For the Love of Letchworth

"They say the place is called the Grand Canyon of the East!," my best friend Matt says from the phone. "we have to check it out!"

"Let's do it." I reply

Lunches packed, supplies in check: binoculars, camera, always extra socks, and oh, cant forget the pocket notebook.

As we arrived in Letchworth State Park and set on the trail, man were we prepared! Looking straight from a National Geographic magazine we didnt know what to expect! To our humorous and humbling surprise, we pass by several families walking past. They have their pets in hand, and not to mention children about waist height. We didn't quite expect to be in such a family friendly place. Wow!

The park is perfectly laid out to start from the base of the falls and walk toward the two 'middle and upper' falls. As we walk along the canyon edge, eagles and hawks soar freely above looking for prey. It's an inspiring sight to watch such intrepid birds canvass the sky. We sat to watch them awhile before moving on.

Not to far ahead, the trail opens up to an out of the ordinary Victorian estate house called the Glen Iris Inn. Very well-taken care of with beautiful flowers and grass lawns we decide to take a step inside. Asking the cashier of the gift shop if there were any restaurants nearby, she suggested a place called the "charcoal corral" and reassured us it was only "about a mile down the road."

"awesome!" head back out to the trail. Overlooking the middle falls, there's a perfect rainbow from the mist of the water. Dozens of other tourists gaze at the special sight. Taking a closer look at the falls, the trail allows you to just about touch the water being so close. Its an enlivening sight. Breaking away from my friend, I stop to write in my notebook:

Valleys and Waterfalls

Hear her song
She's helping you carry along
Watching everything in motion
As the water flows down to the ocean

See her move, see her lift
See the beauty in this life
that's a gift

Sweet serenity- I give you the best of me.
Cause you know its nothing
I can do
Only by your love
am I made new

...Close of the book, smile, nod, and thank the nature for giving me that moment. My friend and I continue to the Upper Falls and see a few teenagers coming from the side of the woods. We decide to go the direction they came. At the top of the hill we find a train trestle. Walking along the tracks i'm extremely nervous! We get to the bridge and we now we know we've seen Letchworth from the best vantage point.
Far worth it.