Beautiful Buttermilk

Mary and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Buttermilk Falls, just outside of Ithaca, NY.  Excuse me, I misspeak.  Due to the drought conditions in Upstate NY, we had the pleasure of visiting Buttermilk Damp Rocks.  The falls were reduced to a trickle, and the frothy whiteness by which they get their name was nowhere to be seen.

Even so, the hike up the glen was well worth the time and effort, even if we did get out of bed to do it.  I carried my large Dunkin' Donuts cup the entire way so as not to be one of those lamentable litterin' louts.

The path up skirts the rock face and disappears into the woods.
It continues to go up well past the portion of the falls one can see from the bottom.
It was a strenuous climb.

Mary appreciates the pretty little trickle.

And you can, too!

Not a place one would usually be able to stand without getting wet.

Who says there are no straight lines in nature?

It was hot, and the pool was inviting, but we declined.
Instead, I took this picture from a vantage that would usually make me very moist. 

A Bridge For No Reason when drought is the season.
After this shot of picturesque Mary, a young man handed me his phone
and asked me to duplicate the feat for his family.

When we started the ascent, the young family was right behind us...Mom and Dad with a little girl of about 7 years and her younger brother.  Midway up the rise of the first falls, the father accelerated ahead and then stopped, turning around to get a photo of the others on the way up.  However, his daughter was intent on catching him, so the father sternly admonished her to stay at the photo stop.

"Alicia, wait for your mother and brother.  Alicia, stay there.  ALICIA!"

I smiled and continued uphill.  I was transported back 20 odd years to the time when another young father might have done the same, yelling, "KATIE!"

A nice chimney.
The huge logs in the channel
 are a testament to what the usual amount of water can deposit.

Yep, one never knows what kind of flotsam will end up in the gorge.

The fish are glad the pool is deep.

Who says there are no perfect circles in nature?
I particularly like this Olympic-themed
channel-pool tribute to volleyball spiking.

It was a fine hike with some interesting geology.  We'll have to do it again in the spring to see it in full glory!