Upper Midwest - Day Twenty-Six (Amsterdam, NY - Canajoharie, NY - Albany, NY - Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA)

With a "small" day planned - 290 miles - I realized that I could backtrack 20 miles to the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, NY. They have a beautiful Winslow Homer exhibit going on (from Sept. 2 throrough Jan. 4), as well as a George Inness exhibit with some of his early paintings (I like his early paintings before he started to "blur the lines").

Unfortunately, the Museum has a "no photography" policy. Having said that, they do have an image gallery. In their exhibition book Winslow Homer - The Nature and Rythm of Life - from the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie, this oil painting is called "Watching the Breakers-A High Sea", 1896:


From Canajohaire it is an easy 60-minute drive to the Albany Institute of History & Art (Albany, NY). They have a lovely collection of Hudson River School art, including the most paintings by Thomas Cole that I can recall (outside of his home/studio - the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, NY):

Frederic Edwin Church
Thomas Cole (13)
Jasper Cropsey
Asher B. Durand
Sanford R. Gifford
James M. Hart
George Inness [1869]
John Kensett (2)
Homer Dodge Martin

Highlights include:

Thomas Cole - "Study for The Cross and the World - The Pilgrim of the World on his Journey", c. 1846-1847

Jasper Cropsey - "Dawn of Morning, Lake George", 1868

Frederic Edwin Church - "Twilight (Sunset)", 1856

Asher B. Durand - "Cathedral Ledge", 1855

John Kensett - "The Mountain Stream", c. 1845


and I was able to buy a fabulous poster:


The sky started to clear as I was on the Mass Pike:


and it was a beautiful day in Boston!


Big fog had set in up in Manchester:


but I was able to put my hand in the Atlantic Ocean at White Beach!

It's good to be home (how Deede got here ahead of me is beyond me - I was driving as fast as I could!)

Well well well - wasn't that (11,080 miles) a GREAT TRIP!!

Thank you God!!

Music today (I listened to albums):

America's top ten. 1960s, the folk years (20 songs; returning today to Beverly Farms library)


Pat Metheny Group - Travels (double live album)


Pat Metheny Group - Speaking of Now


and, in closing, I have to thank Super 8 for allowing me to get my fill of Nighttime Football:

Sat 10/18 college football
Sun 10/19 Denver Broncos 42, San Francisco 49ers 17
Mon 10/20 Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Houston Texans 23
Thurs 10/23 Denver Broncos 35, San Diego Chargers 21

Sat 10/25 college football
Sun 10/26 New Orleans Saints 44, Green Bay Packers 23
Mon 10/27 Washington Redsikins 20, Dallas Cowboys 17 (OT)
Thurs 10/30 New Orleans Saints 28, Carolina Panthers 10

Sat 11/1 college football
Sun 11/2 Pittsburgh Steelers 43, Baltimore Ravens 23
Mon 11/3 Indianapolis Colts 40, New York Giants 24
Thurs 11/6 Cleveland Browns 24, Cincinnati Bengals 3

Sat 11/8 college football
Sun 11/9 Green Bay Packers 55, Chicago Bears 14
Mon 11/10 Philadelphia Eagles 45, Carolina Panthers 21

I think I will only be watching the Patriots for the rest of the year.

Upper Midwest - Day Twenty-Five (Hamburg, NY - Albright-Knox Art Gallery - Taughannock Falls State Park - Johnson Museum of Art - Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute - Amsterdam, NY)

290 miles today, with some twists and turns:


Well, we have learned to be flexible in life; plans change.

I had originally planned to hit 5 art museums stretching right along I-90 East (part of the New York State Thruway system):

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY
Memorial Art Gallery, University Ave, Rochester, NY
Everson Museum of Art, Harrison Street, Syracuse, NY
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Genesee St, Utica, NY
Arkell Museum, Erie Blvd, Canajoharie, NY

Unfortunately, both the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester and the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse are closed on Tuesdays (as well as Mondays). So I was able to loop-in the Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca (after confirming that their Bierstadt and Bradford were on view) [and I dropped the Arkell because I just ran out of time/daylight].

The day started off very promising - the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo is a VERY IMPRESSIVE structure:


I do love the architecture! Unfortunately (for my taste), it is full of art that I do not like (Contemporary Art)[or should I say "Contempt-orary Art"][stop that, Dennis]. Of the six paintings I was interested in (by five artists), the Monet was on loan to San Diego, and three were in storage, leaving:

Albert Bierstadt - "The Marina Piccola, Capri", 1859

John Kensett - "Coast Scene", ca. 1860-1870

along with an early Picasso that I like - "Nude Figure", 1909-1910

There was a narrow window of time that I like Picasso's work - The Cubist Period (Cubism?), but more specifically 1909-1912. I like what he does with monochrome (varying tones of only one color).

I certainly have to credit wikiart.org with That Information!!

I was on my way down to Ithaca when I passed a sign: Taughannock Falls State Park - 1 mile
Hey, I can drive ONE MILE to see Falls in a State Park!
Vista Point was great:

but then I went down the road to the "real entrance" to get to the path to the falls. I did Map My Walk for this 2-mile round trip:

The views along the Creek were stunning



but the Pièce de résistance was the Falls themselves (?itself?):


and because it is Veterans Day (no school), there are families playing:


Cayuga Lake on a beautiful day in the middle of November


The Johnson Museum of Art is associated with Cornell University - everyone is hiking over all the terrain, they must be healthy! Their 19th century American Artists are displayed Salon-style:

not really how I would like to see them, in my home or in a museum.

Highlights include two from John Frederick Kensett:
"The Rocks at Newport, Rhode Island", 1862

"View of Triphammer Falls, Ithaca, NY", undated


and Albert Bierstadt - "Swiss Mountain Scene", 1859


It is a great collection, but it is very difficult to see and appreciate paintings that are 10 feet up off the ground.

And then off through the New York State countryside to get to the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica at 4:40 (they close at 5 - hey, I can "do an art museum" in 20 minutes!). Starting with their Hudson River School artists:
Frederic Edwin Church - "Sunset", 1856

Martin Johnson Heade - "Scene on the Salt Meadow", 1866

and a wonderful oil by an artist I am not familiar with:
Francis A. Silva - "Sunrise: Marine View", 1870

and ending with a wonderful Jackson Pollock - "Number 2, 1949", 1949



wow - waterfalls and beautiful art - thank you God!

Music today:

Continuing to go through all the music on my iPod song-by-song, alphabetically. Today I heard 93 songs (no music when I'm hiking):
starting with:
"The Girl From New York City" by The Beach Boys; album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
and ending with:
"The Glen" by Bradley Joseph; album 20 Years of Narada Piano [Disc 2]

Highlights include:

all the songs that start with "Girl" or "Girlfriend"!

the three versions of "Glad":

by Traffic, album The Last Great Traffic Jam [Live]
by Traffic, album Smiling Phases (2 cds)
by Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, album Live From Madison Square Garden (2 cds)

Upper Midwest - Day Twenty-Four (Mansfield, OH - Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Gowanda, NY - Hamburg, NY)

A less aggressive day today (290 miles) but we will get in some exercise hiking in a National Park!


It is very nice here in northeast Ohio in mid-November, but I hear a Winter Storm Watch is on the way (Snow In North Dakota!)



I was looking for "waterfalls in Ohio" and discovered that Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park is right on my way! So let's make it our "activity of the day"!



Pretty good - a little less than 6 miles in a little more than 2 hours!

The hike starts off easy enough:

but then you get to the uphill sections



Down from the Falls, Brandywine Creek is really pretty:




And then you get to the Brandywine Falls - Very Impressive!


heading back, I decided to take a quick side-trip to Averill Pond

pretty, but kind of less impressive

And of course there is wildlife:


I forget - does a wide stripe mean a hard winter, or an easy winter?

I had to see one of Ohio's premier ski areas (Ohio Ski Areas???)


and then about 200 miles up the road to stay just south of Buffalo, NY. Thank you God for a beautiful day!

Music today:

Continuing to go through all the music on my iPod song-by-song, alphabetically. Today I heard 70 songs (no music when I'm hiking):
starting with:
"Getaway Car" by Thompson Square; album Thompson Square
and ending with:
"The Girl From Ipanema" by Walter Wanderley; album Cocktail Mix, Vol. 2: Martini Madness
(one of 5 versions that I have - I must confess that I am an Ultra-Lounge fan)

Highlights include:

5 versions of "The Ghost Of Tom Joad":

by Bruce Springsteen; album Brixton Night
by Bruce Springsteen; album The Ghost Of Tom Joad
by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; album Boston - August 26, 1999
by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; album Boston - August 27, 1999
by Rage Against The Machine; album No Boundaries - Benefit For The Kosovar Refugees

And because I was going through Ohio, I want to listen to "Four Days" by Counting Crows
lyrics from "Four Days" by Counting Crows; album This Desert Life:

All I want is something good
It gets harder every time
She is leaving here tonight
take a breath
take your time
spread your wings and rise

Make a mark upon the wall
Paint your face and pass the time
Close your eyes as she ascends
Hold your breath and ease your mind
Forty thousand times
Time ...fades into the night
They descend and then they climb
Feathers falling through the night
Have you seen Ohio rise?
It has been four days and nights

All I want is something fine
It gets harder every time
She is sleeping far away
Take a breath
take your time
Spread your wings and rise
Rise into the black Ohio skies

Except in my case It has been twenty-four days and nights.