Tuesday, August 1, 2017

The Finger Lakes

New York's Finger Lakes

It was good to be back on our road bikes in the Finger Lakes of upper New York. Riding on the backroads between the farms and vineyards was lovely. Our campground is in a small town of Ovid between Lake Cayuga and Seneca Lake. Very little traffic other than the Amish carriages and a few tractors were on the roads.
By the second day of riding, we set our alarm clock for 6:30 since the heat and humidity were increasing.

 

Finger Lakes, NY

The Finger Lakes consist of 11 lakes with over 100 wineries. Many of the wineries have music in the afternoons.
We found several U pick berry places and Juneberry had some great looking blackberries with our names on them. Many of the roadside stands have serve yourself boxes with a place to drop our money. We did get some tasty tomatoes.

Artichokes

A mile from the end of our ride was a winery with copper pizza ovens.


Winery overlooking Lake Cayuga


The apple cider was refreshing.




The sangria was ok. It looked prettier than it tasted. Cranberry wine just doesn't do it for me.

Watkins Glen, NY

Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks. Within  a two mile walk,  the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge. We climbed the 840 steps which were fortunately shaded to keep us cooler.














The spray from the falls was refreshing.








We walked down the Spiral Tunnel to walk behind one of the falls.












I was surprised how long it took me to get over the pneumonia I got while in Maine. Our hikes and bike rides are getting longer each day. I ride a slow 15-20 miles before Mike drops me off and finishes his ride. It is good to know that someone has your back when things get tough.
Getting knocked down can be humbling.


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