Last Day

The rest of our vacation involved more exploration Letchworth State Park. We had seen the falls on the south side, but there was a damm on the north end that needed our attention.

We drove to the other side of the gorge to get to the damm. The damm spans across the gorge from east to west, but the east side is where you can take a tour. The Army Corps of Engineers built and control the damm. Being a part of the military, Homeland Security does not allow pictures to be taken inside the damm. The tour was fascinating. The best part was the views from the damm.

After we were done at the damm, we went back down to the south end of the park to see a the house of William Pryor Letchworth. He was the man who bought and granted the land of the state park to New York state. His personal mission was to keep this beautiful area from being developed, ruining forever the mystic of the land. in a dedication to the park in 1910 he wrote,

"God wrought for us this scene beyond compare

But one man's loving hand protected it
And gave to his fellow man to share."

His house is now a museum dedicated to him and the development of the park. Called the Glen Iris Inn, it is also adapted for the use of a hotel.

The museum has many artifacts collected by Letchworth over his life time. He was very interested in Native Americans, and many of the artifacts are from their history. There is also a very large mammoth skull that takes up much of one room. 

Up the hill from Glen Iris is the grave site of Mary Jemison a pioneer of Scots-Irish decent. At 12 years old she was captured by a French and Shawnee raiding party during the French and Indian war. Later she was adopted by a family of the Seneca People. She made the Seneca her family and lived with them the rest of her life. Her remains rest  on the grounds of the Seneca Council house.

After another happily busy day, we returned to our campsite for our last night of our vacation. One last campfire before the long drive awaiting us the next day.

Water Falls

The next morning the sun woke us up gently and we got our day started. It had rained a bit more in the night, so the air was damp and the ground soft and wet. We dug out some sweet rolls from the car and had breakfast. 

The dampness in the air left a slight haze that the sun was fighting to burn off. There was still a chill, but the warm sun would soon fix that. We decided to check out more of the park, and go down to see the water falls. 

The gorge has three waterfalls. Simply named the upper, middle and lower falls. Not a lot of creativity went into the names, but made them easier to find. 

I can't tell you which falls is which. Except to say, these two lower photos are of the same one. I was fascinated by the railroad bridge that went over it. We even saw a train pass over.

There isn't a lot I can say to add to the beauty of this park, so I'll just let the photos take over from here.

Letchworth State Park

I love camping. There is just this feeling I get when I sleep outside in a tent that I don't get anywhere else. I'm not a backwoods camper, I like at least a pit toilet to do my business in. Squatting is just not my thing. With this in mind I tend to look for state parks for camping. I knew absolutely nothing about state parks in western New York when I started planning this trip. I went to the book store and picked out two National Geographic books, one about national parks and one on state parks. I knew I wanted to be within a two hour drive of Niagara Falls, but that was all I knew. 

Finding Letchworth State Park was a fluke. It was in the National Geographic book about state parks. It was within the distance to Niagara Falls that I wanted, so I booked us a site.

The day after the rainball game in Pittsburgh, we started out for Letchworth. It was about a four hour drive, almost due north. The sun seemed to be thinking about peeking out. I hoped it would be kind and grace us with its warmth at least part of the next four days.

It was still cloudy, but not raining when we reached the park. It looked as though it had recently rained, but sunshine started poking its way through. We got the tent set up and still had a few hours before dark. We started to wander about.

The park was even better than I had hoped. It apparently had been voted as the number one state park in the US according to a readers poll in USA Today. We were starting to see why.

Letchworth has the largest gorge east of the Mississippi. It has even been called the Grand Canyon of the East. I have never seen the Grand Canyon personally, but judging by photos I've seen, that may be stretching it a bit.

The gorge has been cut out by the Genesee River. We were there when the area was in a drought, so the river seemed quite calm and unassuming. There have been floods that filled the canyon area. It was a almost impossible to believe that entire canyon could become filled with water, but it has, many times. Happily, for us, that wouldn't be an issue over the next 4 days.

We got back to camp and built a fire to start dinner. We don't own a camp stove. I probably should have one for days when it is raining and we can't get a fire started, but I don't. In all my times camping as an adult, we have never gone hungry from not being able to build a fire. Ok, I always have back up lunch meat for sandwiches, just in case, but rarely have to use it. The lunch meat is usually for lunches, and pop tarts and cereal for breakfast. I don't want to spend a lot of time starting and putting out fires when I could be exploring. I suppose a camp stove would come in handy for those. Pop tarts are still easier.

Honestly, I love cooking on a campfire. The food gets a flavor that you just can't get any other way. To me, it is a lot more relaxing, too. Although, the food can get away from you and start burning before you realize it. Or the fire will never get hot enough and never cook the food at all. Yeah, I find that relaxing. Don't ask me why, but I do. 

After dinner we sat by the fire. The best thing about camping in October is the campfire. The sun goes down earlier, and the air is crisper. The campfire's warmth and beauty kept me mesmerized. I wouldn't have traded it for the best TV in the world. 

"Campfire"

After a long summer of hot, hot days, disappointing   job searches and missing my kids and granddaughter terribly, I'm not so sure I am sorry to see summer go. One thing I love to do in the summer is go camping. Due to many factors we have not had a chance to camp this summer. I am not happy to see the chances to camp go swiftly by.

This last weekend of the summer season, Labor Day weekend was not our chance to go camping, we both had to work the whole weekend. I have to say, however, I'm not too upset about that. Friday and Saturday, the temperature was near 100 degrees. Not lovely for camping. Sunday it rained, and rained. Today, Labor Day proper, was beautiful. We both had today off. Made me want to be out camping, very much.

Since,  camping was not to be, and today was a beautiful yet chilly day, We decided to do the next best thing. We built a fire in the fireplace. It has seemed to have a very calming and soothing effect on my nerves. I have been in a rotten mood for weeks now. I've spent much time feeling sorry for myself, and pouting. My luck has been one catastrophic ( ok not catastrophic, but very unpleasant) event after another, and my nerves have been on the tipping side of on edge. A week out at a camp site, sitting next to a campfire, would do a world of good for me.

That said, having a roaring fire in the fire place is the next best thing.  We went across the street to Casey's and got a bag of marshmallows. I put the fresh soft marshmallow on a long fork. I found the perfect spot in the fire to toast yet not char the perfect white pillows of sugary puff.

I watched the embers glow as my marshmallow poofed up and swelled. Quickly the outside browned and bubbled. I turned the fork and let it brown evenly on all sides. Until, toasted marshmallow perfection was achieved.

As I put the tasty toasted tidbit in my mouth the crispy outside crackled as it broke and gave way to the warm melted goo inside. It was a tiny moment of indulgence in this summer of scrimping, sweating and general unpleasantness.

I was so glad this chilly weather made a "campfire" possible. It may not have been  outside, it may not have been in the woods, but it was an almost perfect replacement. The warmth from the fire, contrasting the cool fall air breezing through the windows was a perfect relief, not only for me but also for Mia. Who sat happily warming herself in the yellow glow.