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During my stay in Lake Champlain for the solar eclipse, I visited a nearby park called Ausable Chasm, which reminded me a bit of Watkins Glen State Park. While not as pretty as Watkins Glen, Ausable still has plenty of beauty with some good hiking and a much stronger river running through it (though that may have something to do with the fact that I visited in Ausable in April and Watkins Glen in September). It’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
After my first experience viewing a solar eclipse in Oregon back in 2017, I was hooked, and knew I had to see the next one. Unlike in 2017, I didn’t have to travel very far to see this year’s eclipse as it was going right through Upstate New York. I booked a cottage on Lake Champlain about a year in advance (lodging was already filling up fast) right in the path of totality so that I would not have to drive on the day of the event (traffic for the last eclipse had been a nightmare).
Here are a few photos from the eclipse. The first two are closeups of the total eclipse. The third photo is a wider shot showing the dark sky at totality (though to the naked eye the sky was darker with more stars visible than what was captured by this photo). The final pic is a shot of Lake Champlain just after totality.
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.
Click on any photo to open a gallery.
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.
Click on any photo to open a gallery.
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.
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Michael Rappa 