Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge

Wednesday was our last day in the Finger Lakes, and not having any specific game plan, we decided to go for a drive and see what we could find. We knew the historic town of Seneca Falls was a few miles north of us, so we headed in that direction. Seneca Falls is important to this area for two specific reasons: it was the setting for the first Women's Rights Convention in 1848, and was also important in the development of transportation and water-powered industry. I thought it would be interesting to wander around the area and visit the various exhibits. However....

We became distracted by signs for the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We decided to stop off there, see if there were trails we could walk with the dogs. Most of the time, NWR's are NOT dog-friendly, but this one was! How nice is that? There were several different trails we could choose from, as well as a driving tour through the refuge. We ended up spending the whole afternoon there. It was really very nice.

Off we go!

I don't think you can go anywhere without seeing Canadian Geese and Seagulls

This is The Bargeway, a part of the Seneca-Cayuga canal connecting the two lakes

first signs of fall

Sure enough, here comes a barge pulling some construction equipment

Still plenty of wildflowers blooming

A beautiful hawk flying across a field

Heron fishing

These birds flew in as a group in front of us, I thought they looked kind of neat. 

The obligatory group of heron and egrets

Headed down a second trail. The Orchard Trail, around the pond, and return on the Ridge Trail. LOTS of mosquitoes, thank goodness for OFF!

Views of the pond

More wildflowers, and bright red berries...I would have thought there would be some kinds of birds gathering these

Find a good patch of grass, and life is good!

A new life bird for us; the juvenile female wood duck. I never saw a duck sit in a bush before :-0. Guess she wanted to check us out a bit closer.

We stopped at one of the Amish Farm stores on the way back to the campground and picked up a few necessities: noodles, bacon, jelly (mixed berry oh my is it good!) and cinnamon rolls. :-). I love going through areas with good food :-).

Thursday was moving day. We departed the Finger Lakes, and headed towards Cooperstown, New York. Al wanted to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum so long as we were going by. We'll be here in Hartwick, NY at Hartwick Highlands Campground. Its very nice here, and very quiet as well! And cold!! It was raining when we got up in the morning, but as it was just a short ride we waited until the storm clouds passed by, and managed to get hitched and on the road without getting too wet. But the cold front came through, and it never got out of the low 50's all day. Today, Friday, was a bit better, sunny and in the high 50's, but we have a (shudder) frost advisory tonight!! This is abnormal, but really, to go from air-conditioning to needing the heat on?? Seriously?? 

Al visited the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this morning, and found it quite interesting. I couldn't find kennel facilities nearby, so I stayed back at the campground with the pups and baked a peach crisp with some fresh farm peaches ;-). After lunch we all headed out to Glimmerglass State Park for a walk. "Glimmerglass refers to Otsego Lake, which is the Glimmerglass of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. It took a bit longer than anticipated to reach the park, however, as the road leading to it from the south has been washed out in the last two storms that have gone through the area, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. So we had to backtrack, and go around the west side of the lake and come in from the north. Its a really beautiful park, and has a lovely campground, if you don't mind boondocking. We drove around the campground to see if we could have fit in any of the sites, and there were some. We'll have to keep it in mind for the future. While here, we walked the Sleeping Lion trail, which, although only 2 miles long, was a butt-kicker in elevation change! My legs are some tired today, but I'm glad we did it. I need to do more of that to get ready for Colorado next summer!

We're not sure what is on the agenda tomorrow. There's a Harvest Festival at the Farmer's Museum, so I think we'll check that out. Hopefully the dogs can walk around with us. We'll also be getting everything ready for an early departure on Sunday morning, as we head back to the Harbor to see family and friends after 6 months on the road :-). It'll also be the last time we visit as New York homeowners and residents. But not the last time we visit!!