayak in and out unless I found someone else to paddle with, so I pretty much have given up the idea.  There’s no way I can carry my kayak out and up a hill to the car.  There were lots of people doing the same thing as me, driving to the various sights, not too many people hiking or riding bikes although within the campground, lots of people have bikes. The west side is the most crowded, with cars stopping at the various vantage points, taking pictures of the gorge, the river, and moving on.  

The Place to Stay, Glen Iris Inn

Glen Iris Inn Garden

I don’t much like this stopping in a car, taking a short hike, looking at the falls, taking a few pictures and moving on, though I guess I had to do it to get some idea of the topography.   Tomorrow, I am going to figure out a couple of hikes, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, where I will walk two or three mile loops each time.  I am going to try to get on the other side of the river, the east side, as it looks as though there are more hikes along that side.  This side is mostly along the rim of the gorge, with great views, but not a lot of hiking trails. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm with a chance of showers in the evening, just what I need on my first foray in the wild! It will be interesting to see how I sleep tonight, how early I get up, and what I will do if I get up at my usual time, 6:00.  Start hiking, read, or just go back to sleep? I am going off for a short bike ride, then out of the park to a bar/restaurant one of the workers mentioned is decent.

It’s now about 9:00 and I am sitting outside my tent, in the dark, listening to crickets and the conversations from neighboring tents.  I took a brief walk around our loop of campsites and lots of people have fires going, some in tents, some in big, comfortable RV’s, the good life I suppose.  I drove about eight miles, out through the north Mt. Morris gate and ate at a strange place.  It looked like an annex to a motel next door, and when I walked in, no one was in the place, not even the bar.  I sat down, ordered a beer, a chicken quesadilla, and by the time I left, the bar was full.  I picked a good place.  It’s now pitch black, Xmas lights only are visible on some trailers.  I did look more carefully at  the map and have some hikes planned for tomorrow, perhaps a bike ride as well.  Let’s see if I can read in my tent, or just enjoy the outside, sitting here, in the blackness of night.