Since The Wife and I had some pretty good practice last time and we were feeling confident in our abilities, we decided to take our snowshoe talents on the road. At least to the other side of Geneva.
We loaded the truck and took off for Sampson State Park, a unique Park that previously housed a Naval training station during World War II and an Air Force base for training during the Korean War. The Park is riddled with history and even a museum memorializing the daily lives of the former residents of Sampson. As if this were not enough to attract visitors to the park, it also happens to be situated in close proximity to the grounds of the former Seneca Army Depot which are locally known to house a vast population of white deer who tend to frequent the grasses near the perimeter fences.
We were not there for the museums or the deer though. We were there to snowshoe. As we expected, there was an abundance of unblemished snow and we logged a few more miles on our still new, and brightly colored, snowshoes. Winter in the Finger Lakes provides many unique opportunities along the lakes, snowshoeing on the beach is a new one for me. But the snow was deep and the path was clear.
After hiking down the hill and across the beach we came upon the designated swimming area used during the summer months, and more importantly, the nearby playground. Always a kid at heart, The Wife sought out the big-girl swings and proceeded to strip off her snowshoes and climb on. The brief hiatus for reminiscing complete, shoes back on, we scaled the hill back towards the truck. About this point the inexperience caught up with us and our legs began to feel the tug of the heavy snow and resist forward motion. So of course when we finally did make it back to the truck we decided that a treat was in order…enter Friendly’s Ice Cream.
On the way back to the house we grabbed a quick meal and dessert at the local Americana chain restaurant and proceeded home to take the pup out for some exercise.
