Carter had a four-day weekend this weekend. While I could technically work from home to keep an eye on him, I hate days like that and decided I wanted to take a day off to spend with him. Jacob's new school doesn't do the extra day the Friday before Columbus Day, so he was particularly annoyed about having to go to school, and it had been a struggle to get him out of the house all week already. Sigh. But Carter and I had big plans! I was definitely ready for a day off myself, especially after last week's busy weekend. Of course, the weather had to be a bit uncooperative. It's been a cold fall so far, and while we did get a couple warmer days this week, on Friday the temperature dropped into the low-50s. Just in time for three days of outside activities...ugh. But at least the rain wrapped up early that morning so our outdoor afternoon plans would still work.
We got Carter's favorite, Domino's, for lunch at home, and then headed out to the east side of Rochester. I wanted to go to Corbett's Glen. I've seen a ton of pictures from various friends and decided it would be a good one for us, especially at this time of year. It ended up being a pleasant two-mile walk despite the cool weather. The colors weren't super impressive yet, but there were some really pretty trees.
This tepee wasn't far from the entrance. One of the cooler things was that some of the branches still had living leaves growing out of them.
This tree was nearby. I have no idea if this was a fungus or just a weird way that the tree grew.
Most of the trail was a bit boring and flat. Not in a terrible way, but there weren't many interesting plants left and there weren't many notable areas that stood out. There were a couple spots where it appeared there should have been water running through drainage ditches and pipes, but things have been really dry so those couldn't add any spice to the walk. There was a spot with a memorial plaque that detailed the history of the area as a teenage hangout, with a few distinct areas where the kids would go--a "fort" built by a couple kids, some drainage pipes, and some open fields at the other end of the park. I guess this park didn't actually exist until 1999, but the surrounding neighborhoods appreciated and preserved the public space for all those years.
This was the one challenging part of the trail. It's hard to see the steepness of the slope, but it definitely got the heart pumping to go down and then up (and we had to do it on the way back, too!)!
As I said, some trees were better than others.
This spot had a tree split down the middle...
...and it looked like the rest of it flopped down across some low ground into a perfect but precarious bridge.
We finally saw some interesting fungi...
...and finally made it to the waterfall at the far end of the park. It was really pretty and peaceful.
They make efforts to keep people away from the water to keep it clean. We did go around one fence (pretty sure it was meant to be just passable) just to get a better view of the water's edge, but stayed out of the water. It was really pretty with the fall leaves.
As we continued on, we found this fun log along the path.
The other highlight of the park is a tunnel under a railroad bridge. Apparently Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession crossed over there, and there was a book hanging by a nearby park map that included old photos of the park. I found this one that showed a view of almost the exact spot we were standing at, showing a vehicle coming out of the tunnel.
Nearby was a house that's stood there since the 1800s, and there was a miniature train track that I guess sometimes has a working miniature train. Things definitely felt a bit frozen in time in that spot.
We thought it was appropriate for Carter to stand near the "C".
Carter did great with the walk--sometimes he gets a little impatient when there isn't a lot of scenery, but he was such a good buddy this time. I think he was probably still a little relieved when we finally got back to the car, but part of that was because we were headed for a playground next. It wasn't particularly close to where we were, but it's not that often we get to the east side so I figured it was worth the 20-minute drive south since we were already that far east. We headed to a playground that multiple people had recommended to me, the Mendon Community Park Playground. It was an old school wooden one that reminded me a lot of my school playground.
As I said, some trees were better than others.
This spot had a tree split down the middle...
...and it looked like the rest of it flopped down across some low ground into a perfect but precarious bridge.
We finally saw some interesting fungi...
...and finally made it to the waterfall at the far end of the park. It was really pretty and peaceful.
They make efforts to keep people away from the water to keep it clean. We did go around one fence (pretty sure it was meant to be just passable) just to get a better view of the water's edge, but stayed out of the water. It was really pretty with the fall leaves.
As we continued on, we found this fun log along the path.
The other highlight of the park is a tunnel under a railroad bridge. Apparently Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession crossed over there, and there was a book hanging by a nearby park map that included old photos of the park. I found this one that showed a view of almost the exact spot we were standing at, showing a vehicle coming out of the tunnel.
Nearby was a house that's stood there since the 1800s, and there was a miniature train track that I guess sometimes has a working miniature train. Things definitely felt a bit frozen in time in that spot.
We thought it was appropriate for Carter to stand near the "C".
Carter did great with the walk--sometimes he gets a little impatient when there isn't a lot of scenery, but he was such a good buddy this time. I think he was probably still a little relieved when we finally got back to the car, but part of that was because we were headed for a playground next. It wasn't particularly close to where we were, but it's not that often we get to the east side so I figured it was worth the 20-minute drive south since we were already that far east. We headed to a playground that multiple people had recommended to me, the Mendon Community Park Playground. It was an old school wooden one that reminded me a lot of my school playground.
When I went to St. Matthew, we had a death trap of an awesome playground. It was a series of wooden structures, and while they were fantastic, they had a lot of issues. Splinters were the least of our worries, but it had those too. There was a wooden structure with a fire pole, a floppy bridge, and a small but fast slide. There were monkey bars that were high enough that they knocked the wind out of me when I once fell. I was terrified when I couldn't breathe. There was a tire climb that was probably the first piece to be completely dismantled, probably because the tires didn't hold up since kids pushed and pulled on them trying to make rough terrain for climbers. There was also a set of tire swings with huge tractor tires held up by chains. Those were the best...until the brackets loosened and fell and injured people. Good thing that was before people got sue-happy, because I know those probably wouldn't have lasted as long as they did. But that playground brought us hours of joyful recess play. This one was generally in better shape, but there were spots where the wear-and-tear was evident and reminded me of my old playground. Even still, this one was really impressive and artfully designed.
This was a fun (but deceptively challenging) swinging platform.
The middle section below was like a big maze--lots of little steps down and up into little enclosed platforms. I only banged my head once or twice chasing Carter into there.
This part reminded me of my old tire climb, although that one was only one big spread of tires, maybe six tires wide by five tires high?
We challenged ourselves on balance beams, Carter put on a little improv show on a stage-type seating area, and we finally checked out the tire swing that also reminded me of the old days. The tire was smaller and there was only one, but I still definitely had some trust issues with the connection to the top beam! We would spend our recess time spinning (right after lunch, ugh), but Carter just wanted to swing as high as possible.
While we were there, I realized we were in Mendon, home to Mendon Ponds, another place I have wanted to go. We learned a little bit about Mendon Ponds and its glacier history at the science museum last spring. I knew we didn't have time for much because we had an evening activity to get home for, but I decided a stop at one particular spot, Devil's Bathtub, was probably doable as a quick park-and-walk. Sure enough, it worked out perfectly.
It was a less than 10-minute drive and we parked right by the stairs down to the water. They were steep and rustic and full of things that could take your feet out from under you, but we made it. Near the bottom, this tiny mushroom was sticking out of the stairs. Carter had a good eye!
While considering adding this as a stop, I recalled that I had seen others' pictures posted from here in previous years, and the leaves seemed a little ahead of other leaves at the time. Sure enough, the colors down near the water were further along than anything else we had seen.
We speculated on the source of the name. I liked Carter's suggestion, that the dirtiness was from the dirty devil having taken a bath. I speculated whether it was because of how the water was nestled in that spot. The water really came right up to the edge of the land (with little visibility on drop-off) and it was hard to tell the depth at all because it was so dirty (I guess it's meromictic--the layers do not mix), so maybe it was dangerous to those exploring it? In Googling it, I found another explanation for a different Devil's Bathtub somewhere else that it was the only water cold enough to cool the fires of hell. Regardless, it was a cool little spot.
This was a fun (but deceptively challenging) swinging platform.
The middle section below was like a big maze--lots of little steps down and up into little enclosed platforms. I only banged my head once or twice chasing Carter into there.
We challenged ourselves on balance beams, Carter put on a little improv show on a stage-type seating area, and we finally checked out the tire swing that also reminded me of the old days. The tire was smaller and there was only one, but I still definitely had some trust issues with the connection to the top beam! We would spend our recess time spinning (right after lunch, ugh), but Carter just wanted to swing as high as possible.
While we were there, I realized we were in Mendon, home to Mendon Ponds, another place I have wanted to go. We learned a little bit about Mendon Ponds and its glacier history at the science museum last spring. I knew we didn't have time for much because we had an evening activity to get home for, but I decided a stop at one particular spot, Devil's Bathtub, was probably doable as a quick park-and-walk. Sure enough, it worked out perfectly.
It was a less than 10-minute drive and we parked right by the stairs down to the water. They were steep and rustic and full of things that could take your feet out from under you, but we made it. Near the bottom, this tiny mushroom was sticking out of the stairs. Carter had a good eye!
While considering adding this as a stop, I recalled that I had seen others' pictures posted from here in previous years, and the leaves seemed a little ahead of other leaves at the time. Sure enough, the colors down near the water were further along than anything else we had seen.
We speculated on the source of the name. I liked Carter's suggestion, that the dirtiness was from the dirty devil having taken a bath. I speculated whether it was because of how the water was nestled in that spot. The water really came right up to the edge of the land (with little visibility on drop-off) and it was hard to tell the depth at all because it was so dirty (I guess it's meromictic--the layers do not mix), so maybe it was dangerous to those exploring it? In Googling it, I found another explanation for a different Devil's Bathtub somewhere else that it was the only water cold enough to cool the fires of hell. Regardless, it was a cool little spot.
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| The boardwalk path was in good shape except for this one spot where it buckled significantly. Just added to the charm, though. |
It was so gorgeous in that spot, and I was happy we got to go at this time of year and see the leaves. I wish we'd have had more time to explore, but I guess there's always another day.
After that, it was time to head home. We still had one more thing to do that night! It had already been a full, fun day, but we still had more! And we were just getting started for the weekend!
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