A Fun Fall Adventure

Poor Carter.  This kid just keeps getting dragged on outings with me because Saturday afternoons are prime time to do things, and usually Jacob has basketball.  Craig and I switch off basketball duty, so on my off weekends, I definitely want to get out of the house and do something else.  Fall leaves and good weather only last so long, so this past weekend I was determined to go somewhere fun.  I knew that Letchworth would be jammed, so I had to make a different plan for leaf-peeping.  Lucky for us, we have a local news guy who spends his days driving around and capturing video and photos of awesome things in our area.  He was actually a sports guy for years and Craig knew him well from years in the press box, but a few years back his career took a different route.  I've been following him on Facebook for a while now, and he always has interesting places and stories to share.  He was probably the final nudge that convinced me we had to go to Watkins Glen this year after seeing my parents' pictures years ago, he alerted me to a plane flyover this summer, and he has made me aware of places I never knew existed.  A couple weeks ago, he posted some pictures from Stony Brook State Park, which is about an hour south of Rochester, a bit past Geneseo.  It looked gorgeous!  I had been to Stony Brook once, in college, for my one tent camping experience ever.  It was during senior week before graduation and I only lasted an overnight before hitching a ride back to civilization with someone who was coming back.  It was fine, I guess, but I prefer convenient bathrooms, clean showers, and not smelling like campfire (not that that would bother me now, mind you, since I can't smell--but I do remember a certain gross, filmy feeling anyway).  I think we hiked a little bit on that trip, but the campsites are in a different section of the park so I'm guessing we did different trails then than the main park trails.  So, I decided that would be my target.  I wanted all four of us to go, but when Jacob ended up with a 12pm game and later afternoon training on his schedule, I decided Carter and I were on our own.  

Then, on Saturday morning, that same news guy posted about this veterans' memorial down in Groveland, which was literally right on our route, and I decided that was a must-see as well.  It was going to be a full afternoon!  While Saturday morning was gorgeous, it was starting to get really windy and there were thunderstorms in the forecast for the afternoon.  I was a bit worried that would kibbosh our trip since at the very least falling tree branches would be a concern, but when I looked at the forecast, it appeared the winds were going to be considerably less that far south and the thunderstorms weren't supposed to hit until a couple hours later than at home.  As the winds picked up here (and kicked up my anxiety), I decided that mentally I needed that trip more than ever.  For the record, while we had no damage, the neighbor's canopy was torn to shreds, so I think an afternoon of winds like that might have made me quite crazy.  

Knowing I had to grease the wheels a bit with a less-than-willing participant, Carter and I got Freezes from the gas station when I stopped to fill up, and between those, the sun, and some good tunes, I know I was excited to get started!  The drive down was gorgeous.  The leaves were pretty and any route that leads toward Geneseo usually makes me happy.  Of course, just as we were getting to our first stop, Carter had to pee.  I should have turned toward the gas station down the road first, but figured we'd be quick and could go there before getting back on our route.  Well, turns out Carter was extremely cranky and impatient throughout our first stop, but I tried to make the most of it!

This was a spinning piece of art that was blowing like crazy in the wind.  It features all of the armed forces' shields.

 

This was the initial view as we got out of the car--the armed forces' flags (plus a few others) stood out, and while it's a bit hard to see here, it's a giant flag painted on the ground and dozens of metal poppies on the red stripes.

It was actually pretty breathtaking.  They bobbed and spun in the wind, which made it even cooler.

It was huge, as you can see from this picture with Carter for scale!

Each of the flowers was made at a local BOCES, both by students and by veterans who were assisted by students.  They were all unique and included a tag for the person they were honoring.

Looks like a bike chain

A flower within a flower

A plane!

Dragonfly made with spoons!

It was really a sight to see, and I can only imagine how moving it must be for those with military connections, just because it's so large and immersive and truly beautiful.

Because Carter needed his bathroom break and was quite impatient about it, our stop was probably only about 10 minutes or less.  The gas station down the road was a lifesaver, especially out in the middle of nowhere, and then it was on to our main destination--Stony Brook State Park!  I didn't know this until that night, but the park hit capacity about a half hour after we got there.  Letchworth hit around noon, so we definitely got lucky!

Upon arrival, Carter started running right away--because that is what he does--but in the process he found this beautiful leaf!

He proceeded to collect a rock and a bunch of other fun leaves along the way, too.  The first path to get closer to the trails was through this wooded picnic area.  Carter took off running despite numerous hazards and obstacles on the path--lots of pine needles, sticks, and pinecones!

At the end of that path was a playground, and a fun one at that!  Carter loved it!

Doing this on bars and flipping over completely is his favorite thing!

These were a bit wiggly and wobbly, but he went from end to end!

This tree was so gorgeous, and the handsome guy in the front isn't too bad either!

This spun around and around!

I wasn't a great counterbalance for these sorts of things (same for the one two pictures up) but we made the best of it!

He was just climbing hand over hand...such a little monkey!

After the playground stop, we visited the bathroom before embarking on our hike.  Carter tripped on a rock on the way in, and we had to do a little cleanup and repair before heading back out.  Thankfully mama had band-aids!  Back outside, we had to do a little exploring pre-trail because I knew the gorge trail was one way due to COVID limitations, but I wasn't sure which trail started where.  We walked into this gorgeous looking spot to check things out.  Turns out this was the end of the Gorge Trail, so we came through here again later, but it was pretty enough to see twice!

These walls were interesting and made me wonder if there was a bridge there at one point.  Where it would have gone, I have no idea, but what a pretty spot!

We decided to do the West Rim Trail to head out, mostly since it was shorter.  I was intrigued by this crazy steep ascent, but it turned out to be positively exhausting!  So many stairs!

Even worse, the stairs were a bit odd and uneven.  It was like a concrete edge to the step that was supposed to have earth behind it to build the back half of the step, but in many areas the dirt had washed out between, so there were half steps with hollows beyond them.  It was hard even for me to navigate at times.  Then the stairs disappeared completely, and the trail continued to be steep and full of roots!

 
It was warm, and we were definitely huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top.  It was a solid 7-10 minute ascent.  On the bright side, when we got to the top, this is the view that was waiting for us!

 
The path plateaued a bit from there, and every few minutes you could hear waterfalls down below.  I was able to catch this one through the trees.

 
Most of the rim trail looked like this on the non-gorge side.  It was really pretty and peaceful.  I'm not sure if the wind (which was considerably less here as it was) ended by this point, but it was quiet and calm in here!

 
This view out over the gorge was amazing.  If you look closely, there is gorgeous reddish-orange color way out in the distance.

After a lot of walking across the top of the gorge, the trail started going down.  This was as treacherous as going up because the stairs had similar issues, plus there were leaves and some spots were damp.  I was so nervous about Carter going down them, or one of us dragging or knocking the other down if we held hands!  As we got to the end of the trail and started on the Gorge Trail, we started to see all of these concrete supports.  They were part of a railroad bridge that spanned the gorge from the later 1800s to the mid-1900s.

The Gorge Trail was right next to the water, with little to no handrail protection in most areas.  It was a bit damp down there so you definitely needed to watch your step.  There were lots of little waterfalls throughout the stream, much like Watkins Glen but a bit less flashy.

There were a couple stunning views from above the bigger waterfalls.  The foliage was so pretty!

Right as we were hitting the end of the Rim Trail, I noticed my phone was dying.  I just recently switched to Craig's old iPhone, and I'm not used to the slightly shorter battery life compared to my Android.  I had already used it that day for pictures and music in the car, and I didn't want to get caught in the boonies without a phone, particularly because I needed it to order dinner on the way home!  I panicked a bit and started to use my real camera for most areas except the most stunning views, and I must say, the color quality on fall foliage photos is superior on the iPhone because it fixes the exposure on bright sky vs. the colors.  It's pretty amazing, actually.  I still need my old camera for zoom views, but I was shocked at the difference!

Anyway, the waterfalls that we'd heard from up above were so pretty!

Had to catch a shot with my favorite little buddy at this one!

At the top of another one here...note the edge of the waterfall in the lower right.

The front view was stunning.  I have this as my phone lock wallpaper currently and can't stop looking at it!

You can see Carter's leaf collection in his hands here.

There were a couple cute bridges in the park, too.  This was one of them. 

Looking back at some of the stream and foliage.  Notice the not-blue sky here...this was clearly a camera photo.  But the sun peeking through the trees was sort of cool.

Another camera photo because I needed to zoom in to capture this part of a waterfall that Carter and I agreed this looked like a big loaf of bread.

Another bridge.  So peaceful and pretty.  This one definitely reminded me of Watkins Glen.

I took this picture (with my actual camera) because I was in love with the colors on these leaves!

This one was near the end of the trail and I loved how all the leaves had settled along the walls.

At the end of the trail, we ventured over to the entrance of the East Rim Trail, which I'd someday like to go back and hike.  This pretty bridge was at the start.  

The view from it was equally lovely.

We stopped back at the playground for one more round, and I had to use my camera to zoom in on the leaves in the gorgeous orange tree in the picture above with Carter. 

The clouds were starting to roll in as we got in the car.  My plan was to head back toward Geneseo and stop at Walmart to get an extra charging cord (which I needed anyway), just to make sure my phone didn't die early.  I took the opportunity to load up on gluten-free stuff for Jacob, too.  We called in our dinner order from the parking lot, and took the long way through Geneseo to get to Avon for our goodies.  More gorgeous views and foliage, plus we passed by a front yard, outdoor COVID wedding out in the country!  We grabbed dinner, donuts, and cookies at Livingston County Pizza, and finally headed home, super starving and tired but happy.  It was nice to reunite with the big boys and have our dinner together.  What a day it had been!

I have to share that Carter and I ended up at another playground the next day as part of a school assignment about our community, and I captured an awesome video of Carter on the monkey bars.  He is the master!  He did them about a dozen times!  I was a monkey bar fan as a kid, although I did tell him my story about falling (first grade, maybe?) and getting the wind knocked out of me, which was one of the scariest moments of my life because I couldn't catch my breath for a bit and I'd never had that feeling before.  I watched him with a little fear since his classmate broke his wrist on the monkey bars at school that week--the same playground equipment that served up broken bones to two or three of Jacob's 2nd grade classmates!  Yeah, they probably need to look at that!

The picture we took for his project

Overall, it was a really outstanding weekend.  Also, I'm not sure if it's because I finally downloaded Roblox for him, or if all that time together doing fun stuff actually made an impact, but Carter has been super huggy and affectionate since.  I'd like to think he remembered how much fun we can have together, but who knows?  After all that fun, he's had a bit of a cold this week, to the point we were worried we might have to get him tested for COVID because he sneezed and sniffled so much on Tuesday night and all day yesterday.  He never had a fever and his energy level was fine, so we weren't too worried because it seemed like ae typical cold, but with a family party this weekend, it definitely gave us pause.  But miraculously (and maybe not coincidentally) when I got home from bible study last night after we prayed for him there, he was so much better!  I was sure he'd have to learn from home tomorrow, and even now I'm still debating whether he should go, but he's barely sneezing or sniffling at all!  Even still, illness just takes on a whole new meaning these days.  

Hopefully the rest of us avoid it, because Binkley Oktoberfest weekend is upon us, and Craig has been planning his participation for weeks!

Hanging On...

I'm just going to say it--more than anything right now, I just can't wait for this election to be over.  If one side wins, my hope is the media can finally chill out a little and the national mood starts improving (or at least, perhaps a different group will be complaining--at this point any change seems good), and if the other side wins, I guess we just hunker down for four more years of division, hope for a COVID miracle, and invest in mental health care for more than half the country, because a lot of people are going to need it.  Either way, I am BURNED OUT.  Everything even remotely political online elicits venomous posts from either side.  I posted something the other day with a different perspective that I thought was interesting and might be helpful for a certain group that was struggling with a particular issue, and even when I requested that people not comment if the issue wasn't a particular struggle for them, of course I got dissenting comments from people that had to put in their two cents.  I only try to comment on others' posts if I feel like I can add a different perspective, and I try very hard to base it either on straight-up facts or on my personal experience.  And even then there are people that attack me.  I'm so sick of polarization, of assumptions, of generalizations, and of anyone who presents the extremists on either side as representative of the bulk of the party.  Those things only create more division and destroy any possible common ground to build off of.  This should be a quest to improve our country, and there isn't only one way to do that.  That's why there's division--because both sides think they have the "right" way.  However, the solution is more likely to be in between, and it's more likely to happen if both sides can compromise enough to get some of what each side wants.  With a completely split country, it's probably better if we're all a little happy than one side being totally happy and one side miserable, you know?  But no one seems willing to do that, and it's exhausting.  And dare I say--even though I dislike nearly all politicians (my mother-in-law is a good one, and I know there are others, but it gets harder to find the higher up you go)--that this is the knock on having a businessman in office instead of a politician.  Businessmen go for the win at all costs.  Politicians, by nature, at least used to be the ones who schmoozed and tried to keep everyone happy.  How they went about that wasn't always the best, but they at least understood that keeping the majority of constituents happy was not only key to staying in office, but usually better for the community.  It's only when ego and dominating the other side (long past the election) becomes more important that things start to implode, and I think that's part of what's happening now.  So, not only do I hope the next few weeks go quickly, I hope that the result is decisive and quickly agreed upon so we can just move on and face the next four years.  

In the meantime, self-preservation takes a lot of forms.  Staying away from media, trying to scroll quickly through Facebook to find the "good" stuff, escaping reality wherever possible, and seeking out the good little things in life are all "musts" currently.  Last Friday was a shockingly beautiful day.  After many days of cool and often cloudy weather (not to mention a windstorm), Friday was warm and sunny.  I cut out of work a little early (don't worry, I checked my email again after) to go for a pre-dinner bike ride.  I desperately wanted to ride along the canal to see how the leaves looked from that perspective.  For many years I would drive home from work over the canal, past the bike path, and wondered how the gorgeous fall leaves looked from down there.  This past summer I finally figured out how to get to that part of the path, and I really wanted to go back in the fall.  But cold weather bike riding isn't ideal, and the opportunity just hadn't presented itself since the leaves changed.  But Friday I finally did it.  It was definitely a cool ride. 

Gorgeous reddish-orange leaves in Greece Canal Park

Such a nice, peaceful ride and lots of color!

This is one section of the canal path I used to admire from afar.  You can just see the elevated highway to the left.

Closer to the overpass here...such gorgeous color!

Even with less color in this section, it was peaceful and pretty.

I rode past this spot in the spring and figured I needed an "after" picture with the fall color.  This is a different angle than the one I posted on the blog then, but I couldn't resist the colors in this one.  Through that bridge you can see the downtown Rochester skyline.  

I thought the graffiti was an interesting contrast to the peaceful view beyond it.

Such a pretty reflection.

Looking back at fall colors from under the bridge

It was a great 12-mile ride and it was nice to get back out there even if my legs weren't too happy about it.  I can tell I haven't done much vigorous exercise beyond the elliptical lately--mostly because I'm trying to rest my suspected high hamstring tendinopathy issue.  Probably about time to try for one more short run before confirming rest doesn't help and calling the chiropractor and getting some things checked out.

Saturday morning was another gorgeous one, although the winds were once again picking up.  I took a walk in the yard for the first time in a few days, mostly to check my garden.  The neighbor's tree, which is stunning some years and a bit more blah during others, is shaping up nicely!  It's so bright in person!

I finally gave up on the last remaining cucumbers in my garden and pulled the last viable cuke and mostly dead vines out.  There are still a few zucchinis trying to grow--albeit very slowly--so those stayed for now.  My tomato plants got snacked on by a deer a week or so ago, but they are still massive and there are a ton of tomatoes ready or coming.  I am not using many right now, though, so until we get a frost, there they stay!

Here are the two cute porch pumpkins we got last week at Stokoe...

 I observed in my social media post that I never used to like the warty ones, but they have grown on me with age--probably not coincidentally!  The flawed, funky ones are more fun!

My zinnias are still hanging in there.  The backyard ones are mostly tiny but they're still alive, and my porch ones have slowed down but are still blooming.  The older ones seem to be lasting forever, too, so they're still pretty.  This one shot off the same stem as my favorite watermelon-colored, frilly one (the first flower in this post), and it's nearly as pretty.

Friday and Saturday both felt like a funny intersection of summer and fall.  Warm weather, sun, and outdoor activities mixed with early sunsets, blustery winds, and the continuous evolution of plants and foliage as the seasons move along.  It makes me sad to see my summer labors of love start to die off, but I guess it's also nice to get a break from the constant care of them!  The shorter days are also a bummer, though I've settled nicely into jeans weather.  And in a year with so much sameness, I guess any change is sort of refreshing in its own way.  I'll admit I had a moment this morning where I was vacuuming my dining room and realizing that in only another month and a half I'll be putting Christmas tree #2 up in that spot, even though it feels like I was just taking it down.  We had about two months of "normal" post-tree time this year before we went into this holding pattern, and I guess it just seems like we can't be back to the holidays again so soon because we never did so many of the yearly rituals that usually mark the passage of time each year.  And before we know it, it'll be a full year of "wait-and-see" and this weird alternate reality.  I will say our current reality is a much more manageable one than what we dealt with from March until sometime in June, and there are even upsides to it, shockingly.  This is at least sustainable, at least for a while, but I still struggle with what our holidays might look like and what kind of risk we will be taking (or what risk we'll be encouraging older relatives to take) by gathering.  I lost uncles within a few weeks of Christmas two years in a row over the past three years, and I can't say I want to have a repeat due to COVID this coming year.  It's still scary, even if the virus isn't appearing as strong or deadly right now.  It only takes one case to start a domino effect, and I would never forgive myself if I was part of that.  So, I'm still not sure what lies ahead there.

In the meantime, we'll make the most of what good weather and outdoor activities still remain.  And after my morning walk around the yard on Saturday, Carter and I spent the afternoon on a great fall adventure to enjoy the summer-like day.  Stay tuned...

What a Long, Strange Week It's Been

I don't know what the deal is right now, but it feels like it's been about a month since Carter and I took our little nature walk last week.  And I kid you not, when I was uploading pictures and videos last night, I had to think for a second to realize that the bulk of pictures in this post actually just happened the previous day.  Between work, school, society, and normal household stuff, I guess it's a lot to process these days.

It ended up being a pretty great weekend as a whole, but it was the end to a tiring week, mostly due to work and ongoing annoying political stuff--both out in the world and invading life on social media via arguments and general differences of opinion.  I honestly cannot wait until this election is over, but I do worry what's waiting on the other side, regardless of the outcome.  Friday itself ended up being crazy--work was exhausting, a local famous lawyer died in a small plane crash, President Trump and his wife got diagnosed with coronavirus, and all the political stuff just had me on edge.  So when this rainbow showed up while I was cooking dinner, it was much needed.

On Saturday morning, I had volunteered to go to work.  I regretted it a bit when I had to drag myself out of bed, but it's been so long since I've seen people or been on campus that it seemed like a good excuse to get out of the house for something different.  Normally it would have been Meliora Weekend, the epic reunion weekend that usually involves long days and a lot of fun, but it was canceled this year.  Instead, there were swag giveaways to undergrads.  Usually that's just a tiny part of the weekend, but it felt like a big deal this time around--especially for the event lead who started in January and never had much of a chance to get used to things before everything shut down.  We'd never even formally met!  In the end I didn't have to do much--mostly just standing around and helping out the student workers when needed--but it was nice to be out on campus and seeing colleagues and talking to students, which is always really interesting since they come from everywhere and usually have really fascinating career aspirations.  It was a really chilly morning, but once the sun came over the building, it wasn't too bad.

Zoom in on this one.  It's such a cool little spot on the quad, statue and all.

Fall color on Wilson Commons, designed by I.M. Pei

After my shift ended, I headed home to take Jacob to his basketball championship game.  He's been pretty frustrated with this team, so I'm not sure if he was more excited to play or to be done with the team!  We figured they wouldn't win--and they didn't--because they were playing a really good team, but Jacob made the most of his chances.  He hit all of his shots, one three-pointer and two foul shots, despite not getting a lot of playing time.  His team made a good comeback but it certainly doesn't help when one of your best shooters is on the bench down the final stretch!  Now we're onto the next team, with some new challenges already!  We'll see how that goes!  But we did some takeout that night, and overall it was just a good, solid day of activity and a nice break from the monotony.

Last weekend had been exciting because were finally able to go back to church--well, Carter and I did, anyway.  Jacob had basketball tryouts so he and Craig missed it.  It was so good to be back, and the topic was on race and inequality, so it was a really amazing service.  We had hoped to go again this week, but I didn't get a chance to RSVP in time.  It worked out okay, though, because we ended up using our morning wisely and doing our annual Stokoe Farm visit!  It wasn't the best morning - a bit chilly and overcast - but I was hoping it might mean the crowds wouldn't be too bad.  Wishful thinking, but it was manageable.  And of course, we had to do it all masked!

For whatever reason, we decided to do the corn maze this year.  It looked foolproof enough based on the map!

Carter liked pretending to be a zombie emerging from the corn...

There was still so much corn on these stalks!  All dried and funky, but sometimes you could find a giant, intact cob!

Ah, portrait mode, you're fun.  He looks so imposing standing out from this shot!

Jacob kept turning away from us, and somehow we all ended up getting a little turned around.  I exited at an "unofficial" exit, Craig and Carter came out another, and while we waited for Jacob, Carter hung out with the giant corn cob.

Jacob finally arrived!  On to more fun!

Carter checked out the kid ropes course...

...and then it was time to shoot apples!

Always fun to see them splat on the bus!

There were some new animals this year in a different spot.  There were camels...

...and wallabies!

Who knew I could be a chicken portrait photographer?

After a snack, the boys tackled the hay bale mountain...

I always liked taking pictures here, so I gave it a shot...

Turns out I got a better one, but I'm holding it for the Christmas card, I think.  We don't have a lot to use this year, for obvious reasons!

There wasn't a sign on this one, but I'm pretty sure these were kangaroos (and not wallabies like the others).  The wallabies jumped similarly, but these looked legit kangaroo-ish.

Watch them jump!  So cool!

I also saw this ridiculously cute, tiny goat.  It was probably barely more than a foot high.  It had such interesting color and very intense silvery blue eyes!

And this donkey came right up to me when I walked over.  We couldn't feed anything this year, so me and my phone were probably a disappointment.

The big slides are always a highlight, and fueled by our tasty snacks, we took on Billy Goat Mountain.  I noticed this tiny weedy flower on the way up the hill.  It's so pretty.

At the top of the mountain, there was a lovely view of some of the only color change.  Oddly, lots of trees are a couple weeks ahead of schedule, but most of the area around the farm was greener than it usually is.  But this patch (with pumpkins in a field in the foreground) looked beautiful.

We did a lot of sliding!  We took turns holding apple cider slushies and sliding with the kids, and my body definitely knew it that night!  On one of the races Craig did, Carter got an inadvertent head start!

Carter proved himself when he raced me, though!

I did the giant tube slide, too, but Carter chickened out after some kid jumped into the slide and busted a water bottle in his pocket.  After letting a bunch of kids go down, it seemed dry enough, so I chanced it.  I was just a little damp afterward, but nothing terrible--and totally worth the ride!

We grabbed some donuts and a couple decorative pumpkins to go before heading home for some football.  Pumpkins to carve will have to wait for another day...or maybe just a stop at Wegmans this year since I rarely get much participation in the pumpkin carving and Wegmans is cheap and easy!  Our normal indoor place canceled their activities, so it's either Wegmans, a roadside stand, or another farm market.  There's one I've been eyeing up for years, but we'll see how it goes these next few weeks.  

I'm hoping this week goes a little better but I'm already sitting here wondering how it's only Tuesday, so...probably not the start I was looking for.  Trying to stay positive, though--some warmer weather is coming back and I'm desperate to do some leaf peeping this weekend after Jacob's game.  Fingers crossed more fall fun is ahead!