Sunday, October 16, 2022

The Adventure



This morning, Tim and I got up and headed out the door for an adventure. We've been doing a lot of work lately, and as Jack Nicholson can attest,
 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' 

Disclaimer: No axes were involved.)



This is Letchworth Park, in New York State, a 2 1/2 hour drive from where we live.

It is primarily known as the home grounds of Mary Jemison, who had been taken captive by the Seneca Indians. She lived with them all the rest of her days and because she spoke English became a negotiater between them and the government. She is buried at Letchworth Park, at the site of the old council grounds. 


It was a beautiful day. 
Some of parts of the trail we were on got quite exciting. 
This was a drop off on both sides...

...Left


...Right


The pictures don't quite show how steep the drop offs were on both sides of this section of trail. There was a terrified looking girl clinging tightly to the side of a tree. I understood her queasiness, being a bit of a nervous nelly about heights myself.  I have a weird knee that can give out suddenly if I set my foot wrong on uneven ground, so I was especially mindful of the footing here. 

We met many groups of people taking selfies of themseves posed in the woods in fancy clothes. We met one woman in high heel sandals. There was a boy probably William's age having quite a fit. I'm not sure how far he had walked but in his mind, it was a bit farther than he wanted to walk. He was shrieking at his parents for quite some time. He had a large stick and was beating signs and trees and having his tantrum. They spoke quietly to him. At one point, he roared "I AM NOT ACTING LIKE A BRAT!" 


Look at the size of this tree. I parked Tim in front of it so that you'd get an idea. Tim was sure that it had to be 400 years old. 

Think of it. 
It had stood there on that tall ridge before we were a nation. 

It stood there as Mary Jemison walked by. 

It stood there as the CYC built the stone walls and dug out the stone steps, and carved out the 66 miles of trail that endure still. 

All the seasons ticking off, year after year after year. 

It looked quite healthy despite the fact that it had been struck by lightning at least once.

Coming back, Tim suggested we walk down to the highway and follow it back to our car, since the trail had been so challenging. We went down to the road, came to an intersection, checked our map to locate the entrance we had come in, and headed smartly off making good time. But...it did not look familiar. We got to a visitor center and sat down with our map once again when it occured to us. We had driven to the Portage entrance, but a sign directed us further down the road to the Castile entrance. We were making good time in the wrong direction! But it was a beautiful day and a fun walk. We were admiring the view when a woman asked Tim if he would mind helping her back her car out. A large truck had pulled in next to her blocking her view and she was afraid to back out into  the traffic. Tim went off to help her, and while he was at it, he verified that we were headed to the Castile entrance. She affirmed it, and then told us to hop in, She was headed to Inspiration Point, and she dropped us off less than a half mile from our car. 

All's well that ends well. 
 

33 comments:

  1. We should take more days off when we just go out and have fun. Even getting lost can be fun.

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  2. Enjoyed the photos Debby (and the accompanying text too). But wow, that was some drive! Well it certainly looked like great driving weather too. 🙂👍

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    1. It was a perfect fall day, with just enough cool to the air to make walking in a sweater comfortable.

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  3. Nice adventure, except for the steep inclines. Poor kid's tantrum was a bit unique to beat signs and trees. Nice that Tim could help the friendly lady back up and get a ride towards your car in the process. Interesting history of Mary Jemisen. What a river view. Definitely not Kansas! Linda

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    1. I wondered at the behavior, but the more I studied it, the more I think he was just exhausted.

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  4. What a big day out. Australians are used to long distances, but a two and a half hour drive would mean we would stay overnight. Did you drive back the same day and so spend 5 hours driving? No matter. It looks like you had a great walk and met kind strangers.

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    1. We got on the road early, had a beautiful walk, drove back home. We even stopped at an antique store to nose around. The fall scenery was nice. It didn't seem arduous at all.

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  5. We enjoy visiting Letchworth State Park in all seasons. Nice pictures and dialogue.

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  6. What a lovely place for a walk. I would have been very nervous with those steep drops either side. I have some vestibular imbalance disorder so I often stumble on uneven or narrow surfaces. I think many trees there would see me clinging to them!

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    1. you can bet the farm that I was very cautious!

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  7. Hiking is good therapy for the soul. But I much prefer the trail less traveled.

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    1. The views were spectacular. We enjoy meeting new people.

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  8. A great day for a beautiful hike! Glad you got back safe and sound!

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  9. Sounds like a great day out with some beautiful scenery! I've done that before -- gotten turned around on a trail. Thank goodness for the Good Samaritan.

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    1. Oh, we'd have been fine. The walking was easy along the road, and there was still plenty to see, but we've never made a goof like that one before. Lesson learned. Stick to the trails. I mentioned this as we were walking and Tim snarled, "You're full of advice AFTER the fact, aren't you?" Kind of surprised me. Not sure what he was so grumpy about.

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  10. Sitting here thinking about that tree.... and all it's seen and heard over the years.

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    Replies
    1. Isn't it amazing. I can daydream in tangents like that for hours..

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  11. Ha Ha, good time in the wrong direction! I did that years ago in the national park near my daughter's house. It has many walking trails and I got lost. I had to look for the TV relay towers in the end and work my way towards them.

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    1. That is the first time that ever happened to us. A bit embarrassing.

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  12. I couldn't remember if I had left a comment or not, not I guess:)

    That area looks beautiful. I read about Mary Jemison. It sounds like she a good, long life. I hope she was happy. I can't imagine being kidnapped or having your family killed by the kidnappers.

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    1. Her life sounds tragic. Two sons were killed by a brother. Her first child died after 2 days. 3 daughters died within 3 months of each other. She had 8 children total.

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    2. Obviously I didn't read very well and missed those bits.

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    3. It is hard to fathom a man killing two of his brothers. He himself died 5 years later. It was alcohol related. The Moravian people introduced alcohol to them.

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  13. What a lovely adventure! I think you were MEANT to walk in the wrong direction to be on hand to help that lady. BTW its only 3 hours from where I live over to the folks - so I make it a sleepover. However BB is coming over FROM there with the folks today for appointments and it will be a day trip for them.

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  14. It was an adventure Jeanie! It has been a long time since we had one. Hey can I speak freely in a pm to you?

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  15. Looks very peaceful and beautiful. I think that is the first time (that I remember) seeing a picture of Tim. Nice looking young man.

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  16. I think that may be the park that we visited a long time ago in NYS.

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  17. I will bet your pictures were better than mine!

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  18. Oh gosh... I just read the story of Mary Jemison. What an incredible life and she lived to be 90. But so much tragedy!

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I'm glad you're here!

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