We left Toronto on Sunday Oct 16 and stopped for lunch at a vineyard on the way to our stop for the night at Niagara on the Lake about 2 hours from Toronto and 15 minutes north of the falls. We checked into a hotel and drove onto the falls to view the light show which is a one hour cycle of different coloured spotlights shining on the falls.
From the Canadian side
Niagara Falls at night from the Canadian side
The next day we visited the butterfly enclosure near the falls, just wonderful.
After butterflies we moved onto the falls
Now from the USA side
Next stop Finger Lakes in upstate New York, first stop Watkins Glen at the base of Seneca Lake
Next stop Ithaca at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake, we spent hours walking the gorges and waterfalls around Ithaca. We would never have known about the beauty of Ithaca if not for a casual conversation with a photographer we met at Watkins Glen the previous day.
Just north of Ithaca still on Cayuga Lake, we found the Taughannock Falls.
After many stops and photos we moved out of the Finger Lakes area, further east to Cooperstown the place where baseball was first started and the location of the USA Baseball Hall of Fame, Terry spent a number of hours here.
We then headed north into the Adirondack Mountains, Lake Placid was our destination. We saw some interesting sights and beautiful scenery along the way.
The ski jump at Lake Placid.
Further north of Lake Placid, High Falls Gorge. This area was badly damaged by Hurricane Irene in August. The walking ramp you see in the background below, was washed away by rampaging water however has already been replaced which may seem very swift however this gorge is privately owned and charges an entrance fee.
At the north east edge of the Adirondack Mountains is another privately owned gorge, Ausable Chasm. It wasn't opened when we arrived but the views from the road were spectacular.
We drove to a place called Essex on the edge of Lake Champlain and caught a car ferry over to Charlotte in Vermont. We stayed at an inn in Middlebury for the night, the next morning we drove past these girls we assume were training for the USA cross country skiing team.
We drove through some amazing autumn colours as we drove south through Vermont.
A sister town in Vermont!
More colour.
Preparation for Halloween in Vermont
Just over the border in Massachusetts - Berkshire area
We left Massachusetts and drove back into New York state through the Hudson Valley where more damage from Hurricane Irene was obvious.
We spent our last night on the road in a tiny town called Tannersville which is located in the Catskill Mountains. The next morning we drove south through the Catskills and found some interesting newspaper delivery boxes.
It actually refers to a local Hudson Valley newspaper "The Freeman Newspaper", many houses had a "Freeman" newspaper box.
Our last stop before driving back to Manhattan was the Mohonk Preserve, the school bus seemed out of place given it was a sunday morning! The Mohonk range is in the background.
The drive into the centre of Manhattan was less stressful than we thought it would be, thanks to the GPS and light road traffic. The road trip was fantastic, we have many many more photos...
Till next time
Pam and Terry
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