Taughannock Falls State Park /tษหษกรฆnษk/ is located in the Town of Ulysses in Tompkins County, New York, in the United States. The park is northwest of Ithaca near Trumansburg, New York. The name Taughannock comes from the Algonquian-speaking Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Indians, referring either to chief Taughannock or the word taghkanic (great fall in the woods).
The main cataract of the falls is a 215-foot drop (66 m), making it 33 feet (10 m) taller than Niagara Falls. It is the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. The water flows through a long gorge with cliffs up to 400 ft high (120 m), characteristic of the area’s gorges that give rise to the common “Ithaca is Gorges” bumper stickers and t-shirts. The waterfall and gorge comprise an example of a hanging valley that developed in a very similar fashion to the one at nearby Watkins Glen State Park. None of the local gorges were “carved by glaciers.” In fact all of the gorges are post-glacial valleys carved by the streams that still run through them. It is the valleys over which the waterfalls hang that were eroded (over-deepened) by the advance of the Pleistocene ice sheets.
Visitors can reach an excellent view of the waterfall by walking along a 3/4-mile-long trail (1.2 km). The gorge trail is open all year long, unlike the rim trails which are closed to the public in winter. Visitors in autumn can enjoy the picturesque colors of the surrounding trees.
The Park offers hiking and nature trails, camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, and a boat launch, as well as ice-skating, sledding, cross-country skiing in the winter at Rice hill just north of the park.
Kind of an anti-climatic end to the summer vacation. But the weather has been better this week than many recent weeks. After the rain chases me from Taughannock today, I think I will head to Ithaca and out awful Route 79 to Whitney Point Reservior and if it’s not raining too hard there maybe stop for a while. ๐ฃ
Then I think I will take NY 26 all the way up to Pine Woods and US 20, so to explore the Otselic Valley. ๐ Been on parts of NY 26, but not most of it. Just a different way to go. I’m sure it’s just lot of fertile dairy country ๐ฎ and small towns but I’m in no rush to get home ๐ก. I just want to be home before dark which might happen early with rain โ on its way. Rather take the back roads so if the weather is bad I can drive slowly or stop somewhere.
If I go that way I can stop at Mike Price’s dairy in Whitney Point and get sweet corn ๐ฝ at his farm stand. I’ve watched his MikeP7810 YouTube channel for years now, it’s kind of fascinating to watch him work at his family’s small tie stall dairy and crop operation. I’m sure his sweet corn is awesome and maybe I’ll even get to meet the celebrity. It’s just interesting to learn about how the land is worked in these many small towns in Upstate NY and the people who turn dirt and manure into food. ๐
Then it’s back to the cesspool. ๐ก I wonder how much mold has grown in my apartment while I’ve been gone. Been cold and relatively dry, hopefully not that bad. Got to make that money ๐ต though. ๐ฑ Going to need to replace my very smashed up phone this week, I am hoping to get the same phone used and just swap over the SIM and SD card for a quick change over with a little hassle and cost. Sucks I shattered my phone screen but it was a good vacation. ๐
I guess you could say happy ๐ although truth be told, I’m a little sad summer vacation ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ is in its closing hours โณ, having gone by too quickly but it was much needed week of relaxation.
Mostly cloudy and 67 degrees at the Taughannock Falls State Park. ๐ฅ Light breeze. The dew point is 57 degrees.
I sit here, kind of grizzled looking, wearing my mud, ash and pancake batter smeared Don’t Tread on Me t-shirt. ๐I did not bother to shave today.
Nine nights, 500 miles later summer vacation winds down. ๐ All good things must come to an end. I was up fairly early this morning, before seven 7โฃ and made pancakes ๐ฅ topped with blueberries, this time just store bought ones.
Had a nice fire ๐ฅ last night, it roared for a while but there was plenty of wood left over for the next camper as I haven’t had many fires this week. Just been too tired ๐ด after I got back to camp at nine 9โฃ most nights ๐ and cooked dinner. ๐ฅช Just grilled cheese and ham last night with slices of bell pepper and some beer ๐ป before watching the fire burn down and lights out. ๐ก
Hurried a bit to get the table, tent ๐ช and tarp down before the rain ๐ฆ but despite clouds early it cleared out for a while. ๐ค๏ธ Rain soon, I see it on the radar. โ After camp was mostly down, except for the flags ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ and the burying the eight days of poop ๐ฉ in the bucket shitter, I paused โธ for a few minutes in the hammock. Broke camp by ten ๐.
Sad ๐ to see it wind down but all vacations must come to an end. Still have four weeks to Labor Day so there is time to go to Mine Kill and the Potholers ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ before summer is done. ๐ Plus that autumn trip down to West Virginia most likely or maybe just Pennsylvania and the Allegheny National Forest. I’m not fully decided.
I so really crave that small town lifestyle ๐ ๐ฝ ๐ฎ ๐ณ but I know where the money ๐ต is – the city. ๐ข Back to working downtown, catching the city bus ๐ to work most days. But there are future trips and I know my tight budget is helping me get closer to where my heart โฅ is. If I can stay the course, I’m really looking at ten, maybe 15 years๐ at the most before I can truly get the life I want to live. ๐ซ ๐ธ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฅ
