NY State: Niagara, Ithaca/ Finger Lakes

Our trip to the East coast started off with a visit to the Niagara which surprisingly wasn't crowded. I was expecting to be standing in hour long lines but it looks like we missed the holiday crowd by a day and it was much more pleasant than I expected. I was eagerly waiting to see my daughter's reactions and she summed it up in one phrase "it doesn't feel real." A falls of this magnitude, according to her, should demand more from the visitor. She believes that one had to earn the falls by hiking through woods and mountains and not just walk into it by standing in line or riding a boat as though it was a ride in Disneyland. Niagara felt too commercial and left her wanting although she was glad to have seen it and experienced the force of the Cave of the Winds but we were all itching to hit the Finger lakes region of upstate NY.

 

 It took Odysseus ten years to return to Ithaca. It took me a little over twenty to get there.The names of the places takes you back in time and one cannot help but think about the Haudenosaunee who have lent their names to these lands and the lakes specifically the Cayugas and Seneca - the two lakes around which we spent most of our time. I don't want to sound like I am placing the Iroquois in the past, as they are a living breathing civilization very much alive amidst us and to whom we owe not just a land acknowledgement but also the concept of American liberty/ justice/ constitution. Reading books like Braiding Sweetgrass, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, Covered with Night, and the oldie Crucible of War gave me a bit of a background and I am still learning more. However, I am not remotely qualified to write about Native America other than saying that as I walked along these trails and gorges I was more mindful of where I was treading and tried to do it lightly with gratitude in my heart. 

Watkins Glen:

This is considered the most beautiful state park in all of NY. I don't dispute that. You hit 19 waterfalls in  1.5 miles and the gorges carved by water are just spectacular. July meant that the water flow was not at its peak, however for those coming from drought-stricken SoCal this was heaven! We parked in an upper parking lot and so took the Indian trail down and climbed back up the Gorge Trail so that we could always face the water on our way up.

 

Taughanock Falls:

The highest falls in the US (higher than even Niagara), the Taughanock was high on my list, but very low on water unfortunately. Still the hike was completely worth it and we did both the Gorge trail and the Rim trail (up the South, down the North). By doing the rim trail we beat the crowds and also got a terrific view of the upper falls which had a bit more water.

                                                                            

The Upper Falls

View from the North Rim Trail

 

I saw Turkey Vultures everywhere roosting at the top of the cliffs and even heard Peregrines but as I didn't trust my ears I didn't look for them. Later, my daughter who was birding around this area with the Cornell Lab told me that they saw Peregrines in this region! However, the bird that captured my heart in this entire trip was the Red-Eyed Vireo - did not see it once but the woods were ringing with its song and by the end of the trip this was the one bird song I learned to identify with confidence.

Buttermilk Falls:

Once again the water in the falls was just a trickle and therefore did not do justice to the name. However, the hike was still beautiful and walking in the woods with just bird song from the elusive vireo was enough to fill my cup.

That wrapped up the upstate NY leg of our trip. We made one stop at New Paltz to visit family and went on a walk along the historic Huguenot Street. We only got a glimpse of the Catskills from a distance.

 

There is so much beauty and history in NY state and I came away refreshed with all the time spent in the woods. I can only imagine how beautiful it would be during other seasons and I hope that unlike Odysseus I will be back someday real soon.