Meet the Kirks: Allegany State Park Vacation

Well vacation started on the 25th with a trip to Endicott, NY with some great people. Michelle, Marleah and Amanda joined me for a concert to see Rob Thomas and we got UP CLOSE. It was a spectacular show and I'm more in love with the man and his music than before. We arrived at 2:00 and waited for them to drop the rope so we could RUN to the front row. Standing for 5 hours +, in very warm weather and most of that standing in a very crowded area, was SOOO worth every minute. And, while walking from the bathroom some dude told me he loved me 'based on your voice alone' he said hehe...Marleah suggested I go into radio with my 'raspy' voice....Amanda and I are seriously considering a road trip for another RT concert....Atlantic City anyone?

I loved the guitars all lined up :)
Sunday morning after Mass and a visit with mom we headed to Allegany State Park in Salamanca, NY. Driving onto the park, I knew we were going to have a great time and a well deserved week of camping, hiking, swimming and spending time together.

It POURED the first night we were there. There was apparently a tornado that touched down nearby but all we experienced was a WHOLE lot of rain, thunder and lightning. But the next morning, when the sun came out, it was quite serene.

Oh, my husband is handsome, at least I think so. Sometimes he just makes my heart flutter and he doesn't even realize it.

We took a short walk to the creek down from our site, it was so fresh, green, vibrant. I could have stayed by the creek forever....

Bee Balm ~4th of July flower~ Our little black squirrel

The outside Ampitheater had concerts and this one was "Dan Duggan". He and his wife did folk songs, children's songs. It was pleasant on a chilly evening.

Jordan found a friend right off the bat, the first day at camp. Michael hails from just outside of Syracuse NY with his mom, dad and sister Emma. They were awesome folks who befriended us and outdid themselves when it came to providing Jordan with a memorable vacation. This photo was taken during our Bear Caves Tour on Wednesday. Jordan and Mike went into the one bear cave but due to my phobia of tight spaces and Bruce's bad ankle we passed up going in.

The rocks are enormous.

The Three Sisters trail was the first one that Bindy and I completed. We chose trails that were listed as 'More Difficult'. I would not want to see what the MOST difficult trails are because this was quite a challenge. BUT, we did it and felt real good at the end. The views were spectacular.

Jordan took a picture of the chipmunk munching on our leftovers.

This was our second day of hiking and again "More Difficult", Yea, no kidding. I was convinced that I was going to pass out on the hills and for a while I thought it was going to be all hill. We made it and it did feel good to accomplish this 4 mile hike. Plus we walked another mile at least to get back to the vehicle.

it was nice and cool under this rock :)

Entrance to one of the bear caves

I think this hike was Bindy's favorite, she LOVED the rocks and with good reason, they were pretty impressive.

He wasn't real happy with me at this point. He's so into puberty sometimes.

Our last hike was listed as 'Easy' but we aren't sure how they figure what is easy and what is more difficult because this one too had steep hills to climb. I was VERY nervous on this one as half way through it I saw bear tracks and poo....yea, couldn't really turn around as it would have been the same distance. Fortunately no bear was sighted and at the end we were able to relax on the beach, watch the sunset and view some awesome fireworks.

Our final day was Sunday since Saturday night the tent poles broke and we shared a tent with with Bindy. Emma, Jordan and Michael posed for me before we headed out and on our way home.