Living Along The Finger Lakes Trail

Jeff, my son, taking a break in the Ludlow Creek State Forest

As you can see by any of my photos or if you drove by my home, we are completely surrounded by the state forest. Big old growth trees as well as smaller, younger ones. Our forest is logged pretty regular from time to time. Presently there are loggers working right up the road. They have a made a huge mess not only in the forest but along our road. Their heavy equipment and logging trucks are very destructive. The DEC will say, "they did a great job" while we look at it and say "Duh? What do you mean a great job???"

The Finger Lakes Trail runs in front and behind our homestead.

In the summer time our road is so much busier. Living out in the state forest brings people who want to be out in the country, out of the cities and small towns around us. People truck their horses out here to ride them. People on bicycles ramble by every now and then. People on four-wheelers are racing all over the roads and trails in the evenings............even though they are not supposed to be on the roads or state lands at all. Four-wheelers ruin the paths and scare our wildlife out here. They are just so noisy! 

Ludlow Creek dammed up for swimming

The creek is cold for swimming but sometimes when it is really hot out it feels good. I imagine if you are hiking and get hot, sweaty and dirty a dip in the cold creek could be quite refreshing! Our creek is one of those creeks that is flowing all year round. Beautiful clean sparkling water. I don't believe the members at Lake Ludlow can use motor boats so the water is fairly clean...........but I wouldn't want to drink it! Animals are all over the place and I imagine the water is not technically clean to drink.

Ludlow Creek as seen from the lean-to

The hikers on the Finger Lakes Trail seem to like the creek and the lean-to. The lean-to was built by the Finger Lakes Trail association for the hikers to sleep in overnight when they are traveling the trail. There has been times when someone stops there and camps for a few days. After all it is a free camping spot and no reservations needed! I can't say I blame them. It is very peaceful most of the time. The only dangers are when people come here. They are the ones who leave their litter behind. They are the ones who shoot off guns all hours of the night! Yikes! Yes, they do that quite often. And what if they are not aware that there is a house here? Or my horses out in the paddock? They are the ones who break into the hunting camps. They are the ones who start fires and do not put them out properly. They are the ones who make a lot of noise when they are out here in the peaceful forest. Sorry, but that is the truth. The human animal spinning his tires on the bridge or spinning doughnuts on the road. What makes them do that anyway?

All the comforts of home on the FLT!


Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

The McDonough General Store

This afternoon I had to take a drive about 7 miles away to our little country store in the neighboring town of McDonough. It was such a beautiful drive, the leaves are turning and are beautiful shades of gold, red, green and brown. There is one farmer on the way there who lives at the top of the hill who farms with horses, and it was my lucky day as he was out there with his two gorgeous horses. I think they are Belgiums, and they are just so majestic with their harness on and hitched up to his wagon. What I especially like is that when you go past, it is so quiet, just the gentle rattle of the harness every now and then.

McDonough is one of those little towns that most people just drive through to get somewhere else. This town has many homes that are little farms with a big variety of farm animals. Most being horses and chickens, some pigs, many goats and a few with miniature horses and even a donkey or two. There are a few houses with the eggs for sale signs out front.

The McDonough General Store is the typical Mom & Pop type store with Mr. and Mrs. Gorman being the Mom & Pop. The store seems to be pretty busy when we go there. It has become our favorite place to go for what we call "fast food", which just means that I don't have to prepare and cook it. They have a nice deli and sell various sub sandwiches, we buy a couple pounds of lunch meat so we can make sandwiches at home. Also they have a old-fashioned ice cream parlor. The customers that come in there all seem to know one another and probably have all their lives. If you are new though, they will welcome you warmly and include you in their conversations.

The McDonough General Store looks as if it should have a pot belly stove right in the middle of it, and maybe one day it did. Now it is filled with a good selection of groceries that you are most likely to run out of. Except for gas and kerosene. Right now it has a sign out front on the gas pumps "Sorry, Out Of Gas". Too much money to fill it up. Besides most people probably only buy a little to get to the next big town to fill up, so there is really no profit there. Now the ice cream freezer is probably one of their best sellers! When we go there, we usually pick up a half gallon of Hershey's Moose Tracks ice cream........our favorite!

During the summer and holidays it gets alot of traffic from Bowman State Park which is very close by. The Fingerlakes Trail isn't much further than that so hikers usually end up picking up supplies there also. Many people from NYC and NJ come here to get away from the city as we aren't too far from there. So you never know who you'll meet there.

So if you ever get out this way, make sure you stop in there and say hi.

Have a good day!

katlupe