Waterloo Conclusion

Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map

Hard to believe but we are down to our last week in Waterloo. With the exception of the week we recently spent in Letchworth State Park, we have been here for almost five and a half months. That’s the longest stay so far in our seven plus years of traveling full time. But it seems like there is so much more we wished we could have seen while we were here. I guess that goes to show a couple of things. Western New York and the Finger Lake Region of the state have a vast array of outdoor activities as well as more wineries, breweries and distilleries than we could ever expect to visit. The other thing is that having spent over 30 years living in the area and doing all sorts of sightseeing, camping and hiking, there was no way that even a 5 month stop would permit us to get back to all the great spots. We did do a pretty good job of hitting the majority of the things we wanted to see and even fit in a fair number of places that we had never been to in the past.

We have done quite a few trips to various spots along the Erie Canal during this visit, mostly on our bikes. But there was one area around Fairport and Pittsford that we hadn’t been to during this visit and we really wanted to get back there before we leave. These towns are upscale neighborhoods and the canal path seems to be taken care of more meticulously than some other locations further west or east. The downside of this is the trail here is much busier with people out for walks, runs or bike rides. We head out to Pittsford with our bikes but plan on doing a couple of Adventure Labs in town as a walking tour first.

Erie Canal in Pittsford

There are all sorts of shops and restaurants in the area but we stick to our tour since we know the bike ride we have planned for after lunch will be around 15 miles or more. I think this was the first time we really walked around town and enjoyed the history of the town.

Old Village Hall

Decorative Horse

We pick up subs at Wegmans and head to Perinton Park several miles to the east. This will be the start of another Adventure Lab called “15 Miles on the Erie Canal”. Like I mentioned earlier, the trail along the canal is in great shape and fairly wide in most spots so it isn’t too difficult to navigate around people and bikes.

Along Our Bike Ride

Unusual Lawn Ornament

Bike Path Right Next to Canal

Besides the tour stops, we have several geocaches to look for along the way as we head west. There are so many old bridges that take roads over the canal and most of them are rather pretty as opposed to some of the newer concrete bridges that are more for function.

Marsh Road Bridge

Railroad Bridge in Pittsford

Monroe Avenue Bridge

Our Adventure Lab tour stops just short of Lock #32. We decide it was worth the extra half mile or so to make that be our turn around point. There is an observation platform on top of a building that provides a good view of the lock. This one had just over 25  feet of lift. We stick around for a while and have a snack, hoping that some boater will arrive and we could watch the lock in operation. But even as pleasant as this mid October day was, there weren’t any boaters to be seen.

Stairs to Lock #32 Viewing Platform

Leaky Lock Doors

Having completed most of the geocaches on our trip to the west, the ride back to the east was a bit quicker. But we still took the time to stop and check out sights we missed earlier in the day. We ended up with a 17 mile bike ride that was quite memorable.

Afternoon Shadows

The next day was going to be one of those places we have never visited before. Seneca Army Depot is less than 10 miles south of Waterloo. It is pretty much just across a highway from the similar Sampson Naval Training Station - now Sampson State Park. Besides which arm of the military ran the two bases, there are other differences. Sampson is big at ~2500 acres, but Seneca Army Depot is 4 times larger at just under 10,600 acres. Sampson was used between 1942 until 1956, while Seneca opened in 1941 and didn’t close until 2000. So Seneca Army Depot was still in operation for about the first 20 years of us living in the area. The base was used to store weapons and back in the 1980’s, it became the center of a controversy regarding the possibility of nuclear weapon components being stored on the base. Farmland just outside the base was purchased and hundreds of women set up the Seneca Women’s Peace Encampment where protests were held to promote peace. I remember it was big news back in the early days of our living in the area.

The other notable thing about the base was the population of white deer. When the land was first bought by the government and the base was being built, a 24 mile fence was built around the property. At the time, there were several white deer that were within the confines of the fence and over the years, their population grew to a point that there were a couple hundred of the white deer. These deer are not albino but instead have an abnormal genetic condition called leucism which gives the otherwise “normal” white tailed deer a white coat. I remember driving past the base numerous times on our way to Ithaca and keeping a watchful eye open for a glimpse of one of the rare white deer.

With the closure of the base, the federal government has been trying to decide what to do with the vast land. In 2016, 7000 acres of the land was sold and subsequently improvements were made and Deer Haven Park was opened. This business offers a couple different tours thru the base - either a bus tour or an auto tour on an eight mile route. We had debated about doing one of these but had never bothered to stop and check it out. But then we noticed a sign about an upcoming walking tour of the base. This sounded much more fun than the other options so we signed up. The weather was not looking very good for the day of the event, but the rain mostly held off and we just had a grey overcast day.

Deer Haven Visitor Center

We arrive to check in and over the next 15 minutes or so, about another dozen people showed up. The visitor center has all sorts of displays explaining the history of the base and the white deer. We had watched a couple of YouTube videos in advance that explained some of the history, so we had a decent idea and it definitely helped us put the pieces together. When the time arrived, we were directed to the waiting bus.

White Deer Head

Line Up for the Bus

For the normal auto tour, you drive your own vehicle along the route and have an app that helps describe the various things along the way but you are not permitted to get out of your car. On the normal bus tour, a tour guide gives a description of history and structures we go pass and the visitors are allowed off the bus to explore a couple of areas. This was the first time they were offering a walking version of the tour. We were driven about 3.5 miles out along the normal route and then exited the bus to continue our tour on foot. The advantage of being with a group of 15 people is there are lots of eyes on the lookout for deer - specifically the white ones. As we walk along a main north-south road on the base, there are many side roads that are just over a mile long. These are all roped off but looking down one of them, we spot a white deer. Admittedly, the thing was likely several hundred yards away, so it was merely a speck in the distance. For all I know, the owners have put up a deer hunting target like we often see in the country and colored it white!

Possible White Deer Sighting

A Stroll in the Army Base

We proceeded at a very leisurely pace and are told all sorts of stories about the people who were forced off the land to create the base. There are a couple of old foundations from pre-base homesteads. The first building of interest from its days as an army base is one of the explosive handling buildings located along the main railroad track thru the base. We are allowed to walk up the ramp and take a look inside. There were a few shelves and other unidentifiable items strewn around so it is hard to imagine what type of work took place in here over the years.

Explosive Handling Building

Inside Building

Looking down all the side roads, we kept an ever watchful eye open for other deer but none were seen. The next stop was a platform along the tracks where munitions would be loaded or unloaded from train cars.

Platform at Train Tracks

A bit further north, we come to a different looking area of the base. This is the edge of what was known as the “Q” area. There are three lines of security fencing with all sorts of countermeasures to make the  area off limits to most people. This was the area that supposedly stored the nuclear weapons which might justify the security cameras and electric fences. It is kind of weird because even though this is no longer government property, my mind still made me feel like we probably shouldn’t be here. We all seemed to be a bit reluctant to step closer to the fence to get a better look inside.

Approaching the Q

Not Much to See Inside Q

Next we take one of the many roads to the west. Along this, and most of the other side roads, are about a dozen ammunition bunkers. They all look about the same other than each one has a letter and number designation. The front of each bunker is a large concrete wall with a heavy blast door. The concrete bunkers have a domed ceiling that is about 15 feet tall at the peak and 100 feet long. The bunkers are also covered with thick layer of earth and most of them at this point have been nearly overtaken by Mother Nature with trees and bushes obscuring the entrances. There are also smaller structures known as personal bomb shelters that could be used by the workers if something bad were to take place. We all lined up and shuffle through it to get a sense for the size and how it might be used if needed.

Heading to the Bunkers

Front of Bunker A0710

Personal Bomb Shelter

At bunker number A0706, our guide brings us over to the front of the bunker and shows us some of the features of the blast door as well as how heavy and thick the thing is. We enter the dark chamber and look around. Since it is empty, there isn’t much to see but your imagination can try to picture the place full of rounds of ammunition. The instruction sheet for the bunker still hangs at the door opening. #1 Always handle explosives and ammunition carefully. Sounds like a good first step to me!

Our Tour Guide at Bunker A0706

Inside the Bunker

Read Carefully

A bit further down is a small creek that crosses under the road. We help pull a barrier out of the way and head back along a trail next to the creek to a beaver dam. You could definitely tell that the beaver have been pretty active here and have the water level up. I suppose at some point the property owner may need to do something to prevent the road from being flooded but right now it is being used as a feature to show visitors.

Flooded Area

Beaver Dam

We conclude the walk after a slow nearly 2 mile stroll thru the base. The bus has been repositioned to our location and we will be driven the several miles back to the visitor center. I ask the guide if there is any consideration for allowing bicycle tours of the base. I mentioned how fun it is to bike around the many roads of old Sampson base and this property looks ideal for something similar. It sounds like they are considering a guided bicycle tour, but doubt they would ever open the property up to cyclists without some sort of escort. This was a fun outing and would recommend the walking tour if they ever offer it again or the bus tour since visitors get a chance to get out and see some of the locations up close.

We have a couple days of rainy and cold weather to get through before we take the opportunity to get out again. This time we head up towards Lake Ontario and the town of Webster. We have a couple of Adventure Labs we would like to do as well as some hiking and geocaching in Webster Park. We start at the park which is right on the shore of Lake Ontario. It has been a long time since we have visited this park since it wasn’t all that close to our former home in Rush. We plan to do the Adventure Lab first as it tours some of the places within the park. We start our journey at the White House Lodge. This is one of the larger lodges for rent in the park but was quiet there on a Tuesday morning. There is a path that leads down to the lake and another parking area. This was the place to be. There were over a dozen fishermen along the shore and the pier.

Webster Park

White House Lodge

Fishing Along Shore of Lake Ontario

We continue on some of the trails following the stages of our tour and going for a few geocaches along the way. Even though we thought the weather was supposed to be fairly nice today, it was rather cloudy up along the lake. We stopped at a fairly new play area in the park honoring a 3 year old boy who lost his life in an accident at his home in Webster. Given the boy’s name, I felt connected to this playground. We managed to complete our morning mission and stay dry, but while we were eating our lunch back at the White House Lodge, it started to sprinkle. This forced us to reconsider our more serious hike planned for the afternoon in the park.

Fall Colors Over Creek

Jack's Place

Lakefront Lodge

This area of New York is known for its orchards. One of the Adventure Labs would take us to 5 of the orchards and farm markets that surround Webster. We had never really visited any of these markets in the past but we were impressed with a few of them. Schutt’s Apple Mill was likely our favorite. Besides the beautiful mural on the side of their building, they have a rather impressive shop with a wide variety of apples, cider and baked goods. We managed to find a nice treat for our desert. They even have a large flower garden across the street that sells flowers.

Large Mural at Schutt's Apple Mill

Flower Garden

The weather had cleared up a bit, or at least the sprinkles had stopped. So we head back up to Webster Park for a proper hike. Our goal was the 3.2 mile Webster Park Loop Trail that starts at a parking area along the west side of the park on Whiting Road. It was a pretty trail and the light rain that fell earlier in the day didn’t seem to impact the trail conditions in the least. One of the caches along the way is an annual hide that is basically a container hidden under one of the many evergreen trees with dozens of Xmas ornaments dangling from it. This one has held up well over the past 10 months. It was nice to get back to this park for a wonderful hike before we leave the area.

Along the Webster Park Loop Trail

Christmas Tree Cache

On the way back from Webster Park, we stopped at North Ponds Park for one more geocache. This is a nice park but it is right next to a very busy expressway so it isn't the most peaceful place for a walk.

North Ponds Park

We have better weather the next day so we head out for another walk. This time to east side of Rochester. There is an Adventure Lab that takes us on a tour of some of the beautiful cobblestone buildings that are popular in this area. A friend of ours put this one out and he has done a good job showing us various styles of cobblestone homes and explains some of the more technical details about the construction.

1845 Cobblestone Pumphouse

Next we stop at Fishers Park for about a 2 mile walk in the woods to find a few geocaches. When we arrived there was a large group of people taking advantage of the 8 pickle ball courts. We knew there was a cache near the courts so we had our lunch first and by the time we finished, the last of them had completed their games and we had the place to ourselves. The hike was very nice on this cool fall day.

Wooded Trail at Fishers Park

Irondequoit Creek in Fishers Park

In this area, both the Lehigh Valley and the Auburn trails intersect. Each of these are quite nice rail trails with a lot of history along them. While these are great trails to ride bicycles, we had decided to limit our distance and concentrate on some of the many geocaches we have so we stuck to walking. We start out heading east on the Lehigh Trail which takes us on the old trestle bridge over the Auburn Trail.

Split Between Lehigh Valley and Auburn Trails

Bridge Over Auburn Trail

There are a surprising number of small spur trails along our route. One of them is for the old Trolley Trail - another rail line. One of the geocaches along this trail was spotted but was pretty far up in a tree and it didn’t have any low branches for me to even hope to climb. I just need to remember that we don’t have to get them all!

Start of the Trolley Trail

After coming through Lehigh Crossing Park and the nice lake and gazebo, we discover that the trail further east is closed due to flooding. There is some other minor trail just to the south that must be on higher ground and we are able to follow this one.

Lehigh Crossing Park

As luck would have it, this trail has several caches along it even though we originally believed the hides were along the Auburn Trail that is only 25 feet away but on the other side of a small channel of water. There were some very creative hides along here. One was described as a “cow tipping” cache which didn’t seem to make much sense as we read the description. But upon arriving at the obvious hide, we found the locked ammo can that was painted like a white cow with black spots. To determine the combination for the lock, there were many small cow figures attached to the tree. You needed to tip over each one looking for the information required to obtain the combination - very creative. Another hide was an elaborate container with a theme of Godzilla and gnomes!

Cow Tipping Cache

Godzilla vs Gnomes

We were able to easily get across the water and head back on the Auburn Trail to the car. We were rather tired by this point but there was just one more nearby cache that had over 80 favorite points. It was a half mile or so past our car but we decided to go for it. This one was equally creative. The hide was easily found but in order to open the container, you needed to be musically inclined. The box would play the first view notes of some Oscar winning tune and then you simply needed to play the next 3 notes on the screw heads that constituted a primitive keyboard. I tried at first but was not having any luck. Chris managed to get it to play a different song and would sing the next 3 notes while she attempted to create the same notes on the device. It took us some time to solve. Fortunately the hide was far enough off the main trail that we didn’t have any people wandering by and asking what we were doing. We ended up with a nearly 6 mile walk.

Same Bridge but from Below

On our last day, we head to Ontario County Park just south of the town of South Bristol. We have hiked here before but that was years ago. All we really remember is that while it is a beautiful park, there are a lot of trail options and depending on the trail, there can be some serious elevation change. There were a few geocaches hidden here we hadn’t found in past visits, so we decide to let them direct our hiking plans.

Beautiful Pond View at Ontario County Park

The first two we head for are puzzle caches. One a field puzzle and the other a night cache. We knew we weren’t going to stick around until dark for the night cache, but by paying close attention to the trees along a trail, the fire tacks can sometimes be seen even during the daytime. We figured out the first stage of the field puzzle but the final location was a rather long hike so we save that for after lunch. We struggled with following the fire tacks and wandered back and forth over the maze of trails before we finally did find the final container. Back to the car for lunch and plan for our afternoon hike.

View from Our Lunch Spot

From what we could tell, we would need to hike the Black Trail. This is almost a 4 mile hike with over 600 feet of elevation change. The trail starts out near an overlook platform that gives an excellent view of the valley over 800 feet below.

Viewing Platform

View of Valley from Platform

The Black Trail starts off easy enough along the top of the ridge but it doesn’t take long before we start descending. There are some steep and rocky stretches and even though the are trail markers every now and then, we mange to get off the real trail and need to improvise through a couple of gullies before we manage to find our intended trail again.

Another Nice View

Neat Oak(?) Leaves

Black Trail Marker

The cache is hidden near the southern end of the trail and at pretty much the low point of our loop. We were having trouble locating the cache even though we knew we were looking for an ammo can which typically isn’t too hard to find. The hint was a bit odd referencing a “baby in a tree”. Of course it didn’t take long to spot the baby and from that, we discovered the ammo can too. Unfortunately this was about 25 to 30 feet up in a tree.

Baby in the Tree????

Cache in the Tree

Chris told me under no circumstances should I attempt this tree climb. Given how much effort we put in to get here and knowing how much more effort was going to be required to get back to the car, I was very reluctant to admit defeat. The lowest branch on the tree was about 7 feet up and I couldn’t find anything to stand on to reach it. I knew not to ask Chris for a boost. So after 5 minutes of surveying the situation, I came to the conclusion that spot his one wasn’t meant to be and we would just have to be satisfied that we got in an excellent hike.

It was a long and tiring hike back up the hill. We actually found a couple of mountain bikers out on this trail. The trail signs mentioned the Genesee Regional Off-Road Cyclists club, but it didn’t seem likely that this particular trail could be used for biking - well those guys proved me wrong! We ended up with quite a few miles of hiking on our last day in the area.

Fungus

Raised Walkway

Since we have only been back for a couple of weeks after our trip to Letchworth, we didn’t have nearly as much stuff to put away for the start of our journey south. Seneca River RV Park wasn’t all that special of a place but it did work out okay as a home base for our five and a half month stay. Next stop - Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.