Hi, everyone!
I’ve been busy with lots of fall adventures! On Indigenous Peoples Monday, Grandma and Grandpa and I were out at the bay with Uncle Steven’s family. We had a lot to celebrate! On Saturday, James had his taekwando black belt ceremony. On Sunday, Thomas passed his black belt test! It’s getting colder, so we had our waffle breakfast inside, not on the porch! Then it was time to get some fall chores done! Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara brought the kayaks up from the boathouse, and I helped Grandma wash and dry them so they were ready to store inside.
Then Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara helped Grandpa take in the dock for the winter. Each dock section has two squares of decking, and those come off first. The decking goes into the boathouse for the winter. Once the decking is off, Uncle Steven can unbolt that dock section from the next one in. I made sure he could reach the tools he needed!
The dock sections sit on pole legs that get stuck in the mud! Uncle Steven got under the outer end and lifted from the rowboat. Then Grandpa and Aunt Kara could use the winch to haul the section closer in. After that, we all helped tilt the section one way, then the other, so Uncle Steven could remove the legs.
The legs had LOTS of mud and weeds on them! Aunt Kara swished them around in the water to clean them off. Once the legs were off the dock section, Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara stacked it next to the boathouse. When all the sections were in, they stacked the jet ski cradle on top. Now the waterfront is ready for the winter! James helped Grandma move the kayaks around, but then he and Thomas stayed cozy inside with electronics!
Right after lunch, Grandma and Aunt Kara and I took James and Thomas to Burnaps Farm Market to get pumpkins! It turned out to be the last day before Burnaps closed for the season, and there were still apples to pick! James and Thomas found some of their favorite kinds of apples. Grandma picked enough Crispins for an apple pie.
After that, we looked for pumpkins! I found one like Great Aunt Betsy’s! James and Thomas got the biggest pumpkins they could carry, and Aunt Kara bought a bag full of my little pumpkin friends. Everything had a sale price! Grandma got more winter squash and Aunt Kara bought a pie pumpkin. After all the running and picking and carrying, James and Thomas and I needed another electronics break when we got back!
Last Friday Grandma and Grandpa took me back to the bay. There was more fall color in the leaves! Lots more leaves had fallen, too! On Saturday morning, the maple tree in front caught the light of the rising sun. It was very pretty!
We went back into Fairport for lunch. Uncle Steven and Thomas were camping with the Cub Scouts, so Grandma invited Aunt Kara and James to come for dinner. Aunt Kara was busy all day canning applesauce from the apples we picked. Grandma and I used some of the pie apples we got to make an apple pie for dinner dessert! I used to help Grandma make a lot of apple pies this time of year to go in the freezer. This year, we only made the one to eat right away. I helped make and roll out the crust. Grandma had to peel the apples, but I helped slice them in the food processor. I made sure all the right seasonings went in with them! The pie was yummy!
Around here, lots of people go to Letchworth State Park to see the fall foliage. Sunday was the perfect day to go, both weatherwise and colorwise, but Grandma thought the park would be too crowded to enjoy. She and Grandpa looked at the weather and thought yesterday might work out to go. When we got up, it was cloudy and rainy! By the afternoon, weather radar showed clearing. It took about an hour to drive to Letchworth, and the sun started to shine partway there!
We drove all the way to the south end of the park and worked our way north. Letchworth is a place where the Genesee River runs through a gorge, making three waterfalls. The first place we stopped in the park was the Glen Iris Inn, between the Upper and Middle Falls. I could see the gorge from the overlook in front of the inn. I made a new pumpkin friend on the inn porch and a fountain friend beside the inn.
We could see the Upper Falls from an overlook, but Grandma and I decided to hike the trail into the gorge to get a closer look at the Middle Falls. Grandpa decided to wait for us at the top of the stone stairs!
Before we left our first stopping place, we visited the museum. We learned that the stone walls and steps everywhere were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. The museum also had information about the native peoples of the area.
Our next stop was Inspiration Point! We could see the Upper Falls and Middle Falls from there, as well as the Highbridge railroad trestle.
After that, we drove to the Lower Falls area. First we looked at the Lower Falls from the trail on the rim of the gorge. There was lots of pretty foliage on our walk! After we saw the Lower Falls and the Arch Bridge from the gorge rim, Grandma and I wanted a closer look. We took the 127 stairs down to the level of the Lower Falls!
Grandma found the trail to the Arch Bridge, so we climbed down some more steps to get there! I liked the views both upstream and downstream from the Arch Bridge! There was a big rock plaza just downstream from the Arch Bridge, so we visited that, too! The climb back up was our last big hike of the day!
On our way north through the park, we stopped at the Great Bend overlook. The tree colors were really nice there! At the north entrance to the park, we stopped at the Mount Morris Dam overlook. I was surprised I couldn’t see any river water behind the dam! The visitors’ map said all the water flowed close to our side of the gorge, so could only be seen from the other side. I was happy there was a chair for me to sit down in, after all my hiking!
Love,
Lion-san
This weekend was the consolidation prize for the end of the warm season. Glad you enjoyed it!
La Vache and Charlie’s Grandma.
That was a very busy, adventurous autumn, Lion-San! I think you should have shared that big chair at the Great Bend Overlook with your Grandma – she walked just as far as you did and was carrying the camera!
Autumn has so much beauty and your surely got some lovely photos. We have been enjoying spectacular color around here in recent days. We had such a dry August with brown grass that we thought we would not have any color this fall at all. We expected the leaves would just dry up and fall off but we then had lots of rain. Everything turned green and the foliage has been as good as it ever has a been. We were lucky to go meandering at just the right time to see the fall color at near peak and peak. Happy autumn.