Discover America 2025

From Pennsylvania, I drove due north to western New York. At one stretch, I must have been near an Amish community because I passed six horse drawn carriages headed south, likely going to church. I took a photo of one as it passed me, making sure I did not catch their faces, as they do not want to be photographed. I also drove through at least two Native American nations, the Seneca and the Oneida. I know there are others in New York, but I did not notice any other signs.

I then headed east towards the Finger Lakes area. I stopped first at the Finger Lakes Visitor Center in Geneva near the top of Lake Senecas. There are five “major” finger lakes, all lined up roughly parallel, and far longer (roughly north-south) than they are wide, and at least a half dozen smaller ones. Seneca is the largest and the deepest, with depths reaching 600 feet. From Geneva, I headed clockwise around Lake Seneca and drove between it and Lake Cayuga, the longest and second largest. Towards the bottom of Lake Cayuga, I stopped off at Taughannock Falls State Park. The falls are situated within a 400-foot-deep gorge carved by Taughannock Creek. With a 215-foot drop, it is one of the highest waterfalls in the eastern half of the United States. I took a photo from the overlook and considered hiking down to the bottom, but it appeared that it was about to rain, so I skipped it.

I drove back north along the western edge of Lake Cayuga, passing by many wineries and cider shops, as well as some very scenic views of the lake. At the top, I headed east towards Auburn, which is just north of Lake Owasco. I previously mentioned my great-great grandfather, Lansing Porter, in the blog describing my trip through Rockford, Illinois. Thanks to the genealogy research of my sister Ginny, I was aware that Lansing was born in the Auburn area and returned there after a number of years in Illinois. Ginny also pointed me towards a house where he lived in Auburn, and which still exists there today on Melrose Road.

Auburn is also known as the hometown of Harriet Tubman. She died in 1913 in Auburn, at the home she purchased from Secretary of State William Seward in 1859, and where she established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged. If I had more time, I would have visited the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park in Auburn.  She was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn. Also buried in that cemetery are a few of our relatives, including possibly Lansing’s father-in-law, Roswell Curtis, who would be our great-great-great grandfather.

Before I left Auburn, I stopped at Emerson Park, which is at the top end of Lake Owasco. There is a dog park at this location, so I brought them in and unleashed them. This was the first time Madison was able to run free in weeks.

From Auburn I drove further east to the town of Skaneateles, at the northern tip of the lake with the same name. This is obviously a popular tourist area with a busy downtown area, a very active marina, and many upper class Victorian homes. The town reminded me of the fictional town of Harrington, from the 1960 Disney film “Pollyanna.”

Having seen four of the finger lakes, I then headed for my campsite at the Cider House Campground, in Bouckville, and settled in for the night.

Photos include the Amish carriage (driving on a state highway), a view of Lake Seneca from Geneva, the falls, the Lansing Porter home (today), a photo of the home from the past provided by Ginny (perhaps from the late 1800s??), a view from Emerson Park, Madison in the dog park, a view of the marina in Skaneateles, and a Victorian home in the town across from the lake.