New York - Day 3 - Seneca Falls

Cayuga Lake State Park
Thursday, 3 May 2018

On our morning walk, we saw a flock of 9 geese, that I'm pretty sure were snow geese, though I had to look in the bird book to be sure they were here (since I've only seen them in Washington before) and a Great Blue Heron and a chipmunk.  I've seen the geese and the chipmunk several times since then today - they're hanging around like we are.

today's route

I went in to Seneca Falls to the Women's Rights National Historical Park, run by the National Park Service.  The women's rights movement originated here in the 1840s.  I had no idea the women's rights movement was as closely aligned with the anti-slavery movement as it was:

In 1840 the World Anti-Slavery Convention met in London, where the male delegates decided not to seat the female delegates.  Two of the rejected delegates - Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott - met for the first time and had plenty of time to talk.  Ms. Mott was a Quaker abolitionist, and she called on others to meet with Ms. Stanton; together they organized the First Women's Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls in 1848.  (You know, this is what happens when men try to put women in their proper place.)  Seventy years later, women had the right to vote.  Some of the few men to support the women were involved in abolitionist work.

The team that did much of the work to achieve equality for women was Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were introduced to each other on a street corner by Amelia Bloomer in 1851.

This Seneca Falls statue commemorates that meeting 

At that museum I learned about another distinction for Seneca Falls.  Take a look at this bridge.

George Bailey meets Clarence here

Picture the bridge covered in snow with George Bailey talking to Clarence.  Okay, "It's a Wonderful Life" was filmed here, with Seneca Falls substituting for Bedford Falls, as you can see on the street signs leading to the bridge.  There's also a It's a Wonderful Life Museum here too.

Afterwards I drove out to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, which is only a few miles out of town.

Many years ago this area was hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat.  Then the marsh was drained for farmland.  The National Fish and Wildlife people have acquired the land and are gradually restoring the habitat.  You probably can't see it because of my lack of photographic skill but there are birds all over the place in this photo.  Red-winged blackbirds in the grasses and many different duckies out on the water.  And the F&W signs say lots of little mammals (think mice) live in the grasses, and they're hunted by red foxes and other such critters.  It's a huge area that covers miles and is really nice to see.

On my way back to the campground I stopped at a grocery store - another really odd one.  This one was, as far as I could tell, run by Amish people, with a strong emphasis on products that were naturally produced and signs posted all over the store reminding their customers that they'll be "Closed on May 10, Ascension Day, In Observance of our Savior's Ascension into Heaven," they say.  I can honestly say I've never seen a sign quite like that in a grocery store - even the ones that close for Christmas.   I feel like I keep running into odd grocery stores - and all I wanted were some lettuce and mustard (which they had) and mandarin oranges (which they didn't).