We had a great opportunity to spend some time in upstate New York this summer. Along with our friends Steve and Joan, we tried a new workamping adventure at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. This nature preserve has over 9,000 acres of protected wetlands and is working to reclaim even more land. The dedicated people here do important work to conserve, manage, and restore fish, wildlife, and plant habitats in its diverse mix of marsh, grasslands, and wooded areas.
In between helping out at the Visitor Center gift shop and working landscaping and repair projects, we also learned about the importance of the wetlands. They provide nutrient rich soils for plants and animals, filter pollutants from the water, and support tens of thousands of migrating birds each year. It was fun exploring the nature trails and spotting great blue herons, osprey, great egrets, spotted sandpiper, and of course, the majestic bald eagle.
Seneca Falls:
On our days off, we set out to see as much of this beautiful part of upstate New York as possible starting with nearby Seneca Falls. In a region with lots of waterfalls, people often ask where the “falls” are in Seneca Falls. Although there aren’t any waterfalls in the town anymore, the Seneca River once dropped 42 feet in a mile long stretch of rapids and small waterfalls. They were eventually dammed to power local mills as the town grew and then later leveled during construction of the New York State Barge Canal.
While Seneca Falls doesn’t have waterfalls, it does proudly claim being the birthplace of the women’s rights movement. The Women’s Rights National Historical Park tells the story of the first women’s rights convention held in 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel. Over 300 men and women gathered to meet and create a Declaration of Sentiments. Their “radical” goals were for women to have the same rights as men to own property, to get an education, and most importantly to vote.
Another fun place in town is the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum with its many mementos and stories from the film and its actors. The movie was not filmed here, but the town is believed to have provided inspiration for the famous Christmas movie. Director Frank Capra visited Seneca Falls and learned about a man who lost his life while saving a despondent woman who jumped from a bridge into the Seneca River. The town is representative of small-town America and has many similarities to the fictional Bedford Falls.
The Erie Canal:
I never realized that the Erie Canal runs through so much of upstate New York. We enjoyed seeing and learning about the longest artificial waterway in North America. Spanning 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo, the original canal system opened in 1825 and allowed travel between the 2 cities to decrease from 2 weeks by stagecoach to only 5 days by water!
We enjoyed a leisurely boat ride along the canal and traveled through one of the locks to see how they work. It takes about 15 minutes to get through a lock, but you would have to pass through 35 of them if you went the whole length of the canal (the original canal had 83 locks)! Today the canals are mostly used by private craft and tour boats.
We like to check Atlas Obscura for interesting (and sometimes off the wall) things to see in an area. It was fun to find Medina Culvert which is the only place along the whole Erie Canal that you can drive under. We also walked up on top to view the canal from above.
Sweet Treat Trail:
Some of you may remember that we drove along the Fruit Loop in Washington state to pick our own fresh produce and fruit. Well right near Seneca Falls we discovered the Sweet Treat Trail which consists of 20 businesses in Cayuga county. We discovered great things like homemade ice cream, gourmet chocolates and macarons, fresh local fruit, a hydroponic strawberry farm, amazing supersized XL cookies, and even a maple syrup factory. It was a fun way to see the county, meet interesting people, and complete the trail for a chance to win a prize.
Baseball Hall of Fame:
Only a few hours’ drive away, we also took the opportunity to visit Cooperstown and see the Baseball Hall of Fame. Three floors of exhibit space are filled with history, artifacts, and videos of historic moments in the sport. It was a very well laid out set of displays including women’s baseball during WWII, the racial integration of major league baseball, and all the stats and neat facts you could want about the game, teams, and players.
One of our favorite displays was about Jackie Robinson, especially on his post-playing days of charitable contributions and initiatives. When we arrived on Friday, we didn’t realize that Saturday was the annual induction of new players. That morning people were already setting up chairs and reserving their spots for the next day’s evening parade! Luckily, I caught a picture of new Hall of Fame inductee Tony Oliva and family.
We enjoyed our time in beautiful upstate New York. Up next, our exploration of more of the Finger Lakes region. If you missed the first New York post on Niagara Falls, click here.
Of course the question becomes, what happens when the map is filled in?!!🤭
Wellll….I hadn’t thought that far! I do know that our limited time in each state leaves much still to see😊
Really interesting and exciting stuff. I am all about the Sweet Treat Trail too!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks, Sandi. Anytime there are sweets involved I am definitely there too!