The Beauty Around Us

Birthday Celebration Day 2 Continued

By Linda G. on March 3, 2017

After visiting the Newfield Covered Bridge, we returned to Ithaca and stopped at Buttermilk Falls State Park. We entered the park via its lower entrance.  It was a short walk from the parking lot to the base of Buttermilk Falls.

Buttermilk Falls

We drove to the upper park entrance, with the intent of driving to Lake Treman.  The park road to Lake Treman, however, was closed.  I don’t know if that part of the park road is open only to hiking, or if it is open to motor vehicle traffic sometime during the year.  Not knowing the hiking distance, we chose not to hike to Lake Treman.  Our drive to the upper park entrance, though, was not a loss.  We did see a small waterfall on Buttermilk Creek.

Buttermilk Creek Waterfall

Our next stop was at Ithaca Falls. Wow! The water falling over that waterfall was quite impressive!

We saw Ithaca Falls first from the Lake Street bridge.

We, then, took a short walk through the woods to the base of the falls.

Ithaca Falls is over 100 feet tall and stretches nearly 175 ft across at its base.
I love the contrast in this monochrome photograph!

We visited Ithaca Falls for the first time in September 2015.

Ithaca Falls, September 2015

There was nowhere as much water falling at Ithaca Falls in September 2015, as there was during our most recent visit!

 

Our next stop was at Taughannock Falls State Park.  We stopped first at Falls Overlook, where we enjoyed a lofty view of Taughannock Falls.

Taughannock Falls plunges 215 feet past rocky cliffs that tower nearly 400 feet above the gorge.

There are two levels from which to view the falls.  Only the top level was open; the stairs to the lower level were closed for the season.

For the first time we discovered the trail heads for the south rim trail and the north rim trail. We hiked the north rim trail for a short distance. We were impressed by the rapidly moving water (the Upper Falls) making its way to Taughannock Falls, as well as the view into the gorge.

Upper Falls
Taughannock Falls State Park

Taughannock Gorge

At Taughannock Falls State Park we hiked the gorge trail as well.  The gorge trail, muddy and icy in places, winds 3/4 mile past Lower Falls to the base of Taughannock Falls.

Lower Falls
Taughannock Falls State Park

Taughannock Falls

The last time we visited Taughannock Falls was in September 2015.

Taughannock Falls, September 2015

What a difference in water flow from September 2015 to February 2017!

We ate lunch at Creekside Cafe in Trumansburg, per Bob’s sister’s suggestion. Bob ordered a chef salad. I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. The chef salad and the side salad that accompanied my sandwich contained edible flowers, seeds, and unusual greens. Both of our meals included a large serving of ham. The salad was out of my comfort zone, but both meals were good.

Leaving Trumansburg, we drove alongside Cuyago Lake to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We were disappointed to find that the wildlife drive is closed until April 1.

We stopped at Friendly’s in Geneva NY for ice cream, in celebration of my birthday. On our way back to Hammondsport, we stopped at Wegman’s to pick up water.  Our 4-year-old granddaughters called using Facebook Messenger, while Bob was in the grocery store.  During a video chat, the girls wished me a happy birthday. The girls were at a playground with “Big Grandma”, after a trip to the dentist.  Isn’t technology grand!  I loved seeing and chatting with our granddaughters, while we were miles and miles apart.

From Wegman’s we returned to Hammondsport, where we stopped briefly at Champlin Beach.

Champlin Beach at Keuka Lake

The airplane sculpture rising out of the lake caught my eye.

This airplane sculpture commemorates native son Glenn Hammond Curtiss.
Mr. Curtiss was the Father of Naval Aviation.

We returned to the hotel around 5:00 pm, where we stayed in for rest of the day.  We ate a picnic dinner and watched three shows on Hulu Plus: The Path, Blindspot and Bones.