Surreal Moments in Upstate New York
Watkins Glen/Finger Lakes National Forest
My first stop in upstate New York was Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region. I hadn't heard about this place until Chris Kay recommended I stop there, and boy, I'm glad he did. Watkins Glen was surreal - it felt like it was straight out of Rivendell in Lord of the Rings, a medieval estate, or the Garden of Eden.
As twilight approached, the visitors thinned out, and I found myself virtually alone in the park ... so naturally, I had to go for a swim. New Yorkers have done a great job of keeping this place a secret; it was so beautiful and secluded that it was hard to believe it was real - the whole time I felt like I was walking through a fairytale or medieval epic. To add to the storybook feel, I heard more foreign languages than English from my fellow visitors at Watkins Glen.
As my attempts to find a couch surfing host in the Finger Lakes fell flat, I set up camp in the Finger Lakes National Forest. I found a great dispersed camping site just off a trailhead. The stars were awesome, but I wouldn't exactly call it a peaceful night. After crawling into my tent, I was serenaded by coyotes, owls, foxes, possibly wolves, and what I believe was either mating moose or massive deer (imagine a cross between an elephant trumpet and a gutteral cattle wail).
There was such a big, bright full moon out early in the evening that it almost drowned out my photos of the stars
Ithaca/Cornell
Getting out of my tent the next morning was a struggle as it was a crisp 32 degrees when I woke up. Hopping on the bike did not help, but a workout and a long, hot shower at the nearest Planet Fitness helped fix that. Next, I rode to Ithaca on Cayuga Lake to check out Cornell. At my friend, Caroline's suggestion (you'll meet her in my upcoming New Hampshire post), I started at Collegetown Bagels, a local institution. I didn't take many pictures inside Collegetown, as I didn't want a bunch of college kids to call me a stalker/creep, so you'll just have to imagine it based off my description. Picture a quintessential hipster New England college town coffee shop: cottage style architecture with dark exposed arches and off white ceiling/walls, flyers hung off every surface, a packed house, conversations about spirituality, philosophy, and Friday night's party, late 90s/early 2000s Goodwill Hunting esque style (baggy jeans, wild sweaters, Adidas sneakers), and a grungy playlist. I ended up spending almost 3 hours there as I waited for photos to upload to my latest blog post over the weak wifi.
My breakfast sandwich and a campfire latte
Collegetown Bagels on the main drag just off campus
After finishing my blog post (and 2.5 hours after finishing my bagel), I started wandering across Cornell's campus, roughly following a hand drawn map provided by Caroline:
Caroline's Cornell Must Sees: No, she did not attend Cornell, but she did do a pre college summer program there
Cornell has a lot of classical and gothic architecture - and this clock tower seems to be visible from everywhere on campus
At the center of campus is Sage Chapel, a beautiful gothic church
Cornell has fantastic views of Cayuga Lake and the surrounding Finger Lakes region
... And some funky modern architecture
An avant-garde egg shell sculpture. I met a man named Francis here who was sipping on a Yuengling tallboy. He let me know that was his go to spot. Francis gave me a rundown of all the current issues on campus and how he thought it'd help if the apparently unpopular president made more of an effort to be present and engaged on campus. I'm not sure what Francis does for a living but he sure seemed to know a lot about poetry and philosophy.
The highlight of campus has to be the gorge trail though, which has fantastic view of Fall Creek
The famous Fall Creek Suspension Bridge is a fixture over the gorge. The netting on the sides was added to prevent students from jumping off the bridge - a stark and sobering reminder that even beautiful places can become hell if people feel crushed by the pressure of perfectionism and unrealistic expectations.
Fort Plain
Following my time in Ithaca, I camped on the bank of the Mohawk River in the small town of Fort Plain, NY. Unlike Grand Rapids, MN, Fort Plain allowed free camping at the park by the locks/dam, which I thought was pretty darn rad.
Fog on the Mohawk River, as seen from my tent
Another scenic river view from the campsite
It was another cold night in Fort Plain - I woke up to a decent amount of frost and even some ice on top of my tent
It being a free campsite in a public area, there were a few other travelers who spent the night there. Sandy, from Ottawa, Canada, was kind enough to hold a light for me while I set up my tent in the dark. Sandy is a big rock collector and was down here looking for Herkimer Diamonds, which are actually quartz but are so clear and faceted that they look like diamonds. These days, Sandy is seasonally nomadic, spending months at a time on the road with her dog, Bella, an American Dingo. I say these days, as Sandy only started her nomadic traveling 2-3 years ago, though she says she's enjoying it so much that she wishes she had started doing it 20 years ago. She says her friends think she's crazy; apparently the US news headlines that reach Ottawa have a lot of Canadians convinced the US is on the brink of civil war. Sandy said she doesn't pay much attention to the news, though, and that everyone she's met in the US has been great. That, and if she's gonna die doing anything, she'd prefer to go while she's out collecting rocks. We had a fun chat about the beaches on Lake Superior along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that we had both visited recently.
Later, while grabbing dinner at Fiddlehead Craft Sandwich Shop, I met Ian, who also happened to be staying at the campground that evening. Ian is an engineer from Cincinnati and was in Upstate New York to bike the Albany to Syracuse section of the Empire Trail. He tries to take any chance he can get (long weekends, etc.) to bike a new segment of a famous rails-to-trails circuit. He said he hadn't seen many people on the trail so far due to the cold, but luckily had dodged the morning freeze I awoke to in the Finger Lakes National Forest as he was coming from the east, where the weather was a bit better.
The Mediterranean Wrap with double fried chicken at Fiddlehead was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. While I don't think anything can top Express Deli, this sandwich got pretty darn close.
I enjoyed dinner so much at Fiddlehead that I returned for breakfast the next morning ... well that and I was freezing and needed somewhere to get warm for a bit before driving to Cooperstown. If you do find yourself anywhere near Fort Plain, its worth going out of your way to stop at Fiddlehead.
Cooperstown
Fun fact: Cooperstown was selected as the site of the baseball hall of fame based on a fabricated myth. In 1908, AG Spalding (yes, the Spalding of sporting goods company that invented the basketball) created a commission to identify where baseball originated. The commission determined that Abner Doubleday, the Major General who fired the Union's first shot of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, invented baseball in Cooperstown in 1839. Historians have since concluded that Doubleday played absolutely no part in creating the game of baseball, but by the time this was proved, the hall of fame museum in Cooperstown had already been built and won a place in the hearts of baseball fans everywhere.
For those reading on a smart phone or with poor eyesight "National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum"
If you follow the suggested path through the museum, you first encounter displays for the players in the most recent induction class, this year headlined by Ichiro Suzuki.
Apparently baseball can be traced back to ancient Egypt and the middle ages ... so it's a bit older than Abner Doubleday
They used to give out these decorative, metal embossed bats instead of trophies, and I can't think of a good reason why they ever stopped doing that
This happened so long ago that Pittsburgh's population was still small enough that it was spelled without the "h" (you only get the "h" at the end when you reach a certain size). Doesn't look we'll be getting another one of these anytime soon, at least not as long as Nutting is owner. Sell the team.
Imagine sliding into this thing
Bud Fowler played for or managed over 60 teams!
Apparently mascots used to be even creepier looking than they are today. Also who the heck got calves skinny enough for this costume??
I think this was supposed to be Ernie Banks, but you never can tell for sure with bobbleheads
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: A Multicultural Experience
Don't love that it's Yankee pinstripes, but you can't really hate on a bovine as fly as this guy
Some nicknames were great
... Others nicknames didn't age so well
While Cooperstown is most famous for the baseball hall of fame, it's also a super scenic lake town
The Adirondacks & Lake Placid
After blazing through the baseball hall of fame in a cool 3-3.5 hours, I hopped back on the bike for a 6-7 hour ride to Burlington, VT via the Adirondacks. I missed peak Fall in the Adirondacks by a week or two (turns out peak leaf seasons hits at different times in different areas of the Northeast), but the views were still fantastic and the curvy roads a joy to to ride.
Some lake feat. Kevin's finger
The towns in the Adirondacks were also stunning, chief among them Lake Placid.
The Olympic Training Center
The main drag of Lake Placid. While the traffic was a pain, the town was a lot of fun with lots of live music, olympic relics, and ski town vibes.
The olympic speed skating track still gets use. In the summer it's used as a walking track. In the winter, they freeze it and turn it back into a skating rink.
Stepping foot on the rink where the Miracle on Ice occurred was an almost out of body experience. Very few times in my life have I felt the level of patriotism and national pride I experienced in that moment.
This (or one of the 5 identical locker rooms next to it) was the site of Herb Brooks' famed speech. Got chills just thinking about it: "Great moments are born from great opportunities", "You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.", "Tonight WE are the greatest hockey team in the world."
Caught some warm ups for the World Figure and Fancy Skating Championship while I was in Lake Placid. What's the difference between figure and fancy skating you ask? That's a good question. I googled it, and I'm still not really sure.
... Whatever it is though, they sure give out some pretty dope trophies for winning it
After leaving Lake Placid, I had to book it east to Lake Champlain to make the ferry. Unfortunately this meant I had to skip Whiteface (the Olympic ski hill and biggest vertical drop of any ski slope on the East Coast - I saw it as a drove by but didn't have time to ride the road to the top) and a sign for some waterfalls. You can't in fact see it all, but I'm telling myself that it's worth leaving something unseen everywhere I go so that I have a reason to come back.
Living my Olympic dreams,
Kevin
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