On the Road (Maryland to Rhode Island...and back)

The route from where I live in Maryland to Newport RI is dominated by I-95 passing through Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. We started the trip on a warm, sunny day. The first rest stop was still in Maryland - Chesapeake House. The place has been completely renovated from the hard used building of a few years ago. The rest stops along this stretch of I-95 are heavily utilized. It is a far cry from when I first started driving and the rest stops were not air conditioned or heated - with minimal amenities other than bathrooms….and that was on interstates. On other roads the choice was filthy gas stations or roughing it into the roadside woods if the drive was long enough to require a bio-break!

The next stop was in New Jersey at the James Fennimore Cooper service area. They shortened the name for the sign over the door to just James Cooper. We were beginning to see a little more fall color but the area was still a few weeks shy of peak.

After that stop in New Jersey we began the long slog. We got across with bridge between New Jersey and New York but then the going got slow. The road is a shoot - covered with overpasses intermittently and lined with litter. The road surface was rough and sometimes without lane markers, prepared for resurfacing. I hoped that it would get better as we entered Connecticut. The road surface improved but not the traffic. Our plan was to stop at a service area for a late lunch. We pulled into one and discovered that it was so crowded that there was no parking left. We took turns for a bio-break (keeping the car circling the parking lot) and decided to snack while we drove on.

The traffic moved a little better. We decided to forego the next service area and left the highway for a regular gas station. The bathroom was no very clean but there was no crush of people and we needed to buy gas anyway. We arrived in Newport just after 5 and I was relieved to stand in sun while my sister registered. We relaxed, cooked dinner, and took sunset pictures from the balcony.

The return trip was easier. I was braced from terrible traffic and full parking at least one rest stop….but the day as quite different. I enjoyed the color change of leaves in the week since we had come up I-95!

Letchworth State Park (New York)

Letchworth State Park is probably a crowded place on weekends in the spring…and all the time during the summer. We were there on a week day that was a bit cool last week - when the people in the park maintenance crew were more numerous that the visitors!  There was plenty of water for the 3 major falls in the park to be spectacular. I’ve included my favorite views of the park below.

We entered at the Mt. Morris (east) end of the park. The drive is along the top of the gorge. There are overlooks of the river.

And then there is a view of the middle and upper falls from one of the overlooks!

We stopped to take the path for a closer look. Part of the path was closed but we got close enough to see a portion of the lower falls.

I took a zoomed view of the rocks of the gorge carved by the water.

The upper falls and middle falls are within easy walking distance of each other. We parked and hiked first to the upper falls. The shape of the falls is a horseshoe.

The sheer volume of water plummeting over the edge throws mist up

And keeps the cliff very damp. The vegetation looks very green but the scars of rock slides on the edges of the gorge near the falls are obvious.

There was a large patch of May apples flowering near the path to the upper falls. I took front and back pictures of them.

And there was a huge dandelion!

We walked back to the middle falls. The path was close enough to the falls that the mist kept it damp (too wet to open up the camera too). It was very much like the mists at Niagara Falls. I waiting to take this picture from further up the gorge.

I also liked the little streams that were trickling over the sides of the gorge to get to the river. The rocks in this one were thick with bright green algae.

The picnic tables built by the CCC of stone (pedestals and tops) were numerous in the park and we rewarded ourselves with a picnic lunch after are hikes to the falls.

Two Falls at Montour Falls NY

We saw the sign for the Village of Montour Falls and followed the arrows to the falls. The Aunt Sarah’s Falls is directly across the street from the sign! There was a small parking lot and we got out to take pictures. There has been rain recently so there was plenty of water rolling down over the rocks. Several years ago we had seen the falls during a drier season and the rocks were barely damp.

We followed the arrow onward - taking an angled turn when another sign directed - to find the She-Qua-Ga Falls which is surrounded by the village.

There is a small park and street parking for this falls. Houses and civic buildings in a wide variety of architectural styles border the park. I liked the house next to the falls with Ionic columns.

Watkins Glen State Park in the Spring

Watkins Glen State Park is a gorge with many waterfalls. The main entrance is at the bottom of the gorge but there is another at the top. Either way the gorge trail has stairs and wet stones/pavement. The last time we were there was in fall 2012 - when there was a lot of color from leaves. In the spring - there is a lot of green to contrast with the stone and quite a bit more water.

The gorge trail is a ledge. In one place it goes behind a waterfall.  There are frequently water droplets from overhanging rock. I was glad I had remembered to wear a hat. Waterproof shoes are good too if the day is cool (and wet feet would be uncomfortable). I made a slide show from my favorite gorge images from last week.

While my husband focused on his own photography projects - I managed to photograph a crow

A busy bumble bee

And a tiny fern unfurling its fiddleheads.

Road Trip - Columbia MD to Corning NY

Earlier this week we started our short vacation to the area around Corning NY. It’s an area we have visited more than a handful of times over the past 25 years. The route takes us around Baltimore and heading to York and then Harrisburg Pennsylvania. The Welcome Center as we passed into Pennsylvania has a wonderful display of irises. I remembered that they looked just a gorgeous as the year we drove up for my daughter’s college graduation - about this same time of year. What was different about the rest stop this year was the milkweed coming up in many of the beds; the shoots were so dense that it has to be planted intentionally. Hurray for the state of helping out the Monarch butterflies!

After Harrisburg the route heads toward Williamsport. It follows a very scenic stretch of the Susquehanna. It is possible to catch glimpses of the river. Many of the islands have been designated Wildlife Management Areas. We noticed this time that US 15 has signs that say ‘Future Corridor of I99.’

The stretch of road through the Allegheny’s - where clouds frequently kiss the rounded mountain tops on either side of the highway - is very scenic but there are no rest stops and very few places to find something to eat!

We made such good time that we rolled into Corning early enough that we forged ahead to take a look at Watkins Glen State Park. More about that in a few days….and Montour Falls….and Letchworth State Park.  It was a waterfall extravaganza!