We followed New York 354 to Attica then picked up US 20 into Canandaigua, in the Finger Lakes District, where we had made reservations at a KOA.  It was a lovely campground but it was packed for the Columbus Day weekend.  Additionally, Monday, October 9 was Canada’s Thanksgiving so there were lots of Canadians there, too. 

Sunday, October 8, we drove to Pittsford, southeast of Rochester, for a cruise on the Erie Canal.  We boarded the Sam Patch, a reproduction of an old packet (passenger) boat, that plied the waters of the Canal before the railroads came along.  The boat was named after a well-known New York daredevil who made his living by performing daring stunts.  He was one of the few that made it over Niagara Falls alive only to die performing another stunt a few years later.

The Erie Canal is 363 miles long and flows between Buffalo and Albany.  It was built between 1822-1825 and was part of New York’s 550-mile canal system connecting the Great Lakes with the Hudson River and New York City.  Originally, the canal was 4 feet deep by 40 feet wide to accommodate boats carrying up to 30 tons of freight.  From 1836 -1862, it was enlarged to 7 feet deep by 70 feet wide to handle boats carrying up to 240 tons of freight.  It was enlarged again from 1903 -1918 to 12 feet deep by 120 feet wide to accommodate boats carrying up to 3,000 tons of freight.

Upon entering Lock 32 (there are 57 total locks), the gates behind us were closed and 2,700,000 gallons of water poured in to raise the level of the water and our boat by 25 feet in only 6 minutes.  Then the gates in front of us were opened and we exited, 25 feet higher than where we began.  We traveled a short way up the canal then turned around and locked back through.  It was strange to see how quickly the water level dropped 25 feet, carrying our little boat with it.  The canal no longer serves its original purpose but is used mainly by recreational boats and as a tourist attraction.

Pittsford was a beautiful little town, designated as a National Historic Landmark.  Many of the houses and other buildings that were built in the late 1700's. 

On Monday, we left Canandaigua and headed west on US 20 then south on I-390 to Letchworth State Park to do some hiking and enjoy the beautiful foliage and fall weather.  Many of the towns we went through were founded in the 1700's and had beautiful old homes and downtown areas.

Upon arriving at the park’s Mount Morris entrance, we found that there was a huge craft show going on so the place was teeming with people.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in one state park in my life!  But we were there and, by golly, we weren’t turning back.  We stopped in at the Visitor’s Center and picked up some maps and settled on Trail #1 which followed the Genesee River for views of the Lower, Middle and Upper Falls.  It was an unusual trail, mostly following the road.  However, the Lower Falls were a little more remote with 127 steps leading down to the overlook.  All the falls were beautiful but Middle Falls was the most impressive.

Upon leaving the park at the Portage entrance, we followed Highway 436 west to 256 then turned north along Conesus Lake.  It was a pretty little lake but we’d never seen so many houses on one lake!  We did drive by the Crossman factory, which Jerry noted, makes pellet guns.

Most of the towns around Canandaigua were founded in the late 1700's and have beautiful old houses on large lots.  The roadsides are immaculate and there are lots of little roadside stands selling vivid orange pumpkins, gourds, fresh picked sweet corn and other vegetables on the honor system - you put your money in the box and take what you paid for, as we also saw in Michigan.  Can you imagine that system in Arkansas?  Ha!

We left Canandaigua on Tuesday morning, October 10 heading west on US 20 through Seneca Falls, Skaneateles, Chittenango, and Utica to Poland where we had reservations at the West Canada Creek Campsites, in the foothills of the Adirondacks.  The drive was absolutely breathtaking and we oohed and aahed all along the way at the gorgeous fall colors. We could not have picked a better week to be here!

One of towns through which we traveled was Seneca Falls, a beautiful little town and, for movie buffs, reported to have been the model for Bedford Falls in It’s a Wonderful Life.  I could see the strong resemblance.  However, the prettiest town we saw was Skaneateles (don’t have a clue how to pronounce it!).  The houses were beautiful, the downtown was beautiful, and the trees were breathtakingly beautiful, sporting their finest fall colors.  We reached our campsite early in the afternoon and settled in for the night.

Wednesday morning, we took Highway 8 (the Central Adirondack Trail, a NY scenic byway) through Cold Brook and Hoffmeister passing Piseco, Fawn and Sacandaga Lakes along the way.  We had lunch at the Sunrise Diner in the hamlet of Speculator.  It was the “hopping” place in town.  There were five tables and seven stools and all but two of the stools were filled!  Luckily, we got a table before the rush hit.

We were surprised to see lots of aspen in the Adirondacks and they were a brilliant gold.  As we traveled further north and higher in elevation, many of the taller trees had lost most of their leaves but the understory trees were still brilliantly colored - vivid hues of red, gold, yellow and orange.

We visited the Adirondack Museum, set on historic Blue Mountain Lake, which featured 21 buildings and exhibits depicting early life in the Adirondacks.  Among the exhibits were:  Boats and Boating, Living With Wilderness, The Age of Horses in the Adirondacks, Sunset Cottage, Rising Schoolhouse, a typical two-hole privy, Buck Lake Hunting Camp, Woods and Waters - Outdoor Recreation in the Adirondacks, and Logging in the Adirondacks.  It was evident that this area was a playground for the rich and famous.

We especially enjoyed the Boats and Boating exhibit which contained 25 early canoes made from various materials from birch bark to canvas to plywood to paper.  We learned that the shortage of birch bark led to the development of other canoe-building materials.  One model was named the Arkansaw Traveller, built by Henry Rushton, from Canton, New York.  It was designed after a 1892 model, built for racing, but the boat was little unstable.  Rushton was one of the predominant canoe builders in the area with many of his canoes were built for wealthy magnates who owned summer homes in the area.  For instance, the Arkansaw Traveller was built between 1903  - 1906 for Adolph Lewisohn, a New York City mining magnate and philanthropist.  His “camp” had 4,000 acres with 40 structures. 

One of the canoes on display was a dugout canoe, found at the bottom of one of the Adirondack lakes, and dating back to between1344 and 1504.  There were also 13 early “guide boats” on display.  Guide boats were double ended rowing boats with elliptical bottoms, rather than keels.  They were normally 15-16 feet long and weighed 60-75 pounds with accessories.  They included a yoke which allowed the guide to portage the boat when necessary.

One of the exhibits was a hotel “camp” that was built in 1876.  Another contained over 800 pieces of hand-carved miniature furniture, carriages and other items from this era. 

There was also information on how roads were built through the Adirondacks.  And there was a livery stable and a blacksmith’s shop, which included information on horse-shoeing.  They even had the actual buggy that Vice President Teddy Roosevelt travelled in to reach the train station to return to Washington, D.C. after President McKinley had been shot.  Roosevelt had stayed by McKinley’s side after he was shot by an anarchist but, once the doctors announced that McKinley was going to recover, Teddy headed for the Adirondacks.  He so loved the outdoors!  Unfortunately, McKinley took a turn for the worse and, upon his death, Roosevelt was sworn in as President.