“My vicinity affords many good walks; and though for so many years I have walked almost every day, and sometimes for several days together, I have not yet exhausted them” (Henry David Thoreau, Walking).

Part of my summer challenge of “building my own damn house” has been to find local places of beauty to appreciate. I cannot tell you how surprised I was to find what seemed like an out-of-the-way hiking path smack dab in the middle of the city of Rochester! I knew that the Zoo was in the city, but the amount of land and hiking trails within Seneca Park was a shock.

The AllTrails app on my phone has been great for finding nuggets of treasure that I didn’t know were there so that I may better appreciate my own “house” or Upstate New York.

Last summer my challenge took me out of state and to both oceans. This summer I am concentrating on things closer to home. As Thoreau stated that there are many places to walk in our own vicinity, I am looking around Upstate NY for places to do my walking.

Another app that I like on my phone is MapMyWalk. With it, I can track the places I visit, and it will provide me with more information than I ever thought I could know about my hike! It also allows me to send a post right to my blog:

I hiked with MapMyWalk! Distance: 3.00mi, time: 01:09:47, pace: 23:17min/mi, speed: 2.58mi/h.
http://mapmywalk.com/workout/650877871

A Boardwalk out to the Genesee River

Those white things on the ground are broken sea shells…and they were all over this part of the trail. It is quite a distance up from the river, as you can see through the trees, and I wondered how they all got up here. Perhaps seagulls had their own version of a clam bake!

I am thankful that I happened to be looking down at the point I came by this Fairy’s house.

The Genesee River

The Genesee River at the base of the falls.