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.  Co...

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 ...

Coming out of the pandemic with both of us vaccinated, we felt a sigh of relief. May was bringing warmer days with the spring foliage in full bloom; it was an apt time for visiting waterfalls. We wanted to explore some areas that are nearby as the first outdoor trip for the year. Bash Bish Falls is actually located in Massachusetts, just across the state line from New York. It can be reached either through an entrance in MA or through the Taconic State Park in NY. It is a short and easy trail leading from the trail head located in Taconic State Park. Pretty much all the way to the falls is along the Bash Bish Brook flowing from the falls up the trail.  With the fresh spring foliage and a pleasant weather, combined with a sunny day, it was an easy breeze to get to the falls. The falls has a story legend that you can read in the info area near the falls. Stairs down will take you closer to the falls. There are several boulders/rocks that can be easily scaled to get views of the fal...