The maze is in the shape of a giant map of the Finger Lakes, and includes informational signs. People who visit the maze and successfully complete a trivia contest will be entered for a chance to win a prize at the end of the season, when the corn is ready to be harvested.

The price of admission is $6.00 for adults, $5.50 for senior citizens and children 10, and free for children under the age of three.

It’s derived from an older practice which involves searching for caches without using GPS devices, and often without even uploading directions to a central web site. In the old way of caching, a commonly known cache would be a place to leave written instructions about how to find other caches, where other people might have left directions for finding yet other caches, and so on, creating a twisted web of caches that people would search and re-search to find clues to expand their list of finds. People would sign their names, or leave a token, to prove they had been to certain caches.

Geocaching may be a little bit more open, but the end result is still the same: People get out walking, exploring the landscape in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. Geocaching.com is a good place to get started with this activity – and according to its registry, there are 18 geocache sites within three miles of Trumansburg. People leave notes of their activity there, and it seems that the geocacher in the video above was searching through Trumansburg not long ago – on June 29.

It’s now or never!THIS TUESDAY (1/15) is the deadline for submitting comments to NYS Parks about their proposed plans for the Black Diamond Trail. 

We are assured that ALL MESSAGES WILL BE READ by Parks officials. Then ALL substantive comments will be summarized in a report that must be considered before the Master Plan can be approved. This summary report will also be made available to the public.

This is your LAST CHANCE to get your opinions into that summary! You’re not writing to a black hole. Parks staff WILL read your letters.

Send letters to:Daniel.Davis@oprhp.state.ny.usThomas.Lyons@oprhp.state.ny.us AND we’d love to post your letter on our website to inform and inspire others to write, so if you’re willing, please cc:info@blackdiamondtrail.org with your letter.

WONDERING WHAT TO WRITE?  For example:

How do you hope to use the trail? Do you want snowmobiles and horses on the trail? Do you want the trail to be as narrow as possible? Do you live near a trail now, and if so, has it been a bonus or a headache for you? Do you want Parks to construct and repair all the bridges first so that we can walk the whole stretch as soon as possible?

A sample of the letters that have already been written in support of the Black Diamond Trail is available at the Black Diamond Trail web site.

…but, there were certainly lots of bicyclists out enjoying the countryside and the cooler weather on Sunday. We passed several on Perry City Rd., and, as is typical for a Sunday this time of year, there were also cars parked along DuBois Rd., their owners enjoying biking the nice, flat road with the peek-a-boo views of the lake….

All very pleasant, indeed. When we were driving down to Taughannock State Park in the evening, to enjoy our typical BBQ-and-swim (tonight’s menu: local lamb chops, local organic sweet corn and beans, local organic Yukon Gold potatoes– a freebie from a Cornell researcher– and local wine)…. we had the sobering experience of seeing the down side of all that blissful enjoying of the countryside. We arrived on the scene along Rt. 89 just after one of three bicyclists riding together had been hit by a car. While his fellow riders both had bike helmets on, there was no helmet visible on the stricken rider, who was being covered in blankets to prevent shock while waiting for the first-responders to arrive. A woman in the car that hit him was totally flipping out. Later, as we were swimming at the beach, the Medivac helicopter landed in the big field where the Saturday concerts are held, and the EMT and Volunteer firefighter crew tranferred him from the ambulance, and the helicopter took off again, heading South. Sure hope he is going to be ok. Moral of the story: enjoy the countryside, it is wonderful…. but, take your cell phone so you can call a friend or relative if your bike breaks down or your bike tour gets cancelled, wear your bike helmet every time, and, especially on Rt. 89, which is narrow, curvy, and full of over-relaxedand-under-attentive-on-vacation drivers, take care to ride single file, and keep to the right-hand side of the road.

OOPS! Update– looks like the guy hit by the car on Rt. 89 was actually walking, not biking– that explains seeing no bike helmet. I had assumed that the helmeted bicyclists taking excellent care of him before first responders arrived were his friends, by their attentive and caring actions. I guess they were just first on the scene, knew first aid, and got the situation in hand.

Now, promoting tourism development is always a thing about which reasonable people can disagree– like the GrassRoots Festival, an annual NASCAR race will bring a huge cash infusion, along with a number of new visitors who may learn to love the area, but, also, crowded conditions, and people who look and act as if they don’t know where they are going. For the record, we drove through Watkins Glen twice over the weekend, and did not confront a traffic jam either time. Unless you count the 18-wheeler blocking both lanes of Rt. 14 in Dundee because he tried to do a U-turn and ran out of gas– but, that is just professional lapse, not tourism congestion. Heck, more NASCAR tourists might even result in a gas station on that side of the lake, and keep the truckers from getting in embarrassing predicaments.

I’m an unabashed booster of Finger Lakes tourism myself, and was entirely overjoyed to learn that we locals who feel that way are getting a little help promoting the idea– from the Governor, no less! Check out this story for details: http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070813/NEWS01/708130326/1001/News

A waterfront hotel in Watkins? Could be a good thing if it was done well, but, it might raise the prices on those $3 movies at the local theater… and/or help us keep some steady tennants in the storefronts on T-burg’s Main St. Well worth considering– congrats to the Schuyler County planning and development crew, and their Chamber, for having a Big One on the line down on the waterfront.

Fish bones

The fiery heart of a celeriac

Nature’s punks in black and white

Gimme Coffee

Kim Schrag

Unbound Art.

The April 2006 edition of the magazine Natural History features the Finger Lakes National Forest in an article entitled, Green Fingers: A woodland revives among hte glavier-carved lakes of central New York. The article celebrates the diverse flora and fauna that are returning to the National Forest, as well as to the rest of the region.

As some people offer short-sighted plans to “develop” our town into a place filled with generic franchise businesses that are found in almost every other town across America, we would do well to remember that people come from far away to visit Trumansburg and Ulysses because of our lush natural landscape and the unique kind of village life we’ve created here – not because they’re looking for a fast new pharmacy or a quick bite at a chain fast food restaurant.

The best chance at sustainable long-term economic growth for Ulysses will come from our efforts to restrain development that clashes with our way of life in, appeals to our most base appetites, and leaves us feeling hollow at the core.