Leaving Lynchburg at our normal time this morning, we drove to a beautiful campground in the mountains just north of Carlisle, PA. Our first discovery was the air conditioner did not work! Oh well, it was a cool night.
Wednesday
We awoke to water under our bed. The leak the dealer said he fixed on the outside shower connections was NOT fixed! A quick search found a RV dealer in Corning who quickly fixed the problem. Oh, but the water in the campground last night was so muddy, it ruined our new water filter.
Our campground is just south of Watkins Glen. So after buying a new filter and setting up camp, we decided to explore a bit.
We found the Catherine’s Valley Bike Trail in several spots but decided due to poor signage and poor maintenance, we would not ride it.
Thursday
We hiked the Watkins Glen Gorge Trail. It is fantastic, everything it is hyped to be!
When the glaciers that formed Seneca Lake receded, Glen Creek began to erode the steep cliff at the side of the lake...and the creation of the Gorge began!
You even get to walk behind water falls. The entire trail was built by the CCC in the 1930s; another great legacy of that program!
We ate lunch at the snack bar at the end of the Gorge Trail, then hiked back to the visitors center via the Indian Trail and Couch’s Staircase.
Two wineries that were on every top ten Finger Lake listing I found are in this region; Dr. Konstantin Frank and Hermann J. Wiemer vineyards. We have found Frank’s wines in stores, so we decided to do a tasting at Wiemer. The tasting was a wonderful experience with very good wines. However, Gretchen and I both prefer Frank’s wines, especially the Dry Reisling!
Our next stop was back in Watkins Glen for a stroll around Main Street. On our way back to the campground, we went by the speedway, just to say we’ve seen it!
Friday
Our drive today was less than three hours, the second half on small roads through beautiful farm land dotted with hamlets. Our home for this week is the Red Rock Ponds RV Resort in Holley, NY. After setting up camp, we checked out Brockport and Spencerport to glean information on the Erie Canal Trail.
Saturday
We rode the Erie Canal Trail today from our campground west of Holley to Spencerport and back (32.8 miles)! The Trail is hard packed smooth gravel, well maintained and very peaceful! We thought it was just a splendid riding experience!!
The lift bridge at Brockport. When boats arrive, the operator raises the bridge for them to pass. The 348 mile Erie Canal was completed in 1825. One example of the economic benefit was the cost of shipping a ton of wheat from Buffalo to New York City dropped from $100 to between 5 and 10 dollars!
Sunday
We had a grand time with Sara and Matha today! First catching up with them over lunch in their beautiful new house in Pittsford, then seeing some sights in Rochester.
We went to Ontario Beach Park where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario. It’s a beautiful, free public park with lots of people enjoying an afternoon by the water!
Matha coaxed us to go on the carousel, a nostalgic ride for sure!
Next we went to the Upper Falls on the Genesee River. This spot provided the water power for flour mills along the banks that led to Rochester being know as the “City of Flour!”
Our next stops were to see where Sara works at RIT and Matha at Fisher College. The move to Rochester has certainly been great for Matha and Sara. They both have jobs they love, they have moved into a beautiful neighborhood and they talk about friends they have made. So life is good! Plus, they are now Grand Dames in Pittsford high society!!
Love you two, great seeing you!!
Monday
Today was a biking day. First we rode the Genesee River Trail from its intersection with the Erie Canal Trail to Corn Hill where it ends in downtown Rochester; about 3 miles.
Returning to the Erie Canal, we rode east to Pittsford and back, a lovely ride of 21.2 miles. Oh, Matha and Sara, we did see two Pittsford wives along the way!
Tuesday
We drove to Buffalo because we were never downtown in the past. Our first stop was the Canalside highlighted in the tourism guides. It’s shown below....not much. It’s amenities plus a short down pour was enough for Gretchen to exclaim, “I’ve had it, let’s get out of here!” And we did but...
we still had to sample a Buffalo tradition, Beef and Weck! It’s made with roast beef on a kümmelweck roll, one topped with kosher salt and caraway seeds. We found a Charlie the Butcher and loved our sandwich!
We then drove north to Ransomville where we stopped for a tasting at A Gust of Sun Winery opened by the Gustafson’s! No wine worth buying. Next we headed east through prime orchard country to the restored Oak Orchard Lighthouse on Lake Ontario!
It was a fun day, and we saw a lot of the great scenery along the lake.
Wednesday
Today we rode the Erie Canal from Lockport to Middleport and back (24.4 miles). We love riding this trail, it’s so bucolic and peaceful!
The bakery in Middleport has a great sign but it’s selection of treats is not very tempting!
Entering Lockport, you see five of the original locks that have been preserved. Originally, there were 5 going west and 5 going east. Today, 2 large locks have replaced those 10!
In honor of the old locks, we had to have a tasting at the Flight of Five Winery. The presentation was awesome, the wine was not...definitely in our bottom five all time winery list.
Thursday
This morning we rode from our campground in Holley west to Knowlesville and back (25.4 miles). And we passed the northern most point on the Erie Canal!
Oh, and it is our 49th wedding anniversary so we decided to go to the New York Wine and Culinary Institute for dinner in Canandaigua to celebrate! It’s a wonderful restaurant we found on a previous trip!
Friday/Saturday
Today was a travel day, making our way to Niagara on the Lake in Canada. Upon getting settled in our campsite, we drove into Niagara on the Lake to find the parking lot for the Niagara River Trail! The cute little town we visited decades ago in this wine region is still a mystery because Niagara on the Lake is definitely not it!
Saturday dawned a beautiful morning and we set out to ride the Niagara River Trail. It’s a paved, heavily used path with lots of bikers, walkers, runners and picnickers! We climbed the escarpment to the spot in Queenston where Niagara Falls were born, 12,300 years ago when the glaciers receded. The falls we’re only 35 feet high and 7.1 miles from their current location. That’s a lot of erosion!
We stopped at the Whirlpool and road along the power dam. There is one opposite this one on the USA side.
The trail was wonderful until we entered the city of Niagara Falls, ON, where we were routed onto bike lanes in the street. But we biked on so we could see the Falls; American on left, Canadian on right.
On our return trip, we stopped at the Floral Clock! We logged 27.4 miles today and had a wonderful ride!
Sunday
This morning we went to the Niagara Botanical Garden. It is a neat spot to stroll around and it’s free! The rose garden looked fabulous but since it is August, the rose booms have long faded!
Our next stop was the Welland Ship Canal where it enters Lake Ontario. We got there just as a tanker was exiting the last lock!
The first Welland Canal was completed in 1833! It was 28 miles long, and the locks were 110’ long, 22’ wide and 8’ deep. The current Canal is 27 miles long, and the locks are 859’ long, 80’ wide and 25.5’ deep. It was completed in 1932.
Above is a container ship in the lock at Thorold.
We ended our circular drive at Fort Erie across the Niagara River from Buffalo. There is a bike route along the entire route, but we decided to do the Friendship Trail from Fort Erie to Port Colborne tomorrow!
Monday
It was a beautiful day to ride today. We rode the paved trail along Lake Erie, through farmland, forests and small towns. Arriving in Port Colborne, we were surprised to come upon a huge festival, Canal Days. There were lots of people since today is an Ontario holiday!
The street was lined with vendors and bands. You could go on a tall ship cruise, and
a fire boat put on a display!
We ate a scone and some ice cream and headed back. Canal days was a great find! Oh, total miles, 35.4.
Tuesday/Wednesday
We drove to Toronto and set up camp. Then we decided to go into the city to check out the bike trails and orient ourselves to the things we planned to visit. Well, the campground is 30 miles from downtown and it took 1 1/2 hours to drive to and from. We decided it was not worth the hassle and decided to go back to New York. We did see a beautiful rainbow at the campground!
Wednesday we drove to Newark, NY, only to find that our campground was a swamp. They said they had 3” of rain in an hour! So, we decided to move on in the morning!
Thursday
On we went to Hammondsport at the south end of Keuka Lake. The KOA campground is great! It’s a lovely day so we decided to checkout two of the top rated Finger Lake wineries! Our first stop was Lamoreaux Landing overlooking Seneca Lake. They had very good wines and we loved their Reserve Chardonnay.
Our next stop was Sheldrake Point, the winery that makes the wonderful Rosé we were introduced to at the N.Y. Wine and Culinary Institute. The Rosé accounts for forty percent of their production and it is “nectar.”
Friday
A ride on the Lackawanna Rail Trail was our main activity today. We rode from Lowman to Elmira along the meandering Chemung River and back (17.4 miles).
The trail ends at Eldridge Park, a cool place with dragon paddle boats, a carousel, several carnival rides and a cafe (17.4 miles)!
Saturday
Today we rode the Black Diamond Trail from Ithaca to Taughannock Falls. The falls are 215 feet high, higher than Niagara Falls!
The ride was wonderful with a canopied hard packed surface. Also, we rode the Waterfront Trail in Ithaca along the Cayuga Inlet (20.1 miles).
On the way back to our campsite, we stopped for dinner at the annual Tyrone Methodist Church Chicken Barbecue! We got enough food for two meals (chicken, deviled eggs, baked beans, macaroni salad, buns plus pie to die for).
Sunday
Today we drove to Geneva to ride the Cayuga-Seneca Canal Trail. We started on the Geneva Lakefront Trail and passed through Seneca State Park to reach the trail. Our lunch bench in the Park is pictured above.
The Canal Trail runs through a forest along the canal. In one spot, a home owner has planted a beautiful, eclectic garden along the trail for at least 100 yards. Very cool!
The turn around point is Lock 4 at mile 5 in Waterloo. Eventually, the trail will extend 19 miles along the entire canal route. Total ride miles (16.0).
On our way back, we stopped at the Frank Winery overlooking Keuka Lake. It was a beautiful setting and the Dry Riesling is wonderful!
Our last stop was in Hammondsport to walk around the village. It’s a charming spot. There was an exhibit of paintings artists created on wooden palettes distributed around the sidewalks...a neat idea!
Monday
Today was a leisurely travel day. By mid afternoon, we were in our campground in Westfield (NY). We then spent the rest of the day doing chores!
Tuesday
We went to the Chautauqua Institute today. On our walk to the morning lecture, we found the perfect dogs for us! The theme this week is Shifting Global Power. The morning lecture was by Kenneth R. Weinstein, President and CEO of the Hudson Institute. His main point was that China is using video, face recognition, AI and database technology to track 80 million of its citizens who have mobile phones. They have set up a system that measures how loyal to the party’s prescription for living one is. If the person is loyal, they can get a loan, or travel or get a better job, etc. The leaders are using technology to control their citizens so they can remain in power. And they are now trying to sell the technology to other countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Hence, we need to ensure we are on a par with China in the emerging technology realm!
We had a lovely lunch in the beautiful Athenaeum Hotel. On a ceiling beam there is a quote from John Heyl Vincent, cofounder of the Chatauqua Assembly in 1874.
“...every man has the right to be all he can be, to know all he can know.”
The afternoon lecture was given by Hardy Merriman, President of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. Did you know that during the 20th century, nonviolent movements resulted in democratic reforms around the world 57% of the time while violent confrontations did only 24% of the time! His main point was, we need to put more time and resources behind nonviolent approaches to global problems! The lecture was held in the Hall of Philosophy shown below.
We left the grounds for some respite at the campground and returned for the concert by the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. It was outstanding! Another great day at Chautauqua, we love the environment!
We found the Portage Pie Shop today. Their menu lists rhubard as a choice but alas, no rhubard was available today. We had to settle for an apple crumb pie, however, it was ok because the pie was OUTSTANDING!
Wednesday/Thursday
It was an easy trip to New Staunton (PA) where our next campground was located. We stopped here to ride the last leg of the Great Allegheny Passage from McKeesport to Pittsburgh. The section was not complete when we rode the rest of the trail, probably 10 years ago! Thursday we spent exploring the route via car to determine where to start our ride. The decision is to start in the parking lot next to the McKeesport Police Station!
Friday
It was a beautiful day to ride a bike. To our surprise, the entire trail was paved except a half mile in Homestead which was hard packed, smooth gravel. There were a few hills, the most difficult being the ramps to the bridges over the railroad! The trail follows the industry lined Monongahela River including ship locks, the railroad and a few steel mills still in operation.
Brick stacks are all that remain of the Homestead Iron Works that was a key producer of iron and steel for the military during WW II. It occupied the entire area that is now The Waterfront commercial development along the river. The Ironworks closed in 1986 but the Stacks reflect it’s importance in the history and economy of Homestead.
Rolling along the river, we passed the Steelers training facility at UPMC, then crossed the river on the Hot Metal Bridge, catching our first glimpse of downtown Pittsburgh.
From the bridge to within a few blocks of Point State Park, the trail is on a paved right of way between the east and west lanes of the expressway; a very cool way to enter the city! Gretchen and I know from experience that biking into Pittsburgh is a lot easier and more enjoyable than driving!
The park is on the point where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to create the Ohio River. It is a really well planned focal point for the downtown area and a great place to terminate a bike trail, However, we had more riding to do, so we reversed course and headed back to McKeesport (35.8 miles).
Saturday/Sunday
East we drove today arriving late afternoon at Gretchen’s sister’s house in Orwigsburg. We spent the evening catching up and admiring the view from their beautiful house overlooking Hawk Mountain. On Sunday, Gretchen and Priscilla visited the cemetery where their parents are buried and we took a walk at the Owl Creek Recreation Area near Tamaqua.
To celebrate my cancer free diagnosis, the Olmes took us to their favorite German restaurant for dinner. Thank you Priscilla and Phil, that was very thoughtful and kind!
Monday
This morning we met Stephanie, Natalie and Luke at the Morris Arboretum where we had a very enthusiastic tour guide. Above, Natalie is showing us the robin eggs in the nest! The sisters loved the rose garden, and
both kids and adults love the model train layout. It is quite large and well done.
Posing for a family portrait in the spring house.
Nice! Great seeing you Stephanie!
Tuesday
It’s time to travel home after a month on the road. Thanks so much for your hospitality Priscilla and Phil. It is always great seeing you two. It has been a wonderful trip, mixing bike riding and sightseeing in the Finger Lakes and southern Ontario regions. By 5:00 p.m. the camper was nestled in our drive anticipating her next great adventure!
