East Coast Road Trip: From Clemson to Montreal

We awoke to heavy fog outside our hotel window.

Today, we ventured from Cooperstown to Ithaca, where Cornell University and its world-renowned Laboratory of Ornithology is located. In High School, I was thinking of going there to study ornithology but really didn’t have the grades to get in so I went in a different direction. But have always wanted to visit and now was my chance.

It was a relatively short drive to Ithaca (about 2 1/2 hours). But we’d heard good things about Watkins Glen State Park – about a 1/2 hour drive west of Ithaca – so headed there first since our hotel check-in wasn’t until 4pm.

It was an uncharacteristically warm day there for this time of year – perhaps in the mid 70’s. We really didn’t know much about the park but it was well worth the visit.

Watkins Glen State Park is a stunning natural attraction located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, USA. It is known for its breathtaking gorge, waterfalls, and scenic hiking trails.

The most famous trail in the park, the Gorge Trail, takes visitors on a journey through a narrow, winding gorge with towering cliffs, stone bridges, and numerous waterfalls. The trail follows Glen Creek and includes over 800 stone steps.

Watkins Glen State Park is home to 19 waterfalls, each with its unique charm. The most iconic of these is the Cavern Cascade, a dramatic waterfall that flows over a stone bridge.

The park features a suspension bridge that offers spectacular views of the gorge below. It’s a popular spot for photographs and provides an exhilarating experience as you walk above the rushing waters.

About 12,000 years ago, the process of geological erosion began in this area as water flowed downward through the soft black shale layers that are abundant in the area, carving out the gorge we see today.

We hiked the Gorge Trail with a fair number of other folks. There was a little fall foliage color in the park but the true stars are the gorge and waterfalls.

Here are some pics from our visit…

This Striped Maple looked unusual due to its white appearance.

Returning to the parking area, we decided to do an impromptu picnic lunch with the stuff we had on hand in our cooler.

Our check-in time at the Argos Inn in Ithaca was 4pm so we had some time to kill. So we found a place to park and took a catnap.😜

The Argos Inn doubles as a hip bar on the ground floor. From the Inn’s website:

“The property was inhabited by two different families of Ithaca Presidents from when it was built in 1831 until it was turned into apartments in the 1920’s.

In the 1940’s, Roy Park turned the property and the neighboring warehouse into the world headquarters of Duncan Hines Foods. From the 1960’s – 2000’s a variety of other business occupied the building such as a hair salon, accounting firm, Buddhist publishing company, and various non profits.

In 2009, Avi Smith purchased the property from Unity House, spent four years renovating the building, then opened it as the Argos Inn in late 2013. Avi grew up on a strawberry farm ten minutes from the Inn, then lived in San Francisco for ten years before moving back to Ithaca to purchase the building.”

Further from the Inn’s website: “The Argos Inn is a beautifully restored, nationally registered historic mansion in the heart of Ithaca, NY. The hotel is a modern take on a classic inn, meticulously decorated with whimsically refurbished antique french furniture and a collection of 20th century artwork, including original masterpieces by Salvador Dali, Joan Miró, and a plethora of other internationally and locally known artists.”

Before heading out for dinner, we had a cocktail at their cool ground floor bar (pictures in tomorrow’s blog)…

The Argos is just steps from The Commons, Ithaca’s pedestrian and dining thoroughfare where we had dinner last night at Red’s Place where we sat outside enjoying perhaps one of the last balmy nights of the year here (after looking at the upcoming weather forecast for the area).

An excellent day!