2017-21
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| Hammon Lake,Ives Run Campground |
Tioga Pennsylvania (Part 2)
Watkins Glen New York
Campground: Ives Run Recreation area.
COE park. (2nd week) (see previous report for more info)
Being only about 15 miles from the
New York boarder, I had to drive back into the state to do a bit more
touring. First stop was to Corning NY and yes it's where the Corning
factory is as well as an awesome glass museum, but I was only in town
long enough to have breakfast and pick up a prescription at
Walgreen's. And then it was onto Watkins Glen, home of a Nascar
racetrack as well as the Watkins Glen State Park where I was about to
go on an amazing waterfalls hike through the deep canyon that they
call a glen. The town sits at the southern end of Seneca Lake and is
one of the finger lakes in New York.
Watkins Glen State Park
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| Watkins Glen State Park |
I paid my $5 entrance fee and entered
from the South entrance to the park, though I could have entered
right from main street downtown as the glen exits right in town. No
I took the more scenic route which I'll tell you right off the bat
involved all of the 800+ steps leading down into the gorge and
eventually back up along what is called Jacob's ladder, at 180 steps.
Along with the mile and a half walk one way, the steps alone gave me
my workout for the day. Though I hardly noticed the steps as I
encountered one after another of the 19 waterfalls along the gorge
trail. Well actually those last 180 steps of Jacob's ladder just
about did me in.
The layers of slate rock forms the most
distinctive vertical walls creating the canyon effect along the trail
that leads one to each of the waterfalls and gentle spillways. I was
able to view them from above, below, from behind the waterfalls and
even through them. With multiple stairways, tunnels and cavern like
walkways opening up to one after another better views than the last
one. What a fun and unexpected treat.
I might mention that the day I went was
the Monday after the big Nascar races and their was a steady stream
of Rv's exiting the area. Just about every other vehicle was a
travel trailer, motor home or 5th wheel camper. Policemen
directing traffic throughout town and roads exiting the area. They
tell me the Rv-ers pay up to $800 for the long weekend to be at the
racetrack. Soooo glad I wasn't a part of that group.
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19 waterfalls
the beginning of my tour, after descending about 50 steps |
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| deep gorges to walk through |
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| 800+ steps, well worth the effort |
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| each view better than the previous one |
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| tunnels and cave like entrances to explore |
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| a mile and a half of wonderful waterfalls |
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| and great trails through caverns |
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| and those steps leading to more waterfalls and gorge views |
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| one of my favorite spots |
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| the tree shows how high the water often gets in the spring runnoff |
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| walking under one of the falls |
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| dramatic views from below and from across the bridge |
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| a curtain of water |
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| the gorge was as stunning as the waterfalls in it |
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| what a great way to spend a morning |
RV Solar Panel Update. As you know
from my previous report, I'm spending two weeks at a COE campground
and my campsite has no hookups. With that said, my solar panels are
working out perfectly and the weather is awesome being only in the
mild 78-80 degree range during the days and cool evenings making for
great sleeping weather. The batteries charge up quickly in the
morning and I'm able to use everything except the microwave as I
don't want to damage it since it uses so much power to operate.
Coffee pot, TV, Roku, radio, charging all my electronic devices,
lights, furnace to take the chill out of the air in the mornings.
And of course it's nice to be able to have all the windows open
during the day to catch those refreshing breezes off of the lake.
Couldn't be more pleased with their operation. And fortunately I
have not been parked next to any of the other campers who are using
noisy generators throughout the day. Life is good “off the grid”.
Needless to say I've enjoyed my two
week stay here in Tioga Pennsylvania, meeting a few fellow campers.
Learning about their future plans for more camping. Doing little
projects around the camper to as well as just relaxing, reading a
good book and taking that all important afternoon siesta.
I'd like to thank all those who have
kept in contact with me this summer. You can't imagine how nice it
is to hear from you as I travel around the country. I feel so much
closer to you my friends, fellow travelers and of course all
important relatives, whenever you have the chance to drop me a line.
And I hope you realize that when I'm writing my blog reports, I
often think of each and every one of you as I always feel you are a
part of my journey.
Have a super great day,,,,, till the
next report
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