Watkins Glen, NY

Fall in Upstate New York is a very pretty time of year. This summer was gloomy and rainy, but for some reason, Fall was particularly colorful. I took a trip to Watkins Glen, on October 20, 2004, joined by my friends Moof and Jen from Rochester. We hiked around the gorge. Then the next day, I wandered around The Plantation at Cornell and the woods beyond Fall Creek and finished the roll of film.

As an aside, a bunch of these pictures are both under- and over-exposed (in the same shot). They're not my best shots, but the gorge is still pretty as are the fall colors, so I'm including them here.

Click on the thumbnail images to get larger ones (around 100-300K).

Ithaca and vicinity

I took a few shots near where I live before and after the trip.

I stopped at the post ofice before the trip. The colors of the trees were really striking, and the perspective was kind of neat. But yeah, it is a parking lot. (Oct 2004)

The last two shots on the roll were of these bushes that get INCREDIBLY red. I mean, they just scream RED!!!. I think it's called a Flame Bush. (Oct 2004)

Another shot of the RED!!!! bush near my place. The colors are always amazing to see. (Oct 2004)

Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen is about 30-45 minutes from Ithaca. It's known for two things: a NASCAR race and the gorge. We hiked around the gorge. It's quite beautiful. I should mention tht Ithca has comparable gorges (plural).

The gorge at Watkins Glen. Very cool the way the water has cut the rock in twisty patterns. (Oct 2004)

One of the waterfalls at Watkins Glen. I think the white foamy stuff in the semi-circle carved out of the rock was some funky, foamy, particulate blobby thing that kept whirling around in a disturbinly semi-sentient way. (Oct 2004)

The path crosses behind the waterfall. It's quite neat and rather loud. The ledge in the bottom forground is a bit out of focus, but I wanted to get hte people as well as the waterfall in the shot. At the top a footbridge is visible (though overexposed). (Oct 2004)

This is another view of the waterfall, with some people about to cross behind it. The top is overexposed and the middle parts to the right of the waterfall are underexposed. In other words, the scene has a large dynamic range of lighting. So even if I didn't capture it, it looked quite cool. (Oct 2004)

I believe this shot was taken from the footbridge that was visible two pictures back. The sky is bright and the gorge is dark. You can see the farmland in the distance and the stairs at the bottom. (Oct 2004)

At the end of the trail are stairs that lead up to a parking lot. Since it was at the top, it was getting some nice sunlight. I like the warm colors in the picture, in contrast with the darker ones in the gorge shots. (Oct 2004)

Moof and Jen just below the set of stairs in the previous picture. (Oct 2004)

A view of the trees as you walk down from the top of the gorge. You can see the stairs. (Oct 2004)

A railroad bridge crosses the gorge. I'm told it's still actively used. This is at the bottom of the stairs at the far end (on the way back). (Oct 2004)

The sun was right behind the trees. I positioned myself to block the sun with the trunk and took a shot. I was surprised at how well the forest color came out. (Oct 2004)

Another shot with the sun blocked by the trees. The dark rock at the top right is an out-cropping just above me. (Oct 2004)

More fall colors and trees around the gorge. I liked the tree that had fallen across the gorge. (Oct 2004)

A shot of colorful trees around the top rim of the gorge. Actually, I like the next picture better. (Oct 2004)

Colorful trees at the top of the gorge. I liked the way the other trees were all facing the central one. And the sky was very blue. (Oct 2004)

The tree was brightly colored and catching the sunlight. It was on the other side of the gorge, with a rocky outcropping just in front of us. It really stood out in the shadowy gorge. (Oct 2004)

At the top front part of the trail, before really entering the gorge, there's a nice view of the Watkins Glen. The sky was beautiful. 10,000 years ago or more, the valley would have all been underwater, probably to the level of where the sky is in the picturea. The gorges were carved by receding glaciers. (Oct 2004)

Cornell Planatations

The Plantations at Cornell is a sort of park area. And no, it's not where the Cornell slaves toil in the fields. (Cornell slaves toil in the grad student labs...)

The Houston Pond is sort of at the center of the Plantations. The trees colors were really nice, even though it was a gray, overcast day. (Oct 2004)

A shot just to the right of the previous shot. I thought about trying to combine them in photoshop, but decided it would be best to leave them as two separate shots. (Oct 2004)

The Sculpture Garden is an area with a bunch of odd sort of sculptures, made by the architecture department in the '60s out of concrete. A class where you made art that required cranes...cool! (Oct 2004)

A colorful tree somewhere enar the Sculpture Garden. (Oct 2004)

After crossing the footbridge across Fall Creek, there is a wooded area. The path right after the bridge was a tunnel of leaves, with arching branches on top and a thick covering of colorful, fallen leaves on the floor. This was a low shot of the path. (Oct 2004)

After wandering around through the woods, it opened up onto farm land. A long, black fence stretched out. I had no idea where I was. I had to wander around until I could figure out where I was (tresspassing). It turns out it was the Cornell Equine Research Park. Ivy League Horses and the like. I figured it was still Cornell property. It was kind of creepy, since there was no one around, other than the horses, who kind of cast suspicious glances my way every now and then. There were two other people that emerged from the woods while I was figuring out how to take the picture. Originally, I was going to stand on the fence, but it was leaning outward, and I couldn't stand on it and take a picture at the same time. The people had a black dog with them, which is on the top right of the picture. (Oct 2004)

This page last modified Jul 08, 2009.
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	I stopped at the post ofice before the trip. The colors of the trees were really striking, and the perspective was kind of neat. But yeah, it is a parking lot. (Oct 2004)
	The last two shots on the roll were of these bushes that get INCREDIBLY red. I mean, they just scream RED!!!. I think it's called a Flame Bush. (Oct 2004)
	Another shot of the RED!!!! bush near my place. The colors are always amazing to see. (Oct 2004)

	The gorge at Watkins Glen. Very cool the way the water has cut the rock in twisty patterns. (Oct 2004)
	One of the waterfalls at Watkins Glen. I think the white foamy stuff in the semi-circle carved out of the rock was some funky, foamy, particulate blobby thing that kept whirling around in a disturbinly semi-sentient way. (Oct 2004)
	The path crosses behind the waterfall. It's quite neat and rather loud. The ledge in the bottom forground is a bit out of focus, but I wanted to get hte people as well as the waterfall in the shot. At the top a footbridge is visible (though overexposed). (Oct 2004)
	This is another view of the waterfall, with some people about to cross behind it. The top is overexposed and the middle parts to the right of the waterfall are underexposed. In other words, the scene has a large dynamic range of lighting. So even if I didn't capture it, it looked quite cool. (Oct 2004)
	I believe this shot was taken from the footbridge that was visible two pictures back. The sky is bright and the gorge is dark. You can see the farmland in the distance and the stairs at the bottom. (Oct 2004)
	At the end of the trail are stairs that lead up to a parking lot. Since it was at the top, it was getting some nice sunlight. I like the warm colors in the picture, in contrast with the darker ones in the gorge shots. (Oct 2004)
	Moof and Jen just below the set of stairs in the previous picture. (Oct 2004)
	A view of the trees as you walk down from the top of the gorge. You can see the stairs. (Oct 2004)
	A railroad bridge crosses the gorge. I'm told it's still actively used. This is at the bottom of the stairs at the far end (on the way back). (Oct 2004)
	The sun was right behind the trees. I positioned myself to block the sun with the trunk and took a shot. I was surprised at how well the forest color came out. (Oct 2004)
	Another shot with the sun blocked by the trees. The dark rock at the top right is an out-cropping just above me. (Oct 2004)
	More fall colors and trees around the gorge. I liked the tree that had fallen across the gorge. (Oct 2004)
	A shot of colorful trees around the top rim of the gorge. Actually, I like the next picture better. (Oct 2004)
	Colorful trees at the top of the gorge. I liked the way the other trees were all facing the central one. And the sky was very blue. (Oct 2004)
	The tree was brightly colored and catching the sunlight. It was on the other side of the gorge, with a rocky outcropping just in front of us. It really stood out in the shadowy gorge. (Oct 2004)
	At the top front part of the trail, before really entering the gorge, there's a nice view of the Watkins Glen. The sky was beautiful. 10,000 years ago or more, the valley would have all been underwater, probably to the level of where the sky is in the picturea. The gorges were carved by receding glaciers. (Oct 2004)

	The Houston Pond is sort of at the center of the Plantations. The trees colors were really nice, even though it was a gray, overcast day. (Oct 2004)
	A shot just to the right of the previous shot. I thought about trying to combine them in photoshop, but decided it would be best to leave them as two separate shots. (Oct 2004)
	The Sculpture Garden is an area with a bunch of odd sort of sculptures, made by the architecture department in the '60s out of concrete. A class where you made art that required cranes...cool! (Oct 2004)
	A colorful tree somewhere enar the Sculpture Garden. (Oct 2004)
	After crossing the footbridge across Fall Creek, there is a wooded area. The path right after the bridge was a tunnel of leaves, with arching branches on top and a thick covering of colorful, fallen leaves on the floor. This was a low shot of the path. (Oct 2004)
	After wandering around through the woods, it opened up onto farm land. A long, black fence stretched out. I had no idea where I was. I had to wander around until I could figure out where I was (tresspassing). It turns out it was the Cornell Equine Research Park. Ivy League Horses and the like. I figured it was still Cornell property. It was kind of creepy, since there was no one around, other than the horses, who kind of cast suspicious glances my way every now and then. There were two other people that emerged from the woods while I was figuring out how to take the picture. Originally, I was going to stand on the fence, but it was leaning outward, and I couldn't stand on it and take a picture at the same time. The people had a black dog with them, which is on the top right of the picture. (Oct 2004)