Tuesday 19 July 2016

Letchworth State Park, USA.

A long post - you may want to grab a cuppa first!

The day after the Sasha Festival we were lucky enough to do some travelling around the area.  Our first port of call was Letchworth State Park.  (There is a place called Letchworth in Hertfordshire, England not far from where we live so it seemed strange to see a similarly named place in New York.




Looks like we made a good choice as it was voted America's Number One State Park - so must be good!



There were some informative signs up telling us about the park and the falls.



The looked pretty spectacular from a distance.



There were lots of walks in the park and in cooler weather it would have been great to have been able to explore more, but in the middle 90s it was just too hot.


This one is the 'Middle Falls'


Just so you know I am really here!




A little bit about the glacial history and how these canyons were formed.



I managed a little bit of a walk in the woods.


But soon got too hot.


More interesting information and the photograph we took below.





Finally we get closer to the falls.


It sure was pretty.



Our lovely friend Norvell who did all the driving and brought us here to see this wonderful place.


Walking down the steps.


I couldn't help but stop and look at the falls they were wonderful.


A tiny water fall on the way down.



A closer look.




Even closer...







This bridge was tall!




The construction of this steel and iron railroad  bridge over the Genesee River took place in 1875, so it has been there a long time!


Hi there!  Hope you are enjoying visiting this lovely park with me.




A pretty wild rose....one with an insect on it...


...one without.


We went into the museum which told us all about the history of the park and Mr William Pryor Letchworth who bought the estate of 1000 acres in 1856. After creating Glen Iris Estate in 1859 he became very committed to the preservation of both the natural and cultural heritage of the Genesee Valley.  We walked up the hill the the Council Grounds to see some more of the  history of the place.


There were information boards to read on our way up the hill which was a good excuse to stop and have a breather!








We looked at the log houses.


It was pretty hard to imagine living in them.


We read about Mary Jemison the 'White Woman of the Genesee' who had been kidnapped and then subsequently raised by a Seneca family.






This is a grand old tree!







Nope not much to be seen in there.


On our way down we saw a couple of 'cool' old cars...






A cute little chipmunk. 


The waterfall feature at the fornt of what was Mr Letchworth's house.


A grand old building which is now a lovely restaurant where we had a nice lunch.




Some views as we were leaving and continuing on to our journey to Buffalo where we were spending the night.


22 comments:

  1. How brilliant, Henry - and what gorgeous photos! - Jocelyn

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    1. Thank you Jocelyn, so glad you enjoyed them. :-)

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  2. So glad we had a chance to be tourists together, Henry!

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    1. We had a wonderful time indeed didn't we?! We are also so glad we got a chance to be tourists together as well.

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  3. looks lovely! I am surprised you didn't take off your shoes and socks and cool your feet in the little waterfall! I think I would have!

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    1. Well I was tempted but it wasn't really that accessible (hope you like my new big word I learnt!) ;-)

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  4. You were just west of my home on Keuka Lake, Henry. Letchworth is a wonderful place and I'm happy you had a chance to visit.

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    1. How wonderful to have this place on your doorstep so to speak. It would be great exploring and hiking round when the weather is cooler. Loved all the camping sites and cabins as well - looks like a fun place to stay.

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  5. Oh wow - what wonderful photos of what looks to have been a really enjoyable (if hot) day at Letchworth State Park and so good to see Norvell too. Thank you Henry (and Lorraine).

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the photos, it really was a wonderful place.

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  6. Enjoyed your post/pictures very much! Looks like Henry had a great time. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I had a great time thank you! Always good to explore new places, especially ones as picturesque as this. So glad you enjoyed them.

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  7. How exciting! I got up early this morning to see some wonderful comments - thank you all so much for leaving some - always encouraging to read :-)

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  8. How nice to see Henry and his adventures in the USA. I enjoyed the visit to this fine New York State Park, thanks to the visiting Brit!!! SusanLK

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the adventures Susan :-)

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  9. Did not know I would be making a "trip" to upstate NY this morning when I got up here in very hot, humid, N.Carolina! always enjoy your travel logs..beautiful pictures! Good to get to see another part of our beautiful country. judy

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    1. Ha ha - glad you enjoyed your 'trip' Judy. Wasn't it beautiful there? It has actually been hot and humid here since we got home, although today (Friday) is a lot cooler and we have had some light showers and a bit of rain.

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  10. Great to see you 'out and about' again. Thanks for sharing these wonderful views.

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  11. What a pretty park! It sounds hot though, I am surprised Henry didn't at least stick his head under the little doll-sized waterfall!!

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    1. Well he would have done if he wasn't in fear of losing the rest of his hair! Fortunately he saw the wisdom of not... ;-)

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  12. Beautiful pictures. I love the close up on the waterfall where the layered rock looks like an indians head! Also good to see you on tour Henry having fun!Lucky you... greetings from Holland, Fanny

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