08/27/2024
by Mark Stash, Editor
I love to explore. It’s been hardwired into me since infancy, when my family and I went on a camping trip to Maine, and I was less than a month old. That may sound a little far-fetched for some parents, but I am the youngest of nine children and I think my experienced parents had raising kids down to a science.
Although I haven’t taken any extensive trips during the past few years, I still like to get out on day trips and some weekends away. Driving around New York State usually satiates my curiosity of seeing what’s around the next bend. What I have learned driving on back roads throughout the Finger Lakes Region is that you never know what you’re going to see, and sometimes there are unique and special vistas on roads you never traveled before. It could mean taking a different route home from work, or from the store after doing your grocery shopping.
I had an opportunity to take one such trip on a Saturday last autumn with Derek Doeffinger and Gary Whelpley. Some parts of that day trip are journaled in the article “Is This the Best Drive in the Finger Lake?” on page 50. Even though it was overcast and a typical November day in Upstate New York, the colors of the trees were still beautiful, and the excitement of meeting different people in our travels were the highlights of our day.
I remember last spring visiting a nursery in Macedon to purchase a red bud tree for my backyard. On the way back to my home in Canandaigua, I thought I’d take a little detour down a country road. Around each curve and over each little hill, beautiful little scenes presented themselves and made me realize that there are so many more areas to explore and get to know than you may think. Even life-long residents can always learn a few new things by just altering their routine a little bit.
And that’s really one of the mission statements of this magazine. From day one, we decided that we wanted to publish stories and show photos that will impress and educate anyone living here who think they know everything about this area. It’s also for anyone who just loves this region, regardless of whether they live here or not.
Speaking of learning new things, Ray Levato’s article about some really old trees (page 70) really captured my interest. To think that these trees have survived for several hundred years and are still thriving is fascinating. Let’s hope they continue on for another 100 or 200 years.
Autumn is coming, one of my favorite times of the year. Maybe I’ll see you during one of my weekend sight-seeing daytrips!
E-mail Mark with questions or comments at mark@lifeinthefingerlakes.com
