Watkins Glen, NY

Our last night at Allegheny National Forest was interesting... we had been watching a thunderstorm go by, lightning and all, and when it was over, decided to call it a night. Just as I was falling asleep, I saw headlights come our way. I watched it (it was a golf cart) go past us, then turn around and come back a few minutes later. it drove in behind us, and up to our door. By now I was a little tense and I woke Paul up. He scrambled out to see what was up (naturally it was torrentially down pouring). It turns out it was the ranger guy in charge of this area of the park. He told us there was a severe storm headed our way with strong winds and hail, and that there would be a severe thunderstorm warning all night. This is getting to be an every day occurrence!! We took in the awning which was about all we could do, since we had already packed up to leave in the morning. The storm came but it wasn't that bad. The trip to Watkins Glen was uneventful. Rainy, of course, but uneventful. This is a small, cute town, on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of NY. Our first day we walked around town, just to get a feel for the town. The following day we hiked in Watkins Glen State Park, through a gorge, with 19 waterfalls. THAT was a great time. The gorge is huge and awesome. When I can post pictures (slow Internet does not allow it!) I will, but they won't do it justice! The sign tells you in advance there are 800 steps to eventually reach the top, which is 1.5 miles away. The last bit is very steep indeed. There is a shuttle you can take, either up, or if you want, from the top down. We walked one trail up, and a different one down. The falls are great, and well worth the trip up there. On the way down we passed by a cemetery that had old gravestones as well as new ones. One of the pictures I took looking inside a crypt or whatever its called, came out really cool. I look forward to posting it. We spent yesterday afternoon relaxing and researching places to stay in ME near Acadia National Park. This morning we drove to several nearby waterfalls, but nothing was as fun and awesome as the gorge. This afternoon we put the dinghy in the water and started to explore Seneca Lake, which is 40 miles long and, at 600 ft deep, the deepest of the Finger Lakes. We anchored for a bit, close to shore and had to put out almost 100 ft of line on the anchor! Unfortunately we could see the storm approaching across the lake, and decided to be prudent and head back. The dinghy doesn't handle big waves too well... Tomorrow will be a boring day, since our plan is to drive as far as we can, headed to Boston. We have no reservations. Maybe it will be our first "Walmart" night? we'll see. I would love to come back to this area and explore it more when we have more time.