Sunday, Sept. 12

It rained so hard and long last night that the water level of Lake Ontario had to have risen 4 inches. Luckily, it stopped just long enough to take the dogs out.

Even though we are still bitter about Watkins Glen’s parade the other day, we had to visit their park and its 19 waterfalls. The drive beside Seneca Lake, of the Finger Lakes, was beautiful. This is serious wine country. There had to have been a winery every half mile.

The campgrounds at Watkins Glen are carved into dense woods. To enter our site. I had to back down into a pit between trees. Carol said there was no way I could maneuver the Ham into such a tight opening. I think she says things like that just to challenge and motivate me. After a few adjustments, I cleared the tree in front by 2 inches and missed the tree in the back by less. I’m not sure how we’ll get out, but we’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Monday, Sept. 13

When we got back from our morning walk with the girls, Christy would not get back into the Ham. She loves to be the adventure dog, so we kept walking. Eventually, she agreed to go back inside and we drove to the waterfalls trails. Dogs are allowed on most of the trails, so we leashed the girls up and started hiking. After about an hour, we returned to the Ham so I could hike the Gorge Trail. The trail doesn’t allow dogs and Carol wasn’t thrilled about going up and down the 832 stone steps. 

My mission was to take a ridiculous amount of pictures and be back by lunchtime. The initial descent down to the trail is 120 steps. The 10-degree drop in temperature felt refreshing from the low 80″s at the rim. I marveled at how the water had cut through the multi-levels of shale for millions of years. The water was gushing down the gorge from the early morning rains. The rainwater was also dripping out of the shale from above. It was like walking under trees after heavy rain. Cavern Cascade was the first and best falls that I came to. The trail took me beside the falls, behind the falls and around to the other side. The force of the water shooting over the edge was exhilarating and the sound was deafening.

The trail continued on past a few other waterfalls and into a large open area called Glen Cathedral. Feeling I had completed my mission, I returned to the Ham at a swift pace.

The normal hike time for the Gorge Trail is about 2 hours. I had done it in 45 minutes because I’m never late for lunch. 

Click on this link to view the gorge. Make sure you click on the videos and turn on the sound. https://photos.app.goo.gl/yBiau5QmQ2oi9bqq5

Tuesday, Sept. 14

Tonight we are staying at a fifth-generation dairy farm/creamery store. We parked beside the barns, overlooking the fields, cows and rolling hills. On our tour of the barns, Carol quickly took me to the newborn calf housing. As we approached the area, a calf had gotten loose and was running crazy, kicking up its back legs and shouting, “I’m free! I’m free!” Not having any cattle farming experience, Carol and I both felt that this activity was not on the newborn schedule for the day. There was no one around and the two Border Collies that I had been playing fetch with all afternoon knew they were supposed to do something but they weren’t sure what it was. I found a young boy to tell. When he saw the calf, he got a distressed look and then stuck out both arms to make himself look big and herd the calf back to its hut. When that wasn’t working, he quickly went to plan B – run and get mom. While he was gone, Carol and I stuck out our arms and pretended like we knew what we were doing. Thank goodness, as our arms tired, mom showed up and saved the day.

In the evening, I flew my new drone over the property, took a long walk in the fields with the girls and cleaned cow manure from our shoes. It was a great day!

Wednesday, Sept. 15

We drove to Ithaca, NY to stay at Robert H. Treman State Park. Before getting to the campground, we stopped at a bike shop and bought a used rear wheel for my bike for 20 bucks. That made my day! 

After a quick walk with the girls, it started raining at about 1:00. It rained the rest of the day until bedtime. Not every day is a great day.

Thursday, Sept. 16

On our morning walk with the girls, we discovered the Lower Falls / Swim Area. The falls pour out into a natural swim area. Carol got up close to feel and hear the power of the water.

After lunch, we visited Lucifer Falls in the park.A short, flat hike took us down the gorge to the bridge over the falls. The rushing water, carved-out rock and roaring falls made for a memorable experience. Close to the parking lot was another falls by an old mill. We got out Lois’s transport chair and took her on a fun field trip.

We moved on to Buttermilk State Park to view Buttermilk Falls. It was close and clearly visible from the front entrance, so I dropped off Lois and Carol before pulling into the parking lot. The parking lot was very busy, with nowhere to park. With people walking in front and behind me, turning the Ham around was next to impossible. Carol came back to get Lois’ transporter and see what had happened to me. With her help, I finally got the Ham turned around.  because they were done at the falls. Later that night, when I asked Carol for the pictures she had taken, she realized that, because of the craziness, she had forgotten. Here’s a picture we found online.

We returned to Robert H. Treman Park to transport Lois to the Lower Falls. When we got to the falls, there were 3 steps up to the observation deck with no handrail. Excited to get to the falls,   she crawled up the steps. Lucy thought that looked like fun and gave her kisses on her face during her ascent. This became Lois’ favorite waterfall. As Carol pushed Lois back and me in charge of the dogs, Lucy went into attack mode towards another dog. When this happens, Christy always has to help out. Between Lucy running in front of Lois, Chrisy jerking me sideways and leashes getting tangled, I somehow, successfully, controlled the outburst – so I thought. When I turned around, Carol had been thrown to the ground and Lois had blood trickling down her leg. We put a bandaid on Lois’ leg and I gave Carol a deep butt massage. The mishap didn’t ruin another great day.

Friday, Sept. 17

Today we will be spending the night at Middleburgh Winery. We parked in the vineyard with a view of tree-covered mountains on both sides. We had a wine slushy as an afternoon treat, then walked the dogs through the rows and rows of grapevines. Before dinner, I flew my drone around the vineyard taking videos. Carol made a fabulous dinner of fettuccine alfredo and sliced tomatoes – drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and covered with fresh basil.

Saturday, Sept. 18 

We drove to Hudson, NY to meet up with Chad, Lais and a friend. Hudson is an old whaling town, founded in the 1600s. We walked through the streets with 3 dogs and Lois in her transporter and viewed the old buildings. Afterward, we did a carry-out dinner and ate at the RB&B house that Chad and Lais had rented for the weekend. The fun visit ended when we had to drive to our overnight stay at the parking lot of an indoor soccer field.

Sunay, Sept. 19

On our way to Acadia National Park, we are overnighting at a brewery in Pittsfield, NH. The brewery is at the top of a mountain with beautiful views. Lois and I each bought a bottle of mead. We’re saving them until we get to Acadia. Christy met another new friend.