My other half (and adventuring partner) Darren and I live in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (respectively.) We’d been meaning to head up to Watkins Glen, New York ever since we found some old photos in an antique shop showing some long-gone tourist’s photos of the gorge. This past May, as spring was springing, we decided it was green enough to head on up!

Our first stop was Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, which is near and dear to our hearts. (We’re both huge animal lovers and vegetarians.) Farm Sanctuary was the first American shelter for farm animals–and they take such amazing care of these beautiful creatures. On the tour of the property, you’re welcomed and encouraged to interact with these gentle giants. The weather was a misty fog/rainy, which turned out to be perfect cow-petting weather.

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We also got to hang out with the turkeys of Farm Sanctuary–which literally eat grass right out of your hand–even though they’re surrounded by it. They’re silly but you can’t help but love them instantly! What’s really special about this place is that all of the animals at Farm Sanctuary came from horrible factory farming scenarios, but are now living out their lives on acres upon acres of beautiful, rolling hills.

Next stop in Watkins Glen was of course, Watkins Glen State Park. It’s an absolutely magical place that looks right out of a movie still. There are 19 waterfalls at Watkins Glen…yeah, NINEFREAKINGTEEN! There’s a gorge, stone walkways/bridges, flowing, plunging, cascading, insanely beautiful waterfalls.

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Top right: We found the exact spot of the photo we found at the antique shop; our comparison between present day and the past at Watkins Glen. Bottom middle: A great stop on the way out is the Village of Montour Falls. This huge, beautiful waterfall is in the middle of a tiny town–eerie yet awesome.