Here & There: Lakes and Trees

FINGER LAKES

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Skaneateles, NY, a charming village on the northern edge of Skaneateles Lake. We were there for my niece’s outdoor wedding at Frog Pond.  Skaneateles is one of the eleven Finger Lakes in central New York State.   These glacier-created lakes are long and skinny, deep, and cold.  Sixteen miles in length and ranging from 148 feet to 315 feet deep, Skaneateles Lake is considered the cleanest, most pristine lake in the state. It is also the source of Syracuse’s water supply. 

The Finger Lakes run north to south, and from east to west their names are: Otisco, Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka, Canandaigua, Honeoye, Canadice, Hemlock, and Conesus.  The larger lakes, Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, and Seneca, are the better known ones.

I grew up in Auburn located at the northern end of Owasco Lake.   My childhood summers were filled with picnics and swimming outings at Owasco Yacht Club, a family club on the lake’s eastern shore.   Spring fed, the lake was often still cold in early July.  My mother never went into the water until after July 4th.

Ithaca, home to Cornell University is at the southern end of Cayuga Lake.  The campus is famous for steep gorges. Waterfalls are also numerous in this area with Buttermilk Falls and dramatic Taughannock Falls whose water plunges 215 feet.

Seneca Lake, 35 miles long, is the largest of the Finger Lakes and the deepest at 630 feet.  It moderates upstate New York’s temperate climate and is home to the largest number of wineries in this region. It is reported that once a century Seneca Lake freezes over.  The last time was in 1912, and some folks claimed they skated 35 miles from Geneva at the northern tip to Watkins Glen at the southern end.  

The town of Seneca Falls on Seneca’s northern shore was the site of the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention.  Today you can visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and the National Women’s Hall of Fame here.  

This area of New York is rich in history, and beautiful to behold with much to explore.  Best to visit in the summer, however, as even late May, witness last weekend, can be chilly!

GHOST FOREST

On one of our last days in Manhattan, we ambled into Madison Square Park and were greeted by sculptor Maya Lin’s latest outdoor work.  Called Ghost Forest, it’s a stand of forty-nine white cedar trees looming upward, but minus any leaves.  The trees are from a dead area in the New Jersey pine barrens.  It’s a haunting site, yet at the same time inviting.  Lone individuals and couples with toddlers made themselves comfortable on the ground midst the trees.  These trees will be in place into November.

Ghost Forest builds on Lin’s earlier climate change projects. One, called What is Missing, presents sounds of nature and animals that are endangered or have disappeared.  Missing exists both online and in several locations  The first site is a giant megaphone, The Listening Cone, installed at the California Academy of Sciences in 2009.  A treat for the Chief Penguin and me was getting to know Maya Lin a bit and visiting her in her Manhattan studio. 

TRAVEL PARTICULARS

In Skaneateles:

• For historic charm, stay at the Sherwood Inn (1807) opposite the lake.
• For a casual lunch or dinner, dine at Bluewater Grill overlooking the water.
• For continental dinner fare, make a reservation for a table on the porch at Sherwood.
• For a hearty lunch on a rainy day, indulge in a Reuben in Sherwood’s tavern, or hop a bar stool at Lakehouse Pub for local beer, quesadillas, or that regional favorite, beef kummelweck.

• For some good Mexican food for lunch or dinner (no reservations), show up early at the Elephant and the Dove.
• On the outskirts of town and walkable (sidewalk all the way), book at the popular Rosalie’s Cucina for generous portions of Italian meatballs, fried chicken and braciole.
• Lastly, by car, dine at Auburn’s most sophisticated eatery, Moro’s Table.  Dishes include mussels, scallops, and sushi, along with beef sirloin, short ribs, salmon, and sea bass.

Note: Unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).