Back from Camping in the Wilds of the Finger Lakes Region of NY

Maybe not wilds exactly... We spent the past week at Keuka Lake State Park which is probably the nicest of the Finger Lakes state parks that we have visited! Each site had electricity and bushes on either side so you truly felt more isolated than usual. The sites were large and flat as well and Keuka Lake is a beautiful clear lake.
Here we are, all set up with our screen tent and sleeping tent -- both very easy to put up and fold away. These are what we used for our cross country trip two years ago.


Here are our friends who have a slightly more luxurious camping vehicle -- a 40 foot motor home with 4 tvs and 2 air conditioners!

This is the "fruit" of the Butternut trees. These trees and scrub pines were all over. There were more blue jays than I have seen in a long time in the pines. Evidently in the fall, the local deer feast on these butternuts which looked like crabapples to me.

This is wild chicory which is a very common flower around here this time of year. It evidently is not a native species but does thrive along the roadside and in areas next to grasses. The Queen Anne's Lace was everywhere as well as a small amount of scotch thistle which was my childhood favorite flower -- I love purple!

This is a Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar which landed on Warren's blue jeans. You can see the size from the weave of the blue jean material. It was a very pretty caterpillar but is not such a beautiful moth but pretty harmless to trees and such. It was tempting to pet it as it was so pretty and fuzzy but wisely we didn't. It does secrete a fluid that will sting and annoy you!

We didn't see a lot of wildlife (we did see three beautiful bucks crossing the road in front of us on one drive), but enough for my enjoyment. The husband of the other couple is an avid hunter and is very knowledgeable about the trees, wildlife and plants that we might spot. He spent his childhood hunting and fishing in this area of NY.

The weather was fairly cooperative although the last night was spent listening to the rumble of thunder (more than a rumble actually) and watching nature's light show which did inhibit sleep just a mite. Napping was definitely called for yesterday.