Tracy and I have been camping with our friends, Bob and Cathy, for many, many years. There used to be eight of us before our kids grew up. During the teenage years we began a long hiatus when all four of the kids had busy schedules of their own in the summer, but about eight or nine years ago we started getting together for a few days of camping each August. Next year, the four of us are booked for a cruise to Alaska, so there'll be no camping, but I'm quite sure we won't be complaining.

This was one of the first years in many that we had perfect (no rain) weather. It was a little hot, but we managed to spend the hottest hours on Monday doing some wine tasting on Cayuga Lake. The rest of the time we spent at Fillmore State Park. It's just east of Cayuga and south of Owasco Lake near Moravia. I had never been there before but it was a great spot.

Warning:  this is a heavy photographic post!

This was our camping spot, and after the first night there were no other tent campers in the park, so we had the place to ourselves. There were a lot of trailers and RVs, but they were in a different section.

There's a lovely gorge and a 5 mile trail through the gorge which then loops up a ridge and circles back to the trail head. We hiked the trail early Monday morning before the heat got too intense.

I always try to remember to turn around as we hike and look back. As we started up the trail I turned around and saw these wonderful reflections.

 

One of Filmore's "claims to fame" is its waterfalls. They are lovely and so is the stream we walked along.

I love the way the water falls here–back and forth.

And a few other favorite images from the park.

All my photos on this trip were taken with my point and shoot which has a fisheye effect option which I used here.

I really liked how this mushroom stood so straight and tall–and all alone–among the trees.

Light was a problem all along the trail especially later as the sun rose in the sky. But I liked this shot with the sun streaming through the trees.

And you can't have a camping trip without a good fire to sit around. We cook our dinners over the open fire each night, and then sit around chatting and enjoying some good red wine.

It was a perfect way to end a beautiful summer. I can't believe Labor Day is upon us, but that certainly signals the end of summer for me.