Didn't Stay

So very different from last year. We found easy parking on the street. When we crested the levee, we saw why. Festival parking was right on the flood plain.

Thus chasing away all the water fowl we have come to expect on our visits to the Chemung.

I still think RiverFest is worthwhile, but I have come to a few unhappy conclusions.

1-Festival Goers don't care about the River: they just wanna have fun. 2-I am not a Festival Goer. All the activity is unpleasant for me and the crowds are stressful for Ellie, and thereby for me, also.

We sought out our other haunts, and found other entertainment. The Chemung is quite low, so we were able to follow along the shore for a greater distance than usual. If I had not brought my camera, I would have dared to try to walk it all the way up to West Elmira. It was squishy and buggy, and Ellie had a ball.We are getting closer, but this is not really it, just yet. Still, the wooded areas are peaceful and much cooler.

This is what I really came for. Not exactly a closeup. Can't get closeups when a dog is wandering around my feet.

But I 've been watching these little families. I think I mentioned below that on Chesapeake Bay we used to count the goslings each time we visited. Their numbers would drop from visit to visit. Not true here. Most of the babies survive.

Which is why the area has more geese than we need. But that's another story for another blog.

pb
Little Pond