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Beaver Lake Nature Center: Enjoy 6 Miles of Cross Country Skiing
Just a few miles northwest of Syracuse, New York, in Baldwinsville, is Beaver Lake Nature Center. What is really awesome about Beaver Lake Nature Center is the six miles of trails beautifully groomed and reserved for Cross Country Skiing.
Continue Reading February 19, 2017 at 8:46 pm Leave a comment
Shotwell Park, Skaneateles New York, Veterans Day
Grateful to be able to vote today. Thankful for those who fought to preserve that right.
I was driving along Route 20 last Thursday and stopped in Skaneateles to observe a beautiful display of American flags in the park, by the lake. It was an unusually sunny day, as I wandered through taking pictures, I thought about my Dad and the role he played in serving his country.
This was what I found in the newspaper:
“This Veterans Day, more than 125 American flags decorated Shotwell Memorial Park in the village of Skaneateles. The Skaneateles High School girls’ lacrosse team sold the flags for $30 each and put them in the park in honor of or in memory of a veteran of the buyers’ choice.”
My Dad grew up in Skaneateles, New York, and is a veteran of WWII. Here is an excerpt from his autobiography on his Army experience:
“When you are drafted in to the armed services, you start at the bottom. It…
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Kayaking on the Erie Canal
Ayrault Rd launch:
Bikers and hikers glow in the evening light
geese, ducks, kingfisher, herons, and oriole
lots of motorized boats in this area
Perinton RT 250 to Ayrault Rd. Located just before Ayrault Rd. Bridge on right. Concrete ramp; Parks 20 cars and trailers.
Time-Travel Kayaking: Canadice Lake
Three miles long and only 95 feet deep Canadice is great for kayaking as it remains calm with the steep hills that surround it and can be kayaked from end-to-end. Thanks to it being designated a water supply for the city of Rochester in 1872 and the eventual repurchasing of all private property along the lakeshore, Canadice Lake appear as untouched as it did hundreds of years ago.
The best way to experience the beauty of this “wild” lake is from the water. A 360-degree view from the center of the lake allows you to imagine you are the first explorer to experience the calm waters and wooded shoreline, with steep hills carving the horizon. You will see no homes, no cell towers, no development of any kind.
What you will see is Eelgrass, Water Lilies, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Chain Pickerel, Brown Bullhead, Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, Rock Bass, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Snapping Turtles (HUGE), Herons, Kingfishers, and maybe an Eagle. Along the edge of the lake Wild Roses and Wild Raspberries bloom.
Giant snapping turtles with moss growing on their shells, laze a few inches below the surface of the water allowing a close-up view of something frighteningly prehistoric.
Where can you launch a boat? Kayaks can be launched from several trails that go from the road to the water’s edge. Small motorized boats can be launched on the east side of the lake (see map).
Warfields in Clifton Springs
Heading east across the Finger Lakes region on Route 96, we were looking for a spot to stop for lunch. Between Shortsville and Phelps we headed south to Clifton Springs and stopped at Warfields.
If it’s a sunny summer day ask to dine outside next to the English Garden.
Clifton Springs is such a pleasant visual surprise. Matching store fronts invite you to stroll down the street and explore.
What was once a health community, founded because of the believed healing minerals of sulfur springs, remains today as a an integrative medicine center and spa.
For more history on Clifton Springs, check out the Foster Cottage Museum.
Time Traveling Route 20 — Chapter Two: Bouckville
Froggy went a courtin,’ that’s a bonifide bullfrog
Further east along Route 20, far from the Antique Mile lies a tiny town that loves antiques: Bouckville. This short section of road has several big shows each summer.
The first weekend in June is a three-day Outdoor Antique Weekend with more than 150 dealers from all over the northeast, and free admission.
August is the Madison Bouckville Antique Week which is the biggest show of the year in New York State, with over 2,000 vendors!
For more information on Bouckville stores.
For more information about the shows. The FaceBook Page.
What’s not to like with so many different dealers! For lunch we scooted over to the Colgate campus in Hamilton, NY for a sammich at the Hamilton eatery.
Enjoy a summer day traveling from the eastern gate of the Finger Lakes through small charming towns like Lafayette, Pompey and Cazenovia. Just past Morrisville you are getting close, tinier towns like Morrisville Station follow next. After Pineville is the even tinier Bouckville, which is a hamlet of the town of Madison.
