1.4 Mile Walk at Beaver Lake Nature Center
2.2 Mile Walk at Green Lakes State Park
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tonight Ann had a holiday party to go to near Syracuse and even though I wouldn't be going this year (tomorrow starts at 4 AM so I can be at the Ward Pound Ridge Rservation by 8 AM for this year's Gail's Trail Run) I drove out to Syracuse last night so we could spend some time together during the day. When I got to Syracuse I really wished I'd thought to tell her to bring her skis - there was a good six inches of snow on the ground, and the weather today would have been perfect for some XC skiing. Oh, well. I did have two sets of snowshoes with me, but in the end we didn't walk far enough to really warrant to work of unpacking them and putting them on.
Beaver Lake Nature Center
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After breakfast we left Ann's truck at a park-and-ride and headed west to the Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville. It's part of the Onondaga County Park system and I've wanted to go there ever since I first read about it last winter while doing research on another Onondaga park, Highland Forest. (Ironically, this morning was the Last Chance Trail Run & Pancake Breakfast at Highland Forest, which is where I was really introduced to what a wonderful park that is last December.) Beaver Lake includes 9 miles of trails, a 200 acre lake, and a nature center offering a variety of activities and programs. In the winter it's a popular area for XC skiing and snowshoeing.
It was pretty crowded when we got there, as it turned out they were hosting a pancake breakfast and a chance for kids to see Santa Claus. We explored the nature center briefly - a pretty cool place with lots of displays about local flora and fauna. Then, armed with a map of the trails, we headed outside for a short walk. We started out on the Lakeview Trail, which makes a figure 8 and has two viewing platforms for looking out across Beaver Lake. From there we headed down to Hemlock Hollow, which had a few more hills (though nothing too long or steep) and also let us walk an out-and-back along the Bog Trail, which would probably be a lot more interesting in warm weather. It was a great morning for being outside - sunny and not too cold - and the trails were beautiful.
Afterwards we headed back indoors - the breakfast was over, so it was considerably less crowded - and spent a while looking at the displays, including tanks with some turtles and a small snake. We were also able to get into a room which looked out at the bird feeding area, and spent a while watching a multitude of squirrels, doves, finches, sparrows, and juncos chowing down. A fun end to a really nice visit... given how close this park is to the Thruway (only 10-15 minutes) we'll definitely be visiting it again.
Green Lakes State Park
Ann and I first visited Green Lakes a number of years ago and I finally managed to get back there this past summer to explore a few more trails than we'd walked previously. It was a no-brainer to go there again today, since it's not that far from where she'd be going to the party this evening. After lunch we headed over there to walk around the lakes before calling it a day.
Unfortunately, clouds had moved in, leaving us with not only a much greyer day but also a much chillier walk. After checking out the huge flock of geese on the lake we walked the trail along the shore, passing a few other folks out walking and a few folks out on their skis. Lots of great views of Green Lake, which is meromictic (no mixing of the surface layers and deeper layers of water in the lake) and contains a good deal of dissolved minerals which absorb various wavelengths of light entering the water, leaving only the green light to reflect back to the surface and giving the lake a characteristic green color. We finished up a bit before sunset, which meant we were treated to a bit of color in the sky and also saw several deer coming out for their evening snacks. Another nice walk at a park I hope to get to visit more often in the future...
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And then it was time for Ann to head to her friends' house and for me to head back to Albany. It would have been nice to have more time together and especially time to go skiing or snowshoeing, but I'm still glad I made the trip out there to be with my sweetheart.
JMH
