June 18, Watkins Glen, NY

We came to Watkins Glen to see the water falls at Watkins Glen State Park. When we reach the entrance of the park the rain is pouring down. The Park Ranger at the entrance gives us strange look and ask us if we are sure we want to go into the park. He adds that the rain should stop fairly soon, he can tell by looking at the sky. Since it is 11:30 am we decide to go the the restaurant the lady in Montour Falls recommended for lunch and to wait for the rain to stop.

This is the marina just outside the restaurant at the southern tip of Lake Seneca, one of the"Finger Lakes" just south of Lake Ontario. The hostess seats us at a window so we can view the lake while we eat. The special for lunch today is "Endless Soup & Salad" for just under $8. The special offers two soups, prime rib or shrimp gumbo. The day is chilly and even with our long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts we are feeling the chill. Hot soup is just what we need to warm up so we go for the special, Dan orders the prime rib soup and Linda orders the shrimp gumbo & hot tea.

The salad is brought in a large bowl, family style, and is more than we can eat, the freshly baked bread is delicious, and the bowls of soup are larger than we expect. The food does the trick of warming us and the rain stops while we are having lunch. We can now return to the State Park


We are awed by the beauty of the falls. There are a total of 19 falls along the gorge of Glen Creek. This area was was carved out by glaciers that covered the New York and the narrow valleys during the ice age. The run off from the melting glaciers channeled through the valleys eroding away the softer sediments leaving gorges like this one. The walls of the gorge are solid rock, but vegetation has found places to grow.

We take scads of photos, but have selected only a few to add to our blog. We hope you can see the formation of the gorge walls and the beauty of the falls. We think these falls rival any we have seen in Hawaii.

Unfortunately, we won't get to the end of the trail because the rain is falling again and we opt not to get wet. We meet a family where we decide to turn back and have a great conversation as we all head back to the parking lot.

Heading to Wolcott and the next camp ground. Wolcott is just south of Lake Ontario. Just ahead is a glimpse of Lake Seneca as we head north. The Finger Lakes are called such because they are all long and narrow.

This is a wine producing area. We have passed many wineries and are following one of New York's "Wine Trails". This view is looking eastward and across the lake. Vineyards as far as we can see. We have learned from our neighboring campers who are New York residents that the state is a big wine producer, but has a law in place that prevents exportation of the wine from the state.

We stop at the road side to get photos of this farm. Cows don't move much and, from what we have noticed as we have passed the pastures, the cattle lounge in the grass until around 11 am.

Here we see the farm buildings. We have seen hundreds of farms like this, but this one is the easiest to stop and photograph since it's at the road's edge and there is enough shoulder on the for parking.