Gorge Hike

I'll be honest. The area we currently live in is (in my opinion) basically depressing all winter. I won't whine or go into details. The good news though is that this place comes alive when the weather warms up. As a summer tourist destination (wineries, nature, the lake, Chautauqua Institution, etc.), it's like we've collectively woken up to the good life.

Our dear friends Amy and Andrew visited us for a long weekend recently and we took advantage of the good weather and the outdoors by taking a trip to the Chautauqua Gorge. We hiked, skipped stones, and enjoyed mother nature beside a beautiful series of beautiful, small waterfalls. The photos below are courtesy Andrew Daigle who acted as our weekend photographer.


I swear Sawyer could just throw stones into water all day if we let him. Whether it's a puddle or an ocean, it makes no difference...he loves it. He also loved jumping off the shale rock ledges...which was a treat for me and his dad who did our best at just letting him be while praying he didn't slip into the raging river not more than three feet away from him. I'm still shocked we have yet to make a trip to the emergency room with this boy, but the kid is good on his feet.


Little miss took in the sites and sounds as well.


If you're ever in Chautauqua County, New York, I highly recommend a day trip to this stunning location! There are a few camp sites too available if you want to go all out and sleep over. Here are the details. What a perfect nature getaway for me and my posse who have been chomping at the bit to come out of our hibernation after a longer-than-expected winter!