Folie a Quatre- We found Split Rock Falls

So we picked Joe up from the train station and then broke the news that with just a slight detour we could find the fabled Split Rock Falls to which we had been searching. Joe was of course, up for it ( even though he was wearing black socks and khakis- city slicker!) , and we made our way to Route 9, toward 87, through New Russia. Our previous foibles were related to following intersection of 73 and 9N, not 73 and 9. We heard the rush of waters from the road and found them easily...and they were worth the wait!
It was not the warmest day and the water was f f f freezing but the swimming was incredible. I liked the multiple levels of swimming holes with each successive fall. The site hosted some tragedy through the years and was the only place we visited with a chain link fence. Just as we were leaving, a guy did a double summersault flip off the top of the falls into a narrow hole. It literally took my breath away. I am torn between the love of the local know-how and past-time to the realization that if he was off a few feet from his quest, we would have witnessed another tragedy. Nevertheless, for us city chickens,was a thrill just to splash around at the base of the falls and enjoy the pristine beauty.

Perhaps I have a disorder

After we finished the pump house, we were looking for a small adventure...and again we decided to go on a waterfall hunt. Yes, I have an obsessive, compulsive disorder regarding waterfalls and the saddest part is I have sucked the poor innocent children into my disorder. It's Folie A Trois. Armed with our trusty book, we decided to check out the falls of Wilmington, just NE (I think) of Lake Placid. First we stopped at Monument Falls, right at roadside 4.3 miles from 73/86 intersection on 86. These were nice, small, lovely for a few hours of wading. Sadly, we are becoming waterfalls snobs and moved on. We went further on 86 ( about .9 miles after High Falls Gorge) to the Wilmington Notch falls. Holy Cow. Scary. So Scary. No fences, warnings or anything and you are on cliffs looking down on a raging, huge, rocky waterfall. Really awesome. The most amazing we have seen. I kept screeching at the boys to stop throwing sticks and I kept hugging the nearby trees. The setting is weird. It is a public campsite, run by the state. You pay $1 and then basically head down this gulge- no real path. You just follow the sound of soul shaking crashing water. After that, we headed about 1.1 miles further on 86 to the Wilmington Flumes. You park in a designated area, just over a bridge on the left, cross over to the south side of the bridge and head down a path which takes you next to multiple falls and cascades. We continued further and landed at the Grand Central Station of swimming holes. About 30 people, swimming in an olympic sized swimming hole, at the base of a falls - very very deep. Of course, there was the requisite cliff and rock jumping which Oscar immediately jumped on (and Clarke joined later.) People were swimming under the falls and riding the current. Water was crystal clear and freezing cold. What a fantastic scene. We met folks from Montreal, Toronto, Virginia, Colorado...and Long Island of all godforsaken places. I practiced some french with the little Montreal kids who had the words for rabbit and frog mixed up. The thought of a large, green "rabbit", trapped under the rocks was almost too much for me to bear. Great day. We ended at tail o' the pup because we were too dirty and ugly for anyone else.

Side note, we have yet to pay for the commercial attraction of High Falls Gorge, though we have heard it is worth it. We thought perhaps when Joe's dad comes it would be nice, as it's not quite as rugged as the other hikes.

Little Pump House on the Prairie

The boys earned their keep this morning staining our pump house and our picnic table.

Why The Children are Well Behaved This Summer

So I've always believed that you have to run boys like dogs but today was a fascinating science experiment. We did NOTHING - almost nothing. We ran to the library, ran an errand at the printers, and then came home and lounged. The boys played video games, watched YouTube, played guitar, did some light reading, homework etc. We had a lazy dinner, I didn't make them help with dishes...and then we attempted to play Yahtzee. I never realized Yahtzee was a full contact sport. The boys were in perpetual motion during the game. They twirled the dice cup, rolled dice from their ears, did the "Yahtzee dance" and wrestled over the score. They dropped things all over the floor and ran around the table. They threw cookies at each other and made bizarre loud noises. Clarke screamed "Smack Daddy" whenever he rolled a good turn. In my finest parenting hour, i just yelled "STOP....MOVING" They are now in bed and sound like they have hours of energy left. Suffice to say, tomorrow we return to the rigors of mountain living. I have them slated to stain our Pimped Out Pump House, followed by an afternoon hike. I hope they are limping to their bedrooms with exhaustion tomorrow night.

Tip a Canoe

Quick note: Before Joe left today, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant in Keene, called Tip a Canoe. I think it's been recently re-opened. What a great place. Nothing fancy but everything was well thought out and prepared. Really nice service and good prices. I told Joe I had to remember to blog this because they seem like they are trying hard and it's not easy for new restaurants to make it around here. It's right on route 73.

Wild Turkey Crossing

Three cars were stopped on McKenzie Pond Road today waiting for a wild turkey family to finish their evening stroll. We tried to grab a pic after they headed back toward woods. For the record, turkey babies are equally as ugly as their parents.

Another Swimmming Hole

On the way back from Westport, in Elizabethtown, we pulled into a parking area on the side of the road because we saw the telltale "towels drying on the rocks" and have been in search of more waterfalls and swimming holes. After figuring out these were not Split Rock Falls ( after asking more folks, I now think I can find them), we don't know what to call these but it was really fun.



The locals there seemed like reasonable and smart people and assured me that the hole was plenty deep so the boys should try to jump. For the record, Oscar would like it stated that he was first and quite brave. Even Clarke would agree. After great jumping fun, we hiked around a bit and found that there is quite a large waterfall further down the river. We are going to hike to bottom and explore that on a different day. Here are my directions as best I can remember.

It is on 9N in Elizabethtown. Coming from Keene, about 9 miles from the intersection of 73 and 9N on the left side of road. After you see "welcome to Elizabethtown" wood sign drive about .2 ;miles you'll see parking area on left side of road)