A 'gorgeous" respite from football during the Bills bye week

No Bills game meant a rare Sunday off for moi, so my beautiful bride and I decided to take a ride down Rt. 390 to Letchworth State Park.

It is billed as “the Grand Canyon of the East,” and that’s not an exaggeration. The glacial gorges that the Genesee River snakes through are spectacular and enormous – the cliffs several hundred feet high in many places. And the vista was made all the more exquisite by the radiant sunshine and colorful leaves that were just a tad shy of peak.

We saw numerous out-of-state license plates in the lots throughout the park, and as we were leaving we came across an artist who was painting a water-color landscape from his vantage point near a stone wall just down the river from the upper and middle waterfalls.

I don’t mean to sound like a shill for the “I Love New York” tourist campaign, but I was once again reminded what a beautiful and diverse state in which we live. There are hundreds of breathtaking places to behold here – from the Big Apple’s skyscrapers to Niagara Falls to numerous points in between. We harried New Yorkers sometimes take our state for granted as we struggle with high taxes and a broken economy.

I can’t think of a better way to spend an autumn day. It was a welcome respite from the rat race, an opportunity to savor one of the most beautiful places on earth and replenish our souls.