Watkins Glen, NY

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

This morning we woke up on a vegetable farm in Argyle, New York. We camped overnight at Pleasant Valley Farm, an arrangement we booked through a RV membership service called Harvest Host. This program allows RVers to camp for free at farms, breweries, wineries, and other businesses with the idea that guests will purchase goods or services from the place they’re staying. We loaded our RV fridge full of fresh veggies and yogurt from Pleasant Valley Farm, and enjoyed a quiet night’s stay on their property. As a gift, the owner even gave us a lovely bunch of flowers to take with us on the road. I’ve never had flowers in the RV before — I don’t even have a vase in here — so I had to use Andi’s water cup. Admittedly, flowers don’t travel well in a RV but it sure was a thoughtful gesture.

The main area Andi and I wanted to see as we traveled across New York state was the central Finger Lakes region. New York is a big state, so it took us about 4 hours to travel from the town of Argyle on the Vermont / New York border to our next camping spot in the Finger Lakes region. The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long & narrow lakes known for water recreation, as well many gorges, waterfalls, state parks, and wineries.

Traveling across the state of New York was effortless, thanks to the NY Turnpike. We had our money ready to pay for the tolls along the roadway, but noticed signs alerting us that cameras took pictures of our license plate and would send us a bill later. We were really impressed with the rest areas along the turnpike — they all looked the same and each featured a gas station, convenience store, a handful of name brand fast-food chains, and plenty of parking. Andi and Aden were excited to be back in Chick-fil-A country. Once I saw the sign advertising a Chick-fil-A coming up in the near future, I knew Andi would pull in for lunch and that’s exactly what he did. Aden proclaimed his chicken nuggets as the best meal he’s eaten on this trip.

Booking a campsite at Watkins Glen State Park was a little annoying, but we were able to secure a spot for the night. New York State Parks don’t accept walk-in camping, so we had to reserve a campsite online. They also don’t accept reservations after 3:00pm, so fortunately we snagged one this afternoon before the cut-off time. I enjoyed driving along the shores of Seneca Lake — the longest and the deepest lake of all the Finger Lakes — as we made our way to Watkins Glen. We passed by winery after winery as we drove.

Watkins Glen State Park is a popular place to camp and recreate; the campground was completely full. As soon as we parked in our spot, the four of us laced up our tennis shoes and headed to Gorge Trail. The Gorge Trail is a short hike of only 1 1/2 mies and is mostly made up of stone paths and steps. This is one of New York’s most iconic hikes, so I’m glad we were visiting later in the evening when there wasn’t as many visitors. There was even a shuttle stop near the trailhead so I know it must get busy here.

At 5:30pm on a Tuesday, we practically had the whole trail to ourselves. All four of us were pleasantly surprised just how beautiful it was! The Gorge Trail rock walls were wet and mossy, and dripping with waterfalls big and small.

Along the way, Tory and Aden spotted a geocache box hidden behind a tree. We used to do a lot of geocaching when the kids were younger, so they knew exactly what to do. Aden wrote our names in the log book and both kids rummaged for treasures inside the box. People who find the geocache can either take a trinket or leave one behind. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything of value to take — just some business cards, pens, and a keychain — but we did leave behind a snap bracelet for the next kid who finds the hidden treasure.

Tory also found a toad and was determined to carry it back to our campsite within the state park. She carried it so calmly in her hand for quite a while. Andi eventually convinced her to leave it in the woods near a hallowed-out log.

After our hike, the four of us were decisive about dinner. We had meatballs and garlic pesto from Pleasant Valley Farm defrosted, but Andi said he wasn’t in the mood to eat that. So, the four of us hopped in the Jeep after our hike and drove into Watkins Glen to see what the town had to offer. There wasn’t much open in town as far as restaurants, so we stopped by the Tops Grocery Store instead to buy ravioli to go with our pesto. We ended up with mixed-matched dinner in the RV but it did the job.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, a work day for Andi and a bigger school day for the kids. We plan to stay in New York one more night before making our way further west.