New York – Michael Rappa

Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Watkins Glen State Park

November 19, 2020 Michael Rappa

The photos below are from my hike through Watkins Glen State Park, a hidden gem located right on the main street running through the town of Watkins Glen. It’s hard to imagine that such a serene and gorgeous oasis of nature could be located so close to a bustling town (it was really bustling when I was there thanks to a car parade), but this park is such a place. It does not take long as you venture into the park for civilization to completely fall away to the point where you feel like you’re hiking through sublime wilderness.

The park has frequently been likened to Rivendell (of Lord of the Rings fame)—and with its myriad waterfalls, cascades, and stone bridges, it’s easy to see why. It is well worth the visit, and if you pair it with a visit to Letchworth (as we did), you will see two of the most beautiful state parks this country has to offer.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Watkins Glen

July 3, 2020 Michael Rappa

Some photos from our stay on Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen, New York. Our lodging (Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel) was walking distance to Watkins Glen State Park, which was fortuitous since the massive car parade in town would have made driving to the park a harrowing experience. The town itself felt a bit like stepping back in time to a bygone era, a sensation I’ve experienced in much of America the farther I’ve traveled from major metropolitan areas.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: A Niagara Detour

April 26, 2020 Michael Rappa

As we prepared to depart Letchworth State Park for Watkins Glen, we noticed that Niagara Falls was only 90 minutes northwest of Letchworth, so we decided to take a detour since we wouldn’t be able to check in to our Watkins Glen hotel until later in the day anyway. We had stayed on the Canadian side of the falls for our one-year anniversary back in 2002 but had never visited the American side, so this seemed like a worthy day trip—and it was.

The American Falls may appear less impressive from the Canadian side when you’re standing over the magnificent Horseshoe Falls, but looks are deceiving. When you’re standing above the American Falls or hiking up the side of them, you realize just how incredibly powerful they are. The American side also allows you to walk along and across the upper Niagara River and gaze upon the rapids as the river approaches its perpetual rendezvous with a cliff. Unfortunately, we could not get close to the Horseshoe Falls because they were doing construction, but we had seen plenty of them in Canada, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment.

Here are a few photos from our visit. As always, no photo or video can do justice to any major waterfall, and this is especially true of Niagara Falls—you really need to be there in person to feel the power of hundreds of thousands of gallons per second thundering over the edge and crashing to the river below in order to understand what an amazing natural wonder this place truly is. Both the American and Canadian sides are more than worthy of a visit.

Niagara Falls, New York: Niagara River Rapids

The first hotel to the right is where we stayed on our one-year anniversary, with a room overlooking the horseshoe falls.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Around Letchworth

February 22, 2020 Michael Rappa

Here are some miscellaneous photos from my hikes around Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York, including high-vantage-point views of the gorge and the Middle/Upper Falls area, as well as shots from the Great Bend Overlook area.

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Letchworth State Park, New York - September, 2015

The Great Bend Overlook area.

Middle Falls

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Letchworth Middle/Upper Falls Hike

January 21, 2020 Michael Rappa

These photos are from my hike along the Middle and Upper Falls of Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York. As I’ve mentioned before, Letchworth is one of my favorite parks, rivaling some of the national parks in splendor.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Letchworth Lower Falls and Bridge

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019 Michael Rappa

These photos are from my September 2015 visit to Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York, covering my hikes of the trails leading to the stone footbridge across the Genesee River, the Lower Falls, and down to the floor of the gorge at the site of a lost town called St. Helena. Despite not being a national park, Letchworth is among the more beautiful American parks you’re likely to visit.

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Upstate New York: The Movie

February 8, 2016 Michael RappaLeave a comment

I finally got around to editing the videos from our September 2015 trip to Upstate New York. This movie features visits to the beautiful state parks of Letchworth and Watkins Glen, as well as a day trip to Niagara Falls.

The movie is accompanied by Neptune, the Mystic, the sublime 7th movement of Holst’s The Planets. You can view it in 1080p via the video quality settings.

Watkins Glen in HDR

November 20, 2015February 18, 2018 Michael Rappa2 Comments

A sunny day at Watkins Glen State Park in New York is the perfect opportunity to practice HDR photography because the high contrast of the dark areas of the gorge versus the areas that catch rays of sun can make it difficult to properly expose a scene with a single shot. Here are a few of the HDR photos I took during my hike in September, 2015. They were all done handheld, three exposures each. You can click on any image for a larger view.

Similar to the “Rivendell” shot I shared in an earlier post.

I like the feature of the log across the gorge in this one.

Looking down from a ridge into the gorge, with also a glimpse of the outside world near the top center.

This is such a beautiful place to visit.

You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.

Also, don’t forget that the eBook version of my novel, The Eyes of Mictlan, is available for free during the entire month of November, and, if you download it through Story Cartel and write a review, you will be entered into their monthly drawing to win prizes such as Kindle eReaders, Amazon and Barnes & Noble gift cards, and bestselling print books.

There are three ways in which you can obtain a free copy:

Story Cartel – There are two days left to download a FREE copy of my ‪novel from Story Cartel (registration is free) and, if you leave an honest review on your favorite book site or your blog, you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a prize.
Smashwords – You can download a free copy of my novel from Smashwords using the following coupon code: GH76V. The coupon is good until the end of the month.
If you do not have a Smashwords account (or do not wish to create one), you can message me on Twitter at @njrappa and I will send you a link to download a free copy in either mobi, epub, or PDF format.

There are no strings attached and the book is yours to keep, but I would be most grateful if you could take a few minutes to leave a review on your favorite book site (such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Goodreads). And as always, I thank you for your support!

Photo of the Day: Letchworth Gorge Panorama

November 10, 2015February 18, 2018 Michael RappaLeave a comment

Here’s a shot that wasn’t included in my previous post of Letchworth panoramas because it wasn’t originally intended as a panorama. I like to refer to photos like this as “accidental panoramas” because they are products of separate shots that I decided would look better stitched together.

This was taken on the way to the stone footbridge, which is the only crossing of the Genesee River in the entire park.

Date: 9/9/2015
Camera: Nikon D5100
Click for larger view

You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.

There are three ways in which you can obtain a free copy:

Story Cartel – For the next three weeks, you can download a FREE copy of my ‪novel from Story Cartel (registration is free) and, if you leave an honest review on your favorite book site or your blog, you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a prize.
Smashwords – You can download a free copy of my novel from Smashwords using the following coupon code: GH76V.
If you do not have a Smashwords account (or do not wish to create one), you can message me on Twitter at @njrappa and I will send you a link to download a free copy in either mobi, epub, or PDF format.

Photo of the Day: Another World

November 5, 2015February 18, 2018 Michael RappaLeave a comment

A hike through Watkins Glen State Park is like a visit to another world, where scenes like this await around every corner. It’s hard to believe that this oasis of pristine beauty is tucked inside a small town in Upstate New York.

Date: 9/11/2015
Camera: Nikon D5100
Click for larger view

You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.

There are three ways in which you can obtain a free copy:

Story Cartel – For the next three weeks, you can download a FREE copy of my ‪novel from Story Cartel (registration is free) and, if you leave an honest review on your favorite book site or your blog, you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a prize.
Smashwords – You can download a free copy of my novel from Smashwords using the following coupon code: GH76V.
If you do not have a Smashwords account (or do not wish to create one), you can message me on Twitter at @njrappa and I will send you a link to download a free copy in either mobi, epub, or PDF format.