Kirukkalkal

Green Lakes State Park  Just as the name indicates, as soon we parked the car and got out, we could see the greenish-blue/turquoise colored water in the lake. As we got closer to the trail around the lake, it was so amazing and it appeared like lakes formed closer to glaciers.  Entire perimeter of the lake can be covered by a trail and at many places the water was so transparent except for the bluish-green tinge in the water. Fish, swimming several feet deep, was clearly visible at places. Though the trail was along the shore, it was just a bit inside the wooded area that it felt like the lake peeked every often from the trees along the shore.  Just about when we reached the mid-way, there was direction for a trail leading to another lake ‘Round Lake’. The trail around the round lake was a bit smaller than the one around the Green Lake, but it did join back the Green Lake trail, pretty much at the same spot from where we took a diversion for the Round Lake trail.  Continuing along the

Delphi Falls (Madison County) We went to Delphi Falls that is about 30 min away, also in the Cazenovia area. On the way, we stopped by the Lakeland Park Pier located on the shore of the Cazeonovia Lake. It was a beautiful picnic spot and hardly anyone was there, being a weekday it was.  Delphi Falls is located in a county maintained area. Madison County had acquired this area only in 2014 and this was opened to public only recently since 2018. So, it is a relatively new park that is still being developed. It was also evident from lack of direction/signs until you reach the park entrance. When we reached the park, there was one other family that was also getting ready to leave. We had the falls for ourselves for quite a bit of time. It was such a serene atmosphere especially in the solitude that we were able to enjoy it in.  Here again, the cloudy skies made it extra special. With the view of the falls, we had our lunch inside our car and left for our next destination. Pratts Fall

The park is located near Cazenovia, a quaint town in Central NY a bit east of Syracuse. The falls is apparently falling over a structure sculpted since the glacial age and it can be seen by the layers of rocks behind and around the falls. From the parking area, the access to falls is from the top with trails leading to the bottom of the falls where a man-made bridge crosses the Chittenango creek flowing north to the Oneida Lake.  It is a short hike down to the bridge and along the way the rich flora was a treat to the eyes, especially in the spring. There were information boards in the trail indicating some of the unique/endangered species that can be found only in this park in the entire world. One of them is a type of snail called ovate amber snail which is endangered mainly due to the human activity – just by walking around the area, humans have stepped on these snails and has driven it to almost extinction. NYS DEC is taking efforts to protect this species and staying on the trai

When we reached there, there were hardly any cars in the parking lot. It was a similar situation even during our previous visit. The falls overview can be reached from the parking area with <30 min hike through the wooded area via the green trail. There is a viewing platform to get a nice view of the entire falls.  The Blue trail can take you to the bottom of the falls and on the way, you can see another beautiful smaller falls. The ruggedness of the area, combined with less people in the area and the only sound of the falls provided for a very serene atmosphere. Occasional spring flowers along the trail were an added bonus. Water was still cold and maybe that’s what kept the people from disobeying the warnings about swimming in the pool below the waterfalls. This is maintained by the  Columbia Land Conservancy .