The Grand Canyon of the East--Letchworth State Park

We have had two different people exclaim about the wonders of Letchworth State Park, so of course we had to visit it. We started the day with high expectations because we read that Letchworth was voted the "Best State Park in the USA" from the USA Today poll of their readers. New York charges a parking fee at most of its state parks, so we purchased the annual pass to give us free rein of all the parks. Then we pulled into one of the first viewing areas to peer into the canyon.

This gorge was formed from the Genesee River's snake-like path through the shale hills of western Pennsylvania.

The gorge is going to be spectacular in a few weeks when the fall foliage lights up the area. There are already some leaves changing colors, and Denisa found one to wear today because it matches her blouse.

Some of the trees are evergreens, and we are trying to learn how to tell the different species apart. Fun Fact: We read that we could tell that a tree was a hemlock if it has two white lines running parallel with the underside of the needles. 

Even if we are a little early for the best fall foliage color, we are content with the golden rods in full bloom against the rock walls in the park.

We love the old masonry built by the CCC in the 1930's, and this park has some beautiful examples. Denisa is standing above the arch of the bridge to show just how big it is,

while Mark is standing under the bridge to show how tall it is.

One could spend days hiking the park's trails, but the advice we received was to hike a 5.5 mile path that would take us past all three of the park's waterfalls. We will start with pictures of the Lower Falls. This depth of the gorge is framed in softer shale, so this smaller falls is continually changing in shape as the water continues to carve away the softer rock.

We took the trail down a beautiful old stone staircase and across another nice old arched bridge to get the view in the distance from a different angle.

Working our way up the gorge, we came to the Middle Falls. At 285 feet wide and 107 feet tall, it is the grandest of the falls in the park. Mark wished he could climb into the gorge, because this really needed a person in the picture to give some scale to its grand size.

At the most southern end of the gorge, we see the waters of the Gennessee River cascading 70 feet over the Upper Falls. Behind it is the silhouette of the railroad bridge. Mark would have been climbing to the top of that metal scaffolding, but the area was strictly off limits. A freight train still makes use of that old steel trestle.

The waterfalls and scenery were nice, but we also enjoyed the program at the state park's new nature center. They have a ranger that has been gathering monarch caterpillars every summer for 40 years. He knows the best fields of milkweed in the area, and he carefully brings the caterpillars to the state park where they can be used for educational programs and will also have the best chance of survival. This year was especially challenging to find caterpillars, as an unseasonal ice storm decimated the biggest group of monarchs that were leaving Mexico last spring. Mark is holding up the last two caterpillars of the season, happily munching on the only food that will sustain the monarch's life cycle--milkweed.

The rangers showed us dozens of examples of the next stage in the butterfly's life cycle--the chrysalis. We have to say we have wandered into another of God's wonders when we see the transformation from an ugly old caterpillar into a bejeweled smooth chrysalis. 

Each one is perfectly painted with gold dots around the top, and several more golden dots at the bottom. This chrysalis will be opening soon, as we can see evidence of the forming wings inside.

Just as wonderful, is the final transformation into a beautiful monarch butterfly. It still feels like a miracle to us that God would use such a powerful transformation for an insect. 

We made a special trip to the nature center at 4:00 for the releasing of the latest Monarch butterflies. There was only one new butterfly today, and he has been stored in the refrigerator this afternoon. That means his body temperature is cool, and he will be willing to hang around with us longer until the sun warms him up. This particular butterfly was very complacent to stay in one place. He became a hair ornament, and even had to be coaxed to leave.

The ranger told us fun butterfly trivia, like butterflies taste with their feet, and hear with their knees. He also pointed out that this was a male butterfly, as evidenced by the finer black lines in the wings.

It was a great day in Letchworth State Park. Even though we think the Grand Canyon analogy is exaggerated, it was a sizable canyon for the East. We have seen several waterfalls that are barely trickling by this time of the year, so we were glad to see that the three Letchworth falls are still running strong. But tomorrow's adventure will include even bigger waterfalls as our journey continues . . .