Watkins Glen in NY

When we heard about there being a park that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings, naturally, we had to go there. So, we took a trip to NY.

Every other house we passed on the way there had at least one cow and/or horse in the yard. It was magical. Not like the majestic cyborg (beautiful, but HUGE) horses that clop through Philadelphia, with a carriage of people in tow. Although, I was wondering if they were cold, because it had snowed the day before, and I was freezing!

Greg made fun of me, because I only brought one coat. Luckily, he thought to bring an extra coat, a hat, and a pair of gloves. It makes me seriously reconsider the ratio of practical thinking in this relationship.

We stopped at the Glen Mountain Market Bakery and Deli before our hike, because we were voracious by that point, and they actually had a ton of vegan options. I got Jackson’s Revenge, a tofu concoction with sprouts & spicy mustard. Pretty delicious, although I always prefer fries over chips.

Then we went straight to Watkins Glen State Park. So, when they said that it looks like the setting in Lord of the Rings, they were not lying. I felt like I stepped right into Rivendell, and freaking Legolas was going to pop out and declaim, “Something draws near, I can feel it.”

Clearly, Gollum lives in a cavern here somewhere.

Then, we had to walk up a massive hill, and I just wanted to crawl up like a baby bear.

It was impressive. The gorge has been eroded away to where it is now over a period of 12,000 years.

We found a spooky building, so, of course Greg asked me to stand in it and create a photo of unimaginable horror. Frightening, no?

The trails were well-made compared to other trails we’ve seen. They have workers whose job it is to hang from the rock walls and break off frozen rocks that are hanging over trails, after the cold seasons.

We had fun..lots and lots of fun.

Then we finally drug our tired selves back, first to Philly, where we tore through our food so fast that I didn’t take any pictures. I got a vegan fried chicken po boy and it tasted like and was the best thing ever. Then we came back home, where we will hopefully sleep sound after a busy day.

Are there any other magical places I should check out?