Finally! Mountain Foliage Ride

Since I've had horses here I've wanted to ride up in the mountains while the aspens are changing. Six years later it finally happened.

All below pictures of me by my friend JG.

Yeah, really can't complain about that parking space.

It's hunting season. But, I think wearing orange in the orange aspens is rather silly, so I break out the hot pink. No one was going to miss me.

See?

Naners was her usual awesome self.

I am spoiled for real life.

Connecticut Part 4: Going back to CT

This waterfall was somewhere between Lockport and Buffalo and should have been in the last post

So now we are at the day of my dear friends wedding. I'll spare you the details, other than that I am beyond happy for her that she's finally found someone. The reception was on Grand Island where I got this cool shot:

Bridges to Buffalo

After that we splurged and got a hotel room in Canada with a view of the falls. However, due to fog it wasn't much of a view. Much better the next morning, but it was still grey and not pretty out.

We did the View Behind the Falls, where you go down in an elevator and there's tunnels behind the Canadian Falls. You can hear/feel the water pounding when you're down there and it was seriously cool.

Wearing my totally sexy poncho

I bought maple candy and viewed the falls from the top and then we were on our way home. But we got distracted and hit a couple more waterfalls

Pitt's Falls

Chittenango Falls

One of the awesome parts of this trip is I'm significantly down in elevation from home, so I feel like I'm extremely fit. That last fall I had to walk down to the bottom of from the top and I ran my way back up. Seriously. I can't run five feet at home elevation (7000')

Connecticut Part 3: More New York

Keeping on with our water theme, we started this day with a trip to Lockport to the Erie Canal (you know, the one where you sing about the low bridge, everybody down, low bridge cause we're coming to a town.) And, shockingly, there were locks in Lockport

Lock empty

Lock almost full

Doors opening so the boat isn't trapped in there forever

In Lockport there's a church with Tiffany windows. They were gorgeous

I really think these angels look like hippies

Then we went to the Great Behre Swamp (we like swamps.)

And then another church, Our Lady of Victory Basilica (my mom's religious, I am not.) But regardless, this place was seriously impressive.

I love this ceiling (or vaulting, if I'm using my college education.)

And then we went to the Erie-Buffalo Botanical Garden

Best topiary ever

Connecticut Part 2: Road Trip to Buffalo

One of my oldest, and definitely one of my most dearest, friends got married in Buffalo last weekend. So, mom and I took our yearly road trip to Buffalo.

We left CT, realized an hour later mom forgot her passport, which would make it quite difficult to get to Canada, so we turned around. When we finally did get to New York we went to Secret Caverns, which is next to the less rustic Howe Caverns. We went to Howe when I was a kid, so we went to the other one. Other than the waterfall it was sort of a lame cave (and I've been to many.)

After that, to Elmira, where I bought a new Kindle as mine died the true death the night before we left. Not unexpected, its been acting odd for several months. The next day we went to the Corning Glass Museum and made glass!

That's a flower. I also made a fused glass frame and an ornament. The glass museum is cool, but we only spent a bit of time there then drove on to the first of many waterfalls

Chequaga Falls in Montour Falls

Then, to Watkins Glen. I have somewhat of a memory of Watkins Glen from when I was a kid and wanted to see it again. If you ever visit, you want to either park at the top parking lot, or take the shuttle up, so you can walk down the glen, not up. We were smart, but my mom actually remembers all of her trips there :D

Be glad I didn't post more pictures, it's seriously cool.

We stayed in the middle of nowhere that night and then went to Letchworth Falls State Park. We went so early we almost had the entire park to ourselves. It has three large waterfalls.

Lower Falls

Upper Falls

Middle Falls

And then we went to Canada, to visit the Welland Canal, part of the St Lawrence Seaway. The way boats get from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario as there's a big waterfall in the river connecting the two. There's a significant height difference between the two lakes so there's locks.

That is a seriously big ass boat

We finished out the day by spending sometime on the shore of Lake Ontario where this momma squirrel hung out

And then we accidentally drove past the church we went to on that same childhood vacation

So, sort of funny story about this church, or as it's formally known, Our Lady of Fatima Shrine. I remember the statue on top. Mom remembers that it was round, my older brother remembers the ceiling (it has the continents on it.) My little brother remembers nothing.

 Penny and her best buddy Zaya. They're sort of an odd looking couple. I wish she'd soak in some of his awesomeness. He has an absolutely spectacular canter and is in general just a good guy. He takes exemplary care of his owner. For anyone looking at those halters thinking "how dare she turn them out in halters!" They both have leather parts.
 

 

 Western Scrub Jay (or so I think.) There have been tons of them down in NM lately.