New York - Day 5 - Ithaca

Sampson State Park

Saturday, 5 May 2018

Taughannock Falls

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Also it’s Kentucky Derby Day!  (What a culture clash.)

This state park doesn’t owe its existence to the CCC but instead to WWII.  The second largest naval training station in the US was established here, it was used as an Air Force base during the Korean War, and then was promoted to a state park.  The original infrastructure is either being repurposed or going back to nature.

I’m guessing the entrance road was the original because it’s so bumpy (think bump bump bumpety, look at Frosty go) I have to slow down to 10 mph to keep everybody from being jolted out of their beds.

Spring has come to the Finger Lakes region – the trees are showing spring green, the fruit trees and redbuds are blooming, tulips are wide open in people’s yards, japonica is blooming – everywhere is beautiful.

Except for the flies.  I’m guessing these are the black flies I heard about and they are a NUISANCE.  Unless there’s a breeze to keep them away, they swarm and pester and generally make being outdoors not so pleasant.  Let’s hear it for the breezes!

I turned off the state road (like the farm to market roads in Texas) to visit Taughannock Falls.   At 215’ it is the tallest single drop waterfall in the northeast US.  It’s hard to get a photo that conveys the size.  I took the one with the little family at the viewing station to try to give some perspective, but I’m not sure that worked.  The Falls flows down its gorge into Cayuga Lake.  While we were there I took the dogs for a walk in the woods down a trail the parks people had laid out.  Very pleasant until we ran out of breeze and the flies drove me back to the RV.  The dogs didn’t seem to mind so much, but I did and I was in charge.

I wanted to see Cornell University because I’ve known their school song since I was a kid.  I don’t remember when I learned those words, but I can still sing almost all of it.  It starts, “Far above Cayuga’s waters . .  stands our noble Alma Mater” and in fact, it is.  It sits on a pretty tall hill at the end of Cayuga Lake and is a very pretty setting.  The directions I’d gotten off Google told me to turn at Stewart Street, and when I did I found myself on a steep narrow brick-paved street that caught me off-balance in trying to negotiate the school traffic situation.  They allow absolutely no parking as far as I can tell, unless you’ve got a permit, which I didn’t.  I really wanted to take a picture from up there but could never find a place to stop.

At about that same time Jasper started yelling at me, which I’ve learned means he wants to use the box.  I kept telling him I was trying to find a place to stop, like that would make a difference to him.  I kept driving and kept not finding anyplace even to stop, and then found myself suddenly in another town – Forest Home – that I think was a little place jammed up against the school and Ithaca.

Without warning I found I’d be crossing a one-lane bridge and, after successfully negotiating that hazard I miraculously found myself at the Cornell Botanical Gardens – with a parking lot – because they wanted people to come visit them.  So we did.  I had to back and forth a bit to fit into a parking spot, but Jasper made it out of his crate just in time.

The botanical gardens had a wildflower garden and clearly contemplated having doggie visitors, so I took the dogs on a little walk.  The garden runs along Falls Creek, which that 1-lane bridge spanned, and which had a pair of Common Mergansers and a Canada goose.  I’m guessing there was another goose somewhere nearby sitting on a nest but didn’t see it.

Falls Creek 1-lane bridge

The garden was lovely, even at this early time of year.  After we walked a bit, we found ourselves at a gate in a 7’ tall fence.  A sign said they’d tried every non-lethal method they could think of to keep the deer from stripping their garden bare up to the 4’ they could reach and nothing worked until they installed the fence.  Now – like magic – they’ve got a wildflower garden.  The sign invited us to go in, but I decided the dogs might be as destructive as the deer and decided not to.

Some nice women in the parking lot told me how to get back down the hill to downtown and, on the way, I learned that Cornell was the first in the US to establish a school of veterinary medicine.  They now have a companion animal hospital and an equine hospital.

Just past there I stumbled on the Cornell Orchards and a store they operate, advertising apple products and maple syrup.  So of course I stopped and bought some syrup made there at Cornell and some pancake mix from the New Hope company.  That’s tomorrow’s breakfast.

I’d forgotten when I was in town that when I first came through a couple of days ago, I saw the Moosewood Restaurant.  I recognized the logo right away, since I used to have their cookbook, and thought maybe I’d come back, but today I was almost out of town before I remembered and decided not to go back and fight traffic.  You wouldn’t think traffic would be bad on a non-event Saturday.

I stopped at Interlaken on the way back to take a picture of this church, that I’d noticed on the way out.  I just thought it was really pretty – too bad there was no angle that didn’t involve even more power lines than in this shot.  

And the front yard I stopped at to take the photo had some artwork of its own.  I spotted the T. rex, the eagle and the tortoise, I’m not sure if there was more there.  Someone’s very creative.

I’m fixing tacos tonight in honor of Cinco de Mayo.