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From: Peter on 28 Mar 2010 13:13 "David Ruether" <d_ruether(a)thotmail.com> wrote in message news:honvne$6ja$1(a)ruby.cit.cornell.edu... > > I've lived in some purdy nice areas (like Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, > Norman OK, Miami) and have traveled the west much and have been in > 48 of the 50 states, but I kept returning to Ithaca for its wonderful > "compact" > scenery. There are "zillions" of waterfalls (including the highest in the > NE, > just up the road from me), glens, gorges, forests, rolling hills and > fields, and > two great schools in this very small city, with most things within 5-10 > minute > drive from my house, including the four NY State Parks here and the 25 > Ithaca city parks, including a very large city-owned natural area. Add to > this > two large bird sanctuaries, Cornell's large numbers of land holdings, > plantations, > and flower gardens open to the public, and it is no wonder I kept coming > back > here and finally stayed (even with the often-gruesome weather.......;-). > --DR We are planning about a one week drive towards the end on April. I would really appreciate it if you could pinpoint some of those areas near Cornell, other than Watkins Glen. The falls need to be reasonably close to the parking area as my wife has a walking issue. TIA -- Peter
From: M-M on 28 Mar 2010 14:02 In article <hoo0di$7rr$1(a)ruby.cit.cornell.edu>, "David Ruether" <d_ruether(a)thotmail.com> wrote: > > They are beautiful, but destructive (and we unfortunately rarely see them > even with all the evidence of their presence) - and the worst is when we > too-often hear "SCRE-E-E-E-E-E-CH!!" - "THUNK!" Followed soon > by flashing lights and "BANG!, BANG!, BANG!" from the police ineptly > trying to put the injured deer out of its (their) misery. S - I - G - H ! ! ! > (I used to be against hunting, but....) BTW, of all the many things we > planted, only an Austrian Pine (which we later cut down, not having done > our research before buying it), two of three low evergreen scrubs, and the > daffodils survived. In Valley Forge National Historic Park outside Philadelphia, there are no trees less than 20 years old anymore, the deer are that destructive. There was supposed to be a deer kill in the park last year but the PETA crowd sued- and lost- but the kill was nevertheless postponed. Here is a deer family taken in that park: http://www.mhmyers.com/d80/DSC_18053w.jpg -- m-m http://www.mhmyers.com
From: Peter on 28 Mar 2010 15:08 "M-M" <nospam.m-m(a)ny.more> wrote in message news:nospam.m-m-0AEDC6.14024328032010(a)cpe-76-190-186-198.neo.res.rr.com... > In Valley Forge National Historic Park outside Philadelphia, there are > no trees less than 20 years old anymore, the deer are that destructive. > > There was supposed to be a deer kill in the park last year but the PETA > crowd sued- and lost- but the kill was nevertheless postponed. > PETA People Eating Tasty Animals? -- Peter
From: David Ruether on 28 Mar 2010 16:27 "Peter" <peternew(a)nospamoptonline.net> wrote in message news:4baf8e37$1$31297$8f2e0ebb(a)news.shared-secrets.com... > "David Ruether" <d_ruether(a)thotmail.com> wrote in message news:honvne$6ja$1(a)ruby.cit.cornell.edu... >> I've lived in some purdy nice areas (like Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, >> Norman OK, Miami) and have traveled the west much and have been in >> 48 of the 50 states, but I kept returning to Ithaca for its wonderful "compact" scenery. There are "zillions" of waterfalls >> (including the highest in the NE, just up the road from me), glens, gorges, forests, rolling hills and fields, and two great >> schools in this very small city, with most things within 5-10 minute drive from my house, including the four NY State Parks here >> and the 25 Ithaca city parks, including a very large city-owned natural area. Add to this two large bird sanctuaries, Cornell's >> large numbers of land holdings, plantations, and flower gardens open to the public, and it is no wonder I kept coming back here >> and finally stayed (even with the often gruesome weather.......;-). >> --DR > We are planning about a one week drive towards the end on April. I would really appreciate it if you could pinpoint some of those > areas near Cornell, other than Watkins Glen. The falls need to be reasonably close to the parking area as my wife has a walking > issue. > > TIA > -- > Peter Ah, if you want company, maybe I can serve as a guide (my email is on my web site, at www.donferrario.com/ruether, and I can give you a 'phone number). A partial list... --Taughannock Falls overlook (about 7 miles north of Ithaca, on Rt.89), and there is also a Cayuga Lake beach there. The walk in at the bottom is about 1.5 miles (flat) round trip, and quite a sight as you round a bend, exit the woods, and start over a bridge and suddenly before you is a 215' falls. DO NOT CROSS THE STONE BARRIERS!!! Rock falls are common, and I saw a family get hit by a 1/2-car size rock that slipped out of the cliff near the top of the falls. NOT NICE!!! Less well known is a short drive toward Rt.96 and Trumansburg, where you turn left at the "T", cross the stone bridge there, then park at the other side. A short walk takes you up onto an old railroad bridge above another high falls, and a good view down the gorge. These trails are open all year. --Buttermilk Falls State Park is at the city line, left from Rt.13 going south. You can see a large "sloping" falls from a car, or a short walk from the parking area (DO NOT attempt to climb the trail beside the falls unless you have more energy than I do! ;-). If you go back out to Rt.13 and turn again south, there is almost immediately a left turn, also to Buttermilk Park (the upper part). Go to the eventual "T" corner (passing earlier the Lick Brook reserve and falls on a side turn), turn left, and then right just after the end of the bridge at the bottom of the hill. Walking back to the road and recrossing the bridge, there is a trail on the downstream side with many falls along it. A trail on the other side of the road goes through a nice woods, and eventually to a picnic area, a falls, and a lake. I just thought - trails often open late due to trail conditions (rock falls, need to check for loose overhanging rocks (DO NOT assume that cliff edges are safe either above or from below - the rock here crumbles easily!!!) --Robert Treman State Park is south of Ithaca a short way further along 13, then right on a slow "Y" onto Rt.327. The lower entrance is almost immediately on the left, where there is a bit of woods and a short trail leading to an "apron" falls and a swimming area from the main parking lot. From either side of the parking lot trails lead up the L - O - N - G UPHILL gorge (this is not recommended as the best use of time...). The upper part of the park (sometimes called "Enfield") is reached by going out to Rt.327, turning left, and driving uphill for what seems like forever (look back, the view is nice). You eventually start downhill to the upper entrance to the park. An old mill is by the parking lot at the lot at the end of the entry road. The trail is closed until late (I've seen ice in the gorge as late as June...), but if you are there in the summer, go to the far right of the parking lot, cross the small stone bridge, and STOP! ;-) The sign there will mislead you (there is a short, but moderately strenuous, loop trail going over a bridge near the bottom of a 160' high falls that joins the long loop trail from below). If you go straight ahead, it is a climb to get to one overlook (good, but...), and then 200 steps straight down the cliff beyond, only to climb up to where you can get much more easily by going left at the sign and following a little, unassuming stream that does something remarkable. It turns toward a cliff and cuts through it, dropping with several falls, leading you to the head of the 160 footer. Go until YOU SEE NO MORE WATER, then turn back and return the same way (you will get great side views of the tall falls). DO NOT TAKE the Red Pine trail - it is steep enough to be difficult in either direction. On the return road trip, one of those 10mph right-angle bend signs after a long down hill trip really means it! --Cascadilla Glen (the trail is being reconstructed now, so it is closed) has many nice falls in it (it goes from the intersection of University, Linn, and Court Streets by the white church up to College Town by the Performing Arts Center and the Cornell campus (a beautiful place, with a fine museum at the edge of the Fall Creek Gorge on the other side of the campus). --Ithaca Falls is the last falls in Fall Creek Gorge, and is about 125' square - and MOST impressive after a couple of days of heavy rain (the water shoots over it horizontally before dropping!). When the water is not too high, it is a short, fairly easy walk to the falls (you can walk up to within a few feet of it, but you will get soaked ;-). --There is a small free lot next to the high suspension bridge opposite the Johnson Museum (and a pay meters in front of that, above the other bridge entrance). The Asia section of the museum has spectacular views up the lake, and you can move around the large windows on that floor and see in every direction. If you are up to it, the door to the bell tower opens about 20 minutes before the bells play (BRING EARPLUGS if you go up under the bells! They are LOUD!!!!! But, the views are spectacular!). Times and info are at http://chimes.cornell.edu/ - and it is worth being on campus near the tower during the playing, even if you don't make the climb (and there is still an interesting view from near the tower toward the town and Cayuga Lake). --Further upstream is a road bridge with a Payomatic parking lot for access to Beebe Lake, the woods, and the foot bridge in front of a dam and falls. Beyond by road is the plantations area, herb garden, flower garden, rhododendron hill, and antique plants area (all free). Beyond that are wildflower trails on the hills and along the water below, woods trails, the Cornell Plantations with specimen shrubs and trees, etc, on out to farms in the country, the Geneva station, the Weill-Cornell Medical College in NYC, Shoals Marine Lab in Maine, a part in London, Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico (Never did get sent there to photograph that, darn! But I did get to photograph other interesting things along the way...;-), and Mars, with the rovers...;-) Oops! These last aren't close to Ithaca...;-) As you probably know, this can be useful - http://maps.google.com/. Later in the year would be better for a visit, as in July, but... --One more: if you drive north on Rt.13 beyond the top of the hill and the Ithaca Mall, and just past the airport turn, there is a turn on the right for "Sapsucker Woods", with a building with chairs and observation 'scopes looking out onto the pond, and nice, well-maintained trails through the woods - with boardwalks over the swampy areas. Even short walks are nice, like the one to the left of the building entrance (it returns to the other side of the building after circling the large pond), and the one from the small parking area on the left a little further up the road (turn left at the "T" unless you want to make the loop). BTW, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has the world's largest archive of bird and animal sounds (and, well, heck - its Museum of Vertebrates there has about 1,000,000 fish, 45,000, 3,200, and 15,000 specimens each of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. --Oops, almost forgot the Ithaca Farmers Market (on the Inlet, with nearby parking). Good country acoustic music, friendly people, fresh local produce. See - www.ithacamarket.com/ifm-fun-stuff/photo-gallery/ for photos, www.ithacamarket.com/ for times, and "ithaca farmers market" on google for maps and directions. Have fun! --DR
From: David Ruether on 28 Mar 2010 16:42
"Peter" <peternew(a)nospamoptonline.net> wrote in message news:4bafa91a$1$27765$8f2e0ebb(a)news.shared-secrets.com... > "M-M" <nospam.m-m(a)ny.more> wrote in message news:nospam.m-m-0AEDC6.14024328032010(a)cpe-76-190-186-198.neo.res.rr.com... >> In Valley Forge National Historic Park outside Philadelphia, there are >> no trees less than 20 years old anymore, the deer are that destructive. >> >> There was supposed to be a deer kill in the park last year but the PETA >> crowd sued- and lost- but the kill was nevertheless postponed. > PETA > People Eating Tasty Animals? -- > Peter [Comment 1] 8^) [Comment 2] I did edit a hunting video for someone, which had some disturbing things in it. The "kill" with bow and arrow sometimes took hours for the deer to die after being hit, at night, without an easy trail to follow to finish things and make sure the deer was dead. [Comment 3] Hold onto your seat! The user of the high powered compound bow and (a huge stainless steel and polycarbonate) "elephant" gun, was, er, blind.... Before you ask (as I did) what county he was going to be in (so I could be elsewhere!), I saw on the video how it was done. His son would be high in the tree in the blind with him, the gun and bow had sights that could be used from a distance, both had a laser to shine on the deer, and there was a quiet signal for the father to shoot. PHEW! But...., it still gives me the willies.....;-) --DR |