Our RV, the “Flying Ham”, has sat idle for 18 months and we decided to get it back on the road. We’d never been to New England, so after the summer crowd was gone, we took off for Letchworth State Park in Castile, New York. Letchworth is considered the “Grand Canyon” of the East. It has also been voted the best state park in the United States.

Tuesday, Sept 8

After a late start and a few stops, we arrived at the campground just in time for an evening walk with the girls. We were quickly greeted by 42 million mosquitos. Since the girls needed to do their business, we had no choice but to continue on. The faster we walked, the more they attacked us. Just before getting back to the Ham, a large swarm picked up little Lucy and started to carry her away. Luckily, my survivor mode kicked in and I was able to run after her, jump up to her dangling leash and pull her to safety. A hysterical Carol, the dogs and I scrambled back to the Ham. For the next 20 minutes, the vicious, outdoor predators threw themselves against the Ham making it shake. 

The traumatic event was soon forgotten when we cut into Carol’s birthday cake. It was her birthday! 

Wednesday, Sept. 9

Today was our day to check out the “Grand Canyon” and the beautiful waterfalls. A bright, sunny morning made the canyon more special. When we arrived at the upper waterfalls, sunshine turned into showers. Even though it was lightly raining, it didn’t stop Lois from walking down the same path to the falls as she did over seventy years ago as a young lady. Before moving on to the middle falls, we had lunch in the Ham and waited out the rain. With the sun out, a rainbow was created from the powerful waterfall’s mist. It was a good first day with more to come.

Click on this link to view more pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TKSRDDXVQcbktUos9

Thursday, Sept. 10

New England is noted for its many waterfalls. Since there has recently been plenty of rain, we’ve decided to make this a trip to waterfalls. Taughannock Falls State Park was just 100 miles away, so after just a two-hour morning drive, we could have lunch and tour the waterfalls. At least that was the plan. An hour into the trip, we turned onto a highway that posted a 5-ton limit. Since the Ham weighs 7 tons, we had to turn around and backtrack. We lost an hour. Our new route took us through Watkins Glen. Unfortunately, no one notified us about the 2021 Grand Prix Festival. The main route through town was closed for a parade. We spent the next hour inching through our half-mile detour. A few miles out of town we missed a turn-off because a phone call interrupted our Google maps. Another 20 minutes lost!  Within one mile to the park entrance, there was a hairpin turn that I couldn’t make. Five miles out, a 15-point turn and five miles back we finally made it to the campground in a record time of five and a half hours! I guess we’ll hike the falls tomorrow.

Friday, Sept. 11

We drove to the Taughannock Falls Overlook in the morning. Lois was able to walk to the overlook and we were all impressed.

After taking pictures, we moved on to the Upper Falls. Carol, the dogs and I hiked a short way to get another spectacular view.

Back in the Ham, we were off to Fair Haven Beach State Park on the shores of Lake Ontario, just 1.5  hours away – that’s 4 hours away in Flying Ham time. No waterfalls there, but there is a beach, hiking, biking and a lake to try out our new inflatable kayak. Amazingly, we arrived in 1.5 hours for lunch. On a long afternoon hike with the dogs, we discovered a few campsites on a bluff overlooking Lake Ontario. Carol booked us a site there for tomorrow night. For dinner we had grilled chicken, diced, air-fried potatoes – tossed in olive oil and fresh thyme. The thyme came from our traveling herb garden at the kitchen window.

Saturday, Sept. 12

Before moving to our new site, we drove down to the park’s large pond to kayak. Lois and the girls stayed in the Ham as Carol and paddled away. The kayak paddled and manuvered easier than we excepted.

As I was backing up to a tree at our new site, I was not aware that the ground surrounding the tree was high. A loud crunch and a shriek from Carol alerted me to stop. The rear wheel of my not-yet-ridden bike had been severely twisted by the ground. My mountain biking plans would have to happen another day.