Gorgeous Gorge and Classy Glass

(2022 Newfoundland Ep 21)

From the Utica area, we drove southwest through New York hill country past small towns, lush vineyards and fertile farms.  Our destination was a Harvest Host location and state park in Watkins Glen, NY. 

We camped for the night in a field at Sunset View Creamery.  The creamery is a large dairy farm with a nice store where we sampled (and purchased) several types of cheese along with other local farm products. 

By then, it was mid-afternoon and we had to hurry to visit Watkins Glen. Although the town is noted for its role in auto racing, our visit was to see the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park

The large parking lot was crowded when we arrived.  There is a charge to park but entrance to the state park and gorge is free.  We crossed a busy street and the entrance to the gorge trail was ahead.

The trail starts at the bottom of the 400-foot deep gorge and continues for 1.5 miles as it follows a small stream up 832 steps.  The paved trail goes over and under waterfalls, bridges and tunnels. The layered sides of the gorge were accented here and there with trees displaying colorful autumn leaves.

The trail ends at the top of the gorge, where you can hike one of two trails along the top of the gorge or take an inexpensive shuttle back to the bottom of the gorge.  Some visitors start with the shuttle and then take the steps down to the entrance. We think the views are better hiking up the gorge however.

The park has a lot to offer in addition to the gorge – a campground and cabins (both were closed for the season when we visited), biking and other hiking trails.

After a chilly no-hookups night at the Creamery, we arose early the next morning for a short drive to Corning NY to visit the Corning Museum of Glass.

The museum and town of Corning are worthy of a day or two visit, but we only had a few hours to explore the museum. 

The museum has exhibits ranging from ancient glass artifacts more than 3500 years old to contemporary glass art, as well as various scientific and practical uses of glass in modern society.  There were also several live glass-blowing demonstrations. 

Who’d have thought there was so much to see at a glass museum!

After a quick lunch we were on the road again heading south to spend the night in Pennsylvania. We were on the way to Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Next week:  our plans take yet another unexpected turn.

What was it?

The photo below (2022 Newfoundland Ep 19 Autumn in Vermont blog post) was taken at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, VT. 

The device is a MOUSE TRAP!  When triggered, a portion of the trap rotates and deposits the mouse in the adjacent screened box.  This trap is more humane than a spring-loaded mouse crusher!