We have been exploring! As I have mentioned in the past about the beautiful waterfall at Watkins Glen, we went to another waterfall last week. It is called Taughannock Falls. We have been so fortunate to see all of these falls when the amount of water going over them have exceeded all expectations. We hit the falls at just the right time. We didn't have to climb 800 steps to see Taughannock as we did to see Watkins Glen waterfall. There was a 3/4 of a mile trail on level ground. The hike takes you along the path of the Taughannock Creek which looks more like a river than a creek. There were many school children there the day we went and a lot of them were playing in the creek. What a great field trip! The Taughannock Falls are located near the Cayuga Lake, one of the finger lakes and the longest of them at 40 miles long. I can attest to that, as we drove to Taughannock Falls, I wondered how long Cayuga Lake was. It seemed like it never ended. As all the Finger Lakes and waterfalls are here in New York, Cayuga Lake didn't disappoint us.
We have loved seeing as many of the Finger Lakes as we can. (The ones with * by them are the ones we have seen). The Finger Lakes are old and natural, none of them man made. American Indian legend explains the Finger Lakes this way: the Creator looked upon this land with special favor and reached down to bless it, leaving the imprint of His hand, hence, the Finger Lakes. What a wonderful legend and way to think of the Creator's love for us in giving such beautiful sights for us to see. We have definitely felt His hand in all that we have seen here.
There are 11 Finger Lakes. They lie within an imaginary triangle between Syracuse, Rochester and Elmira-Corning. And these Finger Lakes are only a part of the many waters located in New York. At the northern tier lies a great lake, Lake Ontario and the historic Erie Canal. We remember being taught about the Erie Canal in US history but didn't remember what we were taught. So we relearned how important this Canal was to the young nation for travel and shipping. It is amazing that the Erie Canal brought to Palmyra, New York, the most modern of all printing presses used and the printer who printed the Book of Mormon. Things were all in place for the Prophet Joseph Smith to get the book printed. Every day we see the Lord's hands in all things. Nothing happens by chance!
We took a boat ride down the Erie Canal on Monday for our Family Home Evening. It was amazing. We went through Lock 32 and I had no idea what a lock was or what it did. Now I know. The lock system was an engineering marvel of its day and still operates.
The New York Canal System includes four historic canals: Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca. Together, they create an inland waterway that spans miles of upstate New York, connecting the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake and Lake Erie via the Niagara River. (The Erie Canal was the transportation used by many Saints as they came to Palmyra). There are 57 locks on in the Canal System. So a lock is a device (steel gate which works kind of like a dam) for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on the canal waterways. The boat passes through open gates. The gates shut and water is pumped into the area where the boat raises up at a rate of one foot per 10 seconds or 3 million gallons. Our boat, the Sam Patch, then turns around and the water is pumped out, the boat lowers and the gates open and our boat passes back through the lock. It may have been an engineering marvel in its day, but it is still a marvel to me! It was great!
Now back to the 11 Finger Lakes. The Finger Lakes is a central part of the Iroquois homeland. The
Iroquois tribes included the Seneca and Cayuga tribes for which the two largest Finger Lakes are named. Onondaga* and Oneida* Lakes are namesakes of their tribes. These lakes are not considered part of the Finger Lakes, but nonetheless are lakes in the region. The Seneca is the largest lake.
The Otisco Lake is the most eastern, the Skaneateles Lake, another eastern lake, is the trendy vacation spot for famous stars and former Presidents. They are probably the only people, other than the locals who know how to pronounce the name correctly! The Owasco Lake comes from the Mohawk word meaning "crossing". Cayuga Lake* (southern end) is the home of the city of Ithaca, home of Cornell University. (Go Julia Lyons!) Seneca Lake*, largest and deepest is near Watkins Glen. Keuka Lake* is in the shape of a wishbone. Located to the north is the village of Penn Yan, which in one of the recent rain storms incurred some flood damage. Canandaigua Lake* is near the Indian village I wrote about in one of the blogs. Honeoye Lake* is known for its clear, clean water. It is near the pottery shop where the infamous cloche was purchased. Canadice Lake is the smallest lake. Hemlock Lake is renowned for its land locked Salmon as well as various species of trout, bass, perch and crappie. It is largely undeveloped and pristine. (Thinking of Phil Homer here). Conesus Lake, western most Finger Lake, small and shallow, maximum depth 66 feet. Not too shallow in my opinion.
So that's the lake, canal and creek/river water report. However, we cannot forget the amount of rain water that falls each week. Seriously, no one here has sprinkling systems. They don't need them. We have become used to the rain storms and we love the rain!
We are getting busier every day in the temple. Bus loads of youth come to do baptisms. It is so great to see them. And then a few tour buses also have been by. This seems to be the place where young people like to come. There is a lot to see. They bring a great spirit with them. The youth are wonderful.
We have an exciting week coming up. My sister, Kim, is coming on Thursday. We will travel on Friday to Stony Brook Long Island, New York for my aunt Carmen's 100th birthday. She is my Dad's younger sister. It's a surprise, so don't tell her! We are excited to have someone from home come to see us. We have lots to show her, especially the beauty that no one ever thinks could be part of New York. I know we had no idea.
So we leave you, in preparation for my sister's visit and the birthday party. Until next time, much love to everyone...............
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