His View 

Watkins Glen - Feliks' perspective

 

Our first state park stop - Watkins Glen. In the heart of New York. A very unexpected landscape. Normally when somebody says they're from the state of New York, I think tall buildings, lots of traffic, and horrible air. Watkins Glen was more like Canada - lots of trees, lakes, two lane winding roads, and mom and pop shops on every corner. They did have a Burger King though. The park itself wasn't too far off the road and up a hill, but secluded enough where you couldn't hear traffic. I did one morning hear the race cars tearing up the race track, which I learned later was not too far from the park. We got there around 1am and obviously the rangers were gone. It was nice that they had late arrival instructions right at the entrance gate. We found a spot and parked for the night. I did get to set up the tent for the first time on the trip, which is always my favorite part about camping. The next morning we packed up and headed towards the main trails. The trail itself was not on dirt, but almost paved concrete. Lots of steps and narrow passages. It ran along the creek, up the mountain. I was actually pretty surprised at how many people were on this trail. There were tons of kids, young couples, and surprisingly elderly people with canes. While the trail itself was not that challenging, I still felt wore out afterwards. It should be doable for all ages. Unlike the creek in Pembroke, which ran across a rocky forest landscape, this creek ran through the middle of mountain rock. The stream had carved out its path, which looked almost like an oil painting of lines and curves, smooth as a baby's bottom. There were some pretty cool sights like the spiral tunnel, rainbow falls, and the central cascades (which you could actually walk behind). 

 

Overall, it was a pretty good hike - lots of pretty, natural scenery, more tourists than I expected. I can't wait to see how it compares to our next hike.

 

As we headed out of Watkins Glen, the GPS told me to go south. I told her no and went north. So glad I did, because we discovered the biggest freaking wine trail I have ever heard of in my life. The finger lakes in the middle of New York had over one hundred different wineries located around three lakes. Needless to say, Caywood was very excited, especially when we found Caywood Vineyards. While I am not a huge wine drinker, it was still very entertaining to visit some of these vineyards. We will definitely be back to attempt the entire Seneca Wine Trail at some point in our lives.

 

Parking was easy. Roads get a little hairy at times, and the locals take their race track on the streets, especially around the corners. So beware.