Salamanca NY | The Beauty Around Us

Posts tagged ‘Salamanca NY’

Bob’s Birthday

Yesterday was Bob’s birthday. As is customary on Fridays, Bob worked until noon. When he came home from work, we drove to the casino in Erie (Pennsylvania). The casino had a birthday promotion in which $10.00 in slot money was given to the birthday celebrant. Bob didn’t win anything playing the slots. Neither did I.

From the casino we drove to Findley Lake (New York) for lunch. We ate chef salads at a bar & grill located next to the lake.

After lunch we drove to Jamestown (New York), to Southern Tier Brewery. Bob drank his first IPA since February (Bob is on a low-carbohydrate diet), while I enjoyed a root beer.

From the brewery we drove to the casino in Salamanca. The casino had a birthday promotion in which the birthday celebrant spun a wheel to win slot money. Bob spun the wheel and won $25.00 in slot money. He didn’t win anything playing the slots. I did, though. I came away from this casino $8.30 richer.

We returned home around 8:00 PM. It was a good day. I’m happy that Bob and I were able to share the day together on his birthday.

The First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of Spring. What a gorgeous day it was! Rather than spend the day inside, we opted to go for a drive around the Allegheny Reservoir,

Bob took this picture of me, as I was setting up the tripod to take a picture of the two of us.

This is the picture that I took of the two of us.

This picture was taken at Sugar Bay, which is located on Route 321, on the Allegheny Reservoir.

When we crossed the Pennsylvania border into New York, we soon found ourselves at the entrance to Allegany State Park.

This was our first stop in Allegany State Park.

What a peaceful setting! I like the wooded area behind the bridge, the bridge itself and the swiftly moving water flowing beneath the bridge.

Here’s another picture of Bob and me.

We are at Science Lake. You can’t tell it from this picture, but there was about a foot of snow piled up in front of us.

These geese were swimming in Red House Lake.

Soon after we arrived at the lake, though, they came onshore. They didn’t seem concerned too much with our proximity.

A Sunday Drive

Yesterday, Bob and I went for a drive through Allegany State Park in New York. We made two stops: one at Thunder Rocks and another at Science Lake.

Bob at Thunder Rocks

While at Science Lake, we met Simon.

Say hello to Simon.

What is Simon looking at?

Simon is watching his owner crossing the dam to the other side of the lake.

Hey, wait for me!

Simon, back on other side of lake, gets treat from his owner.

After leaving Allegany State Park, we stopped at the Seneca Allegany Casino for lunch. We enjoyed a buffet lunch at Thunder Mountain Buffet and a little entertainment from the slot machines. We left with less money than we had when entering the casino, but we had fun.

There has been a landscaping feature of the casino that I have wanted to photograph for some time now. We stopped today, as we were leaving the casino, so that I could get my picture.

Waterfall at Seneca Allegany Casino

It was an enjoyable Sunday, made even more so because I spent the day with my favorite person — my husband!

Breakfast at Sprague’s Maple Farms and a Ride Through Allegany State Park

Yesterday, we enjoyed a full day of activity. At 8:00 AM Bob and I set out for breakfast at Sprague’s Maple Farms Restaurant and Pancake House in Portville, NY. Stacey (Bob’s daughter) and her boyfriend, Mike, accompanied us. If you click here, you will see that Sprague’s Maple Farms is quite a distance from our home. The excellent food, great service and total ambiance found at Sprague’s is definitely worth the ride.

Looking across the restaurant from where we were seated

Mike and Stacey
Mike tasted a variety of maple syrups before our breakfast was served.

Mike, on a maple syrup high

My breakfast – an omelet and two buttermilk pancakes

Stacey’s breakfast – eggs, steak, and home fries
Not shown are two blueberry pancakes that accompanied Stacey’s breakfast.

Mike’s breakfast – eggs, bacon, home fries and three buttermilk pancakes

Bob’s breakfast was similar to Mike’s; however, Bob chose buckwheat pancakes instead of the buttermilk pancakes.You definitely do not leave Sprague’s Maple Farms hungry!

After breakfast we drove through Allegany State Park near Salamanca, NY, before heading home. We made a few picture stops while in the park.

Stacey and Mike at Red House Administration Building

Stacey and Mike on top of Science Lake Dam

Stacey and Mike at Quaker Lake

Stacey at Quaker Lake
I really like this picture of Stacey in black and white!

We saw a small deer, too, at the Thomas L. Kelly covered bridge. The deer was UNDERNEATH the bridge when we spotted him. I got out of the car, walked across the bridge and snapped a few pictures of the deer as he exited from under the bridge. There was a dog and two people ahead of me on the pathway leading to the bridge. The deer looked at me and looked at the dog, contemplating the best escape route. The deer finally took off in the woods behind him.

Deer at Thomas L. Kelly Covered Bridge

We returned home around 2:30 PM. Three hours later Bob and I were at his company’s Christmas party. I will post details of and photographs from the Christmas party in my next blog post, so stay tuned!

Seven Hours and 140 Miles Later

This past Sunday Bob and I went on a drive around the Allegheny Reservoir, starting at Kinzua Dam. Kinzua Dam, located 6 miles east of Warren, PA along Route 59, impounds the 12,080-acre Allegheny Reservoir. Of those 12,080 acres, 7,783 acres are within Pennsylvania. The remaining 4,297 acres are in New York. The Allegheny Reservoir is 27 miles long with 90 miles of shoreline and includes many recreational facilities to include marinas, boat launches, and campgrounds. There are splendid views of the Allegheny Reservoir from Jakes Rocks and Rimrock. You can see Kinzua Dam from Jakes Rocks as well.

Directions to Jakes Rocks: From Warren go east on Route 59. Just before Casey Bridge turn right onto Longhouse National Scenic Highway and follow signs to Jakes Rocks.
Directions to Rimrock: From Warren go east on Route 59, over the Casey Bridge. Continue to the top of the long hill on Route 59 into McKean County. At the top of the hill, there is an access road to the right (marked Rimrock) that leads one directly to the Rimrock parking area.

Sunday was a beautiful Spring day, with blue skies and temperatures (eventually) in the lower 50s. The day started out pretty cool. The temperature hadn’t even reached the freezing mark when Bob and I started our drive at 9:00AM. We made frequent stops while driving around the Allegheny Reservoir.

Our first stop was at Kinzua Dam.

A thin stream of water falling from the top of the cliff opposite Kinzua Dam fascinated me.
I liked the way that the sun shone on the waterfall.

Our second stop was at Jakes Rocks.

We followed the trail through the forest to the overlook of the Allegheny Reservoir.

While we admired the view of the Allegheny Reservoir, several young people joined us. One young man told us that they had been camping. I think he was amazed that they had camped out on such a cold night! There was time to snap a couple more photographs, as we walked along the forest trail, on our way back to the parking lot.

Bob enjoyed climbing the rocks.

I preferred having my picture taken, while standing beside a rock.

As you exit Jakes Rocks, there are three scenic overlooks. You can see Kinzua Dam from two of the overlooks.

Bob at first overlook of Kinzua Dam

View of Kinzua Dam at Second Overlook.
You can see the Allegheny River at this overlook too.

The third overlook is of Casey Bridge and the Allegheny River.

Casey Bridge Overlook

From Jakes Rocks we continued our drive around the Allegheny Reservoir via Longhouse National Scenic Byway (FR262). We passed by at least one boat launch, as well as three campgrounds — Dewdrop, Kiasutha and Red Bridge.

Elijah Run boat launch

We turned left onto Route 321 and followed it until we met up again with Route 59. We turned left onto Route 59 and made our way to our next stop, which was at Rimrock.

Bob found more rocks to climb at Rimrock.

Two Views of Allegheny Reservoir from Rimrock Overlook

After leaving Rimrock we back tracked a bit on Route 59, returning to Route 321. We turned left onto Route 321 and followed it until we reached Route 346. We turned left onto Route 346 and followed it into New York, at which time the road became Route 280.

My favorite stop during our drive was at the Sugar Bay boat launch along Route 321.

Sugar Bay boat launch, as seen from Route 321. This would have been a perfect spot for a picnic.

The view from the Sugar Bay boat launch

While at the boat launch I took several photographs of a pair of Canadian geese.

Route 280 took us to Allegany State Park, to Interstate 86. As we were within a few miles of the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, NY, we decided to go there for lunch. We enjoyed the casino’s all-you-can-eat buffet featuring prime rib and seafood. After eating lunch we played the slots. It wasn’t our lucky day; we walked away with a few less bills in our pocket. We aren’t big spenders, so our loss was not large.

After leaving the casino, we continued our way around the Allegheny Reservoir. We followed Interstate 86 west towards Erie, exiting the Interstate at Steamburg. We followed W Perimeter Road through Scandia, into Warren. Before reaching Warren we made one last stop at the Webbs Ferry boat launch.

View at Webbs Ferry boat launch

We returned home at 4:00PM — 7 Hours and 140 Miles Later.