Blue Goose ~ Day 69

August 8, 2014 - Olean, NY tos Canandaigua, NY

There was early morning fog which slowly cleared to full sunshine as I headed to Iroquois NWR. I am definitely in the east now. It is more dense with small towns closer together, houses closer together and narrower, older roads with fewer or non-existent shoulders and with tar ribbons, cracks, dips, slumps and which seldom run straight. The roads also are more congested and there is little dawdling room or pull-offs to check out a bird to take a photo. Many of the grand old homes near the centers of the towns are stone or brick, two to three stories, with lovely gardens and balconies and porches, of varying architectural styles.  The cemeteries are huge with a mix of small, gray, weathered grave markers that are often aslant, along with newer, polished, more modern markers. The fields are lush; the corn is tasseling. I cannot remember such perfect weather...warm and cooling at the same time, sunshine, no insects at all, blue skies, slight breezes....

Iroquois is 17 square mile of mostly wetlands for the birds with a large Visitor Center. I walked a couple of trails. One was the circular Swallow Hollow Trail, through woods and around a marsh. I did see and hear a few woodland birds at the beginning of that trail but almost nothing subsequently. Avian silence and no insects which almost seemed science fictiony. A second trail / boardwalk also wound through wetlands and woods, but at least I saw several Great Blue Herons and ducks in eclipse plumage in the distance, some Song Sparrows, a buteo perched too far to identify and the ubiquitous Canada geese. But walking was a pleasure on these well-maintained trails in the sun-dappled woods and over the marshes.

Jewelweed at Iroquois NWR - NY

As I began, a young family of three were just emerging from the woods; they were all overweight and the 100-pound overweight man was whining as ponderously waddled along, "Now that I'm all bit up...." The mom and kid were stoically moving towards the parking lot, not smiling or responding. Another happy family outing....

When I tried to make a motel reservation, I found my options were limited. I was moving east in the Finger Lake region of NY which, of course, is a tourist destination. But I did find one that seemed a good deal and booked online. It had three stars, so imagine my surprise when I arrived and it seemed more like....well, I didn't exactly know what. The guy at the desk assured me it was a motel but was also a college dorm. The room smelled like a mix of Lysol, urine and popcorn. The floors had no rugs or carpet. It was clean though and not worth trying to move somewhere else. I was only going to sleep, clean up and work. Which I did. And the Internet connection was very stable as I would have expected for college students. There were only a few other "guests," and I think I was the only one on my floor. I am getting more leery of booking online, as this was my second experience with marginal accommodations that were offered with a high rating. But, then, I've also had some very nice motels....

I ate chocolate, wine, crackers and cheese for dinner.....