A Trip to Watkins Glen

Thursday, August 13, 2015
We enjoyed Bill and Ann's version of egg mcmuffins this morning for breakfast and then spent a couple of hours just chatting with one another as the sun warmed the air around us (it was 56 when we got up)

Then Frank and Bette joined us for a trip to Watkins Glen for a walk through the gorge.  We could see Lake Hammond looking beautifully blue as we pulled out on to the highway since today we had lovely blue skies.

It took about an hour to get to the very busy town of Watkins Glen so we decided it would be smart to have lunch before setting off on our walk through the gorge.  We found Jerlando's where we had eaten lunch while on the NY Upstate Caravan several years ago and decided to eat there.  The menu was filled primarily with Italian food which made Frank especially happy.  After enjoying our delicious meals, we returned to the parking area for the gorge walk.  It is just awesome stepping into this enclosed area and all of its beauty.

This final waterfall comes out under the bridge at the entrance.

And from the bridge you can look back out at the parking lot and town.

Then we turned to the climb and gorgeous vistas all along the walking trail. 

The next couple of pictures gives an idea of how views change as you take just a few steps because of all the twisting and turning in the canyon.

It was amazing to see how the water has carved out this whole area with lots of curves such as seen in this waterfall

The many thin layers of stone wears off in differing ways causing lots of interesting layers as can be seen above in this section.

Here is Ken standing on the steps in one of the narrower areas.

We walked under several falls.  This one was a real light one that I shot the picture through

We walked over several bridges as the walk switched from side to side through the gorge.

We passed through several short tunnels and outside this one was a waterfall spilled over above us. Ken is getting a bit wet as he waves to the camera.

And at times the steps and paths were rather narrow.  Here Ken is working his way back toward the parking lot after a mile walk deep into the gorge.

Frank and Bette had turned back early in the walk and were waiting for us at the car eager for a trip to Ben and Jerry's in town.  We'd seen the ice cream parlor just down the street when we'd enjoyed lunch and promised ourselves this treat after the walk.

We sat outside to enjoy our treat and the pretty flower pots all along the street.  Checkered flags were in them all since this past weekend there had been a big road race on the famous track in this town.  

Everyone else in the group was still gone as they'd gone to the local county fair for a show. Bette and I decided to take a walk down to Hammond Lake and then back up and around the circle we are parked on and by the time we returned they had also returned and were starting a campfire which most of us sat enjoyed while we chatted about our day's adventures.