Dreary Upstate NY

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Entering upstate NY grew our excitement for New England. Up until now we were unsure if we were going to make it. The weather matched the terrain perfectly, so we began to go through more coffee and hot cider in our days. First thing was to visit the grave of Mark Twain, followed by a couple of days catching up on work.

On the first of the finger lakes we found the town of Watkin’s Glen. Watkin’s Glen State Park is a small park but had a really cool little canyon full of water falls and brick bridges. We walked the upper ridge line with the puppy and then Kate and I went for a second run in the caynon where dogs aren’t allowed.

Rainbow Falls (in the park):

Afterwards, we traveled up the lake to visit a couple of the Riesling wineries that are abundant in the area. Long days of hiking make for a tired pup!

We made a quick pit stop to look at Chittenanto Falls, which was about 1/4 mile from a parking lot in apple orchard country.

We made a quick stop at Fort Stanwix to see the old era living quarters:

The dark woods are perfect for a creeper van looming behind you:

Entering the Lake Placid area we found some remote lakes and the trees are starting to change colors!

And the flora is colorful:

Near lake placid we went for a scenic drive and hiked to one of the many fire towers in the region. Clouds obscured our views, but the sight looking down at the dog is pretty fun:

As we were hiking back from the fire tower the fog cleared a bit:

We found a rare Vixen motor home parked on the side of the road. These are known as the “driver’s RV” because of their attention paid to a low center of gravity and proper drivetrain.