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| A kiss in front of Hector Falls Falls we saw along the road on the way down to Watkins Glen |
Our original plans for this area were that we would continue west on the Cayuga and Seneca Canal about 12 miles before dropping down into Seneca Lake to make the ~40 mile run down the lake to Watkins Glen where we wanted to see some of the nice waterfalls in that area. After some research that lead us to realizing that many of the best falls would be best explored and viewed by land and realizing that they would be miles apart we concluded that having the boat stay put in Seneca Falls and renting a car for a day to do the exploration would be the best plan. Additionally, the economics made sense given that we would likely burn 100* gallons of gas at $4.69 per gallon to boat down as compared to $75 + maybe a quarter tank of much cheaper gas in a rental car and get to see MUCH more. We had previously researched and found that Enterprise out of Geneva (about 12 miles away) would come and pick us up to rent a car for the day for $85. However, as it turned out we met a gentleman, Vince, at the local AA meeting last night who owns a car lot/mechanic shop 1 mile from where we were docked and he mentioned that he too rents some of his cars. We made arrangements with him to have one of his workers come get us at the canal wall to get a car; worked out great!
We awoke and relaxed on the deck with our coffee until about 7:30 when a couple of our new found friends of Bill and Bob came by to visit. Joe showed up first walking his dog, Loki, a giant 180 lb Great Pyrenees. He was a gentle giant and of course Riva was enamored. Shortly after, Vince arrived also walking his dog, Napoleon, Riva couldn’t have had a better start to her day 😊. After some small talk Vince said that he had a mini van ready for us and told us to just call up to his shop and someone would be over to bring us the car within 5 mins……nice!
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| Riva visiting with Joe and Vince And their faithful companions Loki and Napoleon |
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| We’d have stopped at one of many wineries but decided we preferred to not experience New York detox centers or penal institutions 🤣 |
We entered at the top of the state park gorge and decided to hike the 2.3 miles of the Jacob’s Ladder and Gorge tails. About 1/2 mile down the Ladder trail toward the Lower Gorge Trail we were met by a park ranger who informed us that Riva would not be allowed on the Gorge trail. We had known this from reading online but figured that was just a suggestion 😝. The ranger did suggest that we could take her down a little further and that from there we could split off and have one of us take Riva onto the Lovers Lane trail while the other continued down the Gorge trail and that we could meet up on the other side where the other of us could then hike the Gorge trail back up. We followed this new suggestion and both were able to experience the exhausting but phenomenal hike. The views were extraordinary and breathtaking; definitely not able to be captured in photos like the eye would see the breadth and scale. Mother Nature is truly wondrous!
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| Watkins Glen State Park gorge trail |
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| Like a bridge over troubled waters |
The power and beauty of water is beautiful and peaceful
After the hike back up and out of the gorge (of which Riva was carried 95% of the way….spoiled girls little legs had had enough) we loaded back into the van to head over to Buttermilk Falls State Park which is located at the bottom tip of Cayuga Lake (about a 12 mile drive from the bottom of Seneca Lake) in Ithaca. We hiked the Gorge trail at Buttermilk Falls and this time Riva WAS allowed on all the trails. We started this hike from the bottom of the gorge climbing MANY steps and steep hills over the shorter, but just as exhausting, .65 mile hike. Here the views were also just as incredible, and a bonus was that at this state park there were multiple opportunities to get up close and personal with the falls and pools of water between the cascades. Riva and Erik took advantage of the opportunity to both cool down and clean off the sweat (and dirt in Rivas case). Renee stuck with just cooling down by wading in an area that was ankle deep as we had left our swimsuits back in the vehicle.
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| Buttermilk Falls |
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| Erik and Riva as drowned rats Renee just with cool feet and ankles |
Refreshing shower for Erik and Riva to cool off after a couple sweaty hikes
All of our legs were feeling the burn from the many steps and uphill hiking, but we decided to make one additional stop on the way back up toward Seneca Falls at Taughannock Falls which was located about 1/3 of the way up Cayuga Lake. These falls are the tallest falls in the NE at 215 ft high. Starting again at the bottom of the gorge trail this 3/4 mile, mostly flat, wide gravel path hike was much kinder on our now rubbery legs. The reward of the hike was another stunning view of natural beauty! As the water fell from the significantly higher falls it broke up into more of a misty look as it splashed down onto the rocky creek bed below. We were glad that we took the time to visit all three of these different, but equally awe inspiring, areas.
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| Toughannock Falls |
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| Majestic |
Big drop…rocks often fall so one wouldn’t want to stand under this one
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| Large snapping turtle we saw as we were walking away from Toughannock Falls Chuck Berry would advise to hold on to your ding-a-ling if you choose to swim across this creek! |
Back at the boat we cleaned up a bit before utilizing our rental car to go to Tops Grocery to stock up on provisions for the days ahead. We then showered and rested only briefly before heading out on foot for dinner. We were both extremely hungry but were pleasantly delayed by two more visitors who came down to the boat chat whom we had met at the meeting last night as well as a nice conversation with Joe and his wife who had come in to dock on the wall behind us at some point during the day. They are loopers out of Fla aboard their 39’ Mainship ‘Never Say Never’. Dinner was at a nearby bar/grille, Parker’s On Fall and consisted of garlic parm wings and fried cheese curds dipped in hot honey. Service was ehhh and slow but food was satisfying and yummy. The day was finished out in our usual manner with relaxing for a short time with coffee before laying down to rest for what will certainly be another adventurous day upcoming.
We will close today’s blog with one last waterfall video; possibly the best one in history of waterfall videos….enjoy!
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