Watkins Glen State Park, NY

Watkins Glen State Park, NY

Jared suggested that we stop at Watkins Glen Park, in New York, on our way home to WV- and we are so glad we did! The park is a narrow canyon with dozens of waterfalls that cascade down into the finger lakes.  It was about an hour and a half south of Palmyra.  The hike begins with a tunnel through the mountain, that emerges on to a stone stairway that weaves along the edges of the canyon, to the top of the falls.  Fabulous views all along the way-- Here are a few to share...

Thanks Jared...

Palmyra New York

Palmyra New York

 We attended church in the Niagara Falls Ward before leaving Canada, and were impressed with the Canadian Saints Testimony meeting!  We traveled to the USA border where our Military ID's made the crossing easy as pie.  After arriving in Palmyra, we visited the Peter Whitmer Farm.  There is a nice visitors center and missionary home on the site.  The Whitmer home is tiny, but it is where  a large portion of the Book of Mormon was translated.  The next day we attended the Palmyra Temple. Oliver and Brad did baptisms, while Christine and I did initiatory's- we especially liked the blessings of health and strength, which gave us added zip in our daily running ritual.  We visited the Sacred Grove, the Joseph Smith Farm, and the Printing Press, where the Book of Mormon was first printed.  The Erie canal crosses the county nearby and we stopped to take a look and visited with the locks keeper. We stayed in the Palmyra Inn, which is a delightful hotel, full of church members, missionaries and Temple workers. 

The Hill Cumorah

The Sacred Grove

The Peter Whitmer Farm

The Erie Canal

The Palmyra Temple

Upstairs in the Smith Farmhouse, where the angel Moroni visited 3x

The Sacred Grove

The Smith Farmhouse

Printing press competition- fold your own Book of Mormon