Lake Bistineau on 3-28-2015

Last November we visited the lake and it was so dry.  It's been a wet spring and so we decided to go see the Lake again.  I was so happy to see it had filled up again. 

My dogs just having so much fun running around.

This is how the area looked in November

   This the inlet that was so dry.      And over here you can see the water in it.


My dogs were so eager to be able to go out and play in the field, but every once in the while they had to come check in.  Then they couldn't wait until I said okay to play.

 Here's the area in the front yard filled in with water.  This is how it normally looks.  .

 The same direction in November

  Here's the boat dock at the end of March

The boat dock in Nov.

Last Nov. I could walk under the boat house.

In March there is no way I could.

This was looking from the boat dock in November
 
I thought this was a pretty tree  and have taken some pictures of it.
 
Here's that tree in November

 

Here's some more to give you a better idea of how the water has risen.since November 2014.

 The water in March 2015.  You can't even see that barrel anymore.

I guess because the lake changes so much it makes it so interesting to go see it.  You never know what to expect.

With all the rain we've been getting I'm now appreciative that the lake was so low.  It makes me less worried about our area flooding.

Eternal Flame Falls

Eternal Flame Falls, Shale Creek Preserve Chestnut Ridge Park, Eire Co New York

     When I was in undergrad school I had heard about an eternal flame falls but didn't find out where it was located.  All I knew it was to the east of where I lived.  I had no idea where to begin to look for it and forgot all about it even though I really wanted to see it.  For years I never gave it another thought, until a fellow blogger Jessica Ball @ Magma Cum Laude gave this post on it. http://blogs.agu.org/magmacumlaude/2010/11/12/gas-seeps-in-western-ny/
She wrote  "One of my favorites is in the Shale Creek Preserve at Chestnut Ridge Park"
That finally gave me a clue as to where to look.
When I clicked on the Shale Creek preserve I got this website.
http://www.wnyhikes.com/index.php
I realized it was in Eire County - upstate New York.  That was close to Niagara falls and I knew Niagara Falls was just a couple of hours away from my mothers home.  I figured the next time I would visit I could go there.  The trouble was when I would visit I was too busy with other things and didn't have much of a chance to visit until just recently.  I had a reunion to go to on the 12 of July, and my brother was visiting my mom on July 4th and left on the 6th.  I realized I could go visit my mom & brother and also go to the reunion all in the same trip.  It also gave me a week free to do what I wanted.  This was the perfect time to go.   So I looked it up in Wikipedia because I was having trouble remembering where to find Jessica's post.   

Here's what Wikipedia had and it was not very helpful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Flame_Falls

I then did a google search and found this website: http://nyfalls.com/waterfalls/eternal-flame-falls/
They gave these directions to get there:

Location:
 In Chestnut Ridge Park; just outside of North Boston, Town of Orchard Park, Erie County, New York Maps: Google Map, Bing Maps, Multi-map (topo); Interactive map.
GPS: Parking and Trailhead: (N 42.69993 / W 78.75238)
Eternal Flame Falls: (N 42.70158 / W 78.75113)
Roadside parking: (N 42.70012 / W 78.75255)
Directions: Take I90 to US Route 219 and follow it south for 11 miles. Take the NY-391 exit toward Boston/Hamburg and turn left onto Boston State Rd. Take the 3rd left onto NY-277 (Herman Hill Rd.) and follow it for just over a mile and a half. It becomes Boston Ridge Rd. Take a sharp left on Seufert Rd and park immediately on the right.
Or use Google Directions.
Parking: Park alongside Seufert Rd. Spaces for roughly a dozen cars.


Now having this information I  was all set to go.  I was going to go on Monday but when I woke up it was pouring down rain.  I checked the weather map and they were predicting rain all day long.  I decided not to go due to weather.  Tuesday I had other commitments and couldn't go, which was just as well since it rained on and off all day long.   Then on Wednesday I was finally able to go, with my son.  As we were driving there we encountered some more rain which surprised us since it wasn't suppose to rain that day.   We decided to try it anyway and I was glad we did since the rain had stopped by the time we got there.  In fact I felt like the rain was a real blessing since I had read that in the summer the creek could sometimes dry up or just have a trickle running through it.  They recommend seeing it in the spring.


For us it was the perfect day since there was a lot of water and we could get the full impact of the water falls.
We parked where they recommended and got out and followed the trail.  We crossed  this creek and wondered where the falls were.  Since the trail continued on we decided to follow it. 

 We got to a point were it split and luckily we came across another hiker in the woods who told us to go left and to look for the flame signs on the trees.  That really helped a lot and once we saw what we were looking for it made it so much easier to do.

 The hiker told us that the trail basically follows the ridge and the creek is down below with the falls.  he told us the ravine was pretty steep and not to try to go down any other way than the trail.  So we followed his advice and could see what he was talking about.

 This was looking down at the creek.

 I was beginning to wonder if it would be worth it to see, but was enjoying seeing the glacial boulders and such along the way.  It felt good to be hiking in the woods after being couped up for a couple of days like we had been.

 We finally got down to the creek bed and was able to follow it up river to the falls.  I was glad the hiker had told us which way to go because the signs weren't very helpful at this point.  But we did run into some more people looking for the flames and they had been there before and knew which way to go. 

We came across this one falls and I was wondering if this was  it, but was told it wasn't.  I was glad because there wasn't much water coming down from it.

 This is the shale that was lining the walls of the ravine and I could see why it was called shale creek preserve.  It reminded me a lot of the parks in the Cleveland Metro park system.
Jessica tells us that this is the Hanover Shale, Devonian age. http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/HanoverRefs_1964.html

 Then we came upon the falls.  People said this was it.  I realized from the pictures I had seen that I had to go to the right side to really see the flame.

 And then I saw it.  It was so fascinating to see.  I also felt it was very spiritual.  It was such a contradiction to see that flame burning with all that water flowing over it. It was mind boggling!!  Amazing!!! Incredible!!  Everyone who came up to it would make and exclamation of some sort. 

 The natural gas seep is probably from the Medina group which is produced a lot in the region.
http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/MedinaRefs_2722.html
I tried to look up natural gas seep and also gas seep in Wikipedia but all they had was cold seep.

 I did take some video of it and am trying to include it here.
I can see the video on my computer but not on my cellphone.  I don't know if you can see it or not. 

 

 If you ever get a chance to go to Upstate New York I highly recommend making the effort to go see it. To me its just as great as Niagara Falls.
  I also want to thank Jessica Ball for blogging about this in the first place and helping me find out were it was located.

Niagara Falls, New York

Niagara Falls, - The American Falls, New York

I've always had a love hate relationship with Niagara Falls.  When I was little my family did not take many vacations because there were six children in it, but at least once a year during the summer my dad would take us to Niagara Falls.  It was about a three hour drive from where we lived and we could do it in a day.  I had the fondest memories of those trips. When we would go my dad would make it as fun as possible.  I remember taking the fairy boat ride at the bottom of the falls, and I remember walking behind the falls and getting wet.  It was the getting wet that I hated most because then going  back we would be in the car shivering as the wind blew on us from the open windows since we didn't have air conditioning.   Also I was scared to death of falling into the river and being swept over and if it wasn't me it could be my favorite hat or glasses and then I knew they would be gone for good.  Every year it seemed like we would go and we would all be mesmerized by the beauty and shear magnitude of force with the falls.
     When I got into college I went one time to them on a field trip, early in my studies of geology and never really appreciated what I was being taught.  I must admit I was more into the fun of the trip and getting to know some of the opposite sex in my class better.
   After that I always assumed I would get back to them but the opportunity to never seemed to develop until this summer.  I finally got to go again.   The one thing that amazed me was with all the trips I had to them we never took photo's.  This time I was bound and determined to get some photos.  The one thing I did regret was not bringing my passport with me because I always remembered the view was so much better on the Canadian side.  Even without the passport I was determined to go and what a day I had of it with my son.


Here's what Wikipedia says of Niagara Falls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls

Enough talking and here are more  pictures.
 This is the map that they had posted throughout the park so you could figure out where you were at.

 We parked in the parking lot P1 and then walked along the path to the observation deck. These are some of the things we saw as we walked along the path.

The Rainbow bridge at Niagara Falls New York

 This is the observation deck.  I thought I had a better picture of it but I guess I didn't get one.  This is new to the area, and I must admit I was glad they have built it.  It sure does help you to see the American Falls better and it's almost as good to see as it is in Canada. 

We went to the observation deck and noticed a long line.  We found out it was for the river boat tour of the falls.  I forget how much they wanted but my son and I just wanted to go out on the deck.   We were told we could do it for 2 dollars each.   For 2 dollars it was well worth it. 
 This was taken from the observation deck. 

American Falls, Niagara Falls New York

 This was looking across to Canada. 

 I liked this one because you could really see the mist rising from the Horseshoe Falls.   It almost looked like a genii rising from the waters. 

 I did cross over to the other side of the observation deck just to see what it would look like. 
I wondered if they were the same rocks I was seeing outcropping at the Eternal Flames Falls-
 the Medina group.  http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/MedinaRefs_2722.html  but I could be wrong on this.  After reading Wikipedia its not the Medina group.  The caprock, is more resistant and is the Lockport dolostone   of Silurian age. This made sense to me because what I was seeing  - looked like a limestone and since its so resistant I could see it being a dolostone. 

 

 After we fought the crowds and got upteen dozen photo's we decide to walk around a bit.  I knew it had been awhile since I had been there but they just weren't like I remembered.  I attributed it to all the new buildings and such that were now there but weren't there when I was young. 

 We walked along the pathway and was getting hungry.  We saw a worker and asked him where was a good place to eat.  He said he used to work at the restaurant on Goats Island and it was pretty good food.  We decided to go to Goats Island.

 I thought this was neat to see.  How the water just drops off and then you have mist rising up.

 I did take some pictures of the river as we were crossing the bridge to Goats Island.

The Niagara River, near the American Falls - Niagara New York

The search power of that water was fascinating to watch.

 We did get to Goat Island and saw this sign there.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about  Goats Island:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_Island_%28New_York%29

 This was on Goat Island - a tribute to the engineers that harnessed the falls to make electricity for the eastern United States.

 Then we walked over to the Horseshoe Falls.  I thought this was neat to see.

 This was the river and as we walked along it I realized this is what I remembered about Niagara Falls .  The river being right next to the path way. 

 Then when I saw the mist rising up and blowing into my face - I was like yes this is the way I remembered the falls.  Then it dawned upon me why I liked the Canadian side better - you don't get the mist on you like you do on the American side. 
By this point we were both getting hungry and knew it was time to stop and get a bite before we looked at the Horseshoe Falls.

 Just look at how high the mist goes up.  This was taken from the restaurant as we were eating our lunch.

 Finally we were able to walk towards the falls and try to see them.

 Just look at the mist that was coming off of them.  And the wind was blowing so it was also coming on us. 

 I didn't get as many photos of the Horseshoe falls simply because of the mist and not getting a good shot at it.

Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls - New York

 I was hoping to see a rainbow because when I've been here in the past I have.  This time I wasn't able to. 

 I was looking back to the rainbow bridge and was hoping to see the Bridal Falls that's next to the American Falls but I was not able to.

The American Falls, Niagara Falls New York

 As we were leaving I noticed this rock and had to see what it had to say.  This was where the tripwire walker started his walk across the falls. 

 Finally as we were leaving we saw this statue.  It was a tribute to the native Americans that had lived in this land before the white man came.

 
Here's the webside for the state park http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/
 And here's another one associated with New York state parks http://nysparks.com/parks/46/details.aspx


I know its a place to go for romance but its also a place to go just for the fun of it.  The one thing that amazes me the most is that its not a National Park but only a State Park. 
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