Fall!

Fall has arrived!  Actually, it's fading fast.  Many of the trees have dropped their leaves and the temperatures have suddenly plummeted.  Still a lot of color around, but I suspect it won't last long.  

We have been very busy at the sites.  There have been lots of leaf-looking tours from out west, as well as many families on Fall breaks who have stopped in.   We have been as busy as most of the summer for the past couple of weeks, but it's not going to last - we've seen a significant drop-off this week.

The leaves have been beautiful, even though locals say it's sort of a "muted" year.   They certainly have impressed us with their "mutedness!"  Here are some shots around the Smith and Whitmer farms:

Whitmer Farm

Cooper's Shop - Smith Farm

Sacred Grove

Hill Cumorah Monument

Looking southwest from Hill Cumorah

 Our daughter Stephanie and Anders and their girls came to visit a couple of weeks ago, which was really fun.  They were here for a week and we saw a lot of stuff in between our shifts at the sites. Nice to have some grandkids around!  

Summer collecting rocks at Lake Ontario

Ellen enjoying the leaves as only a one year old can...

We took Steph and Anders down to Watkins Glen.  It was beautiful with the fall colors.  I took my tripod this time and Steph and I had a fun time taking pictures in the Glen.  

These shots are near Canandaigua Lake, just a few miles south of Palmyra.  It was a gorgeous day.

There are thousands of acres of vineyards around the Finger Lakes.

Stephanie and some grapes

We also stopped at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY.  It is a cool museum.  Summer enjoyed watching the giant marble machine work.  

 Our dear friends Dave and Kristi Skidmore and Lynn and Elaine Oborn came to visit for a week right after Stephanie and Anders left.  We had a fun week with them as well.  We've known them since our Air Force days in Germany years ago and get together every two years for a reunion - it was our turn to host!

Oborn's on the Left, Skidmores on the right at the Whitmer cabin

We took them up to Lake Ontario through the orchards - the trees are loaded!

Another photo of Sodus Point Lighthouse - getting tired of these yet...?

Lake Stone house at Martin Harris farm

Cemetery in Palmyra where Alvin Smith is buried 

We also drove down to the Priesthood Restoration Site in Susquehanna, PA (just across the border) and saw some pretty incredible leaves on the way.  We also had some pretty incredible ice cream at the Cayuga Lake Creamery, which is famous in these parts.   We stayed overnight in Binghamton, NY and then went to Corning and Watkin's Glen to finish off the tourist thing for the Oborn's and Skidmore's.  

We stopped at Taughannock State Park to see the falls - the highest in the Northeast (215 feet).  Spectacular with the leaves!

At the Priesthood Restoration Site