Protecting Our Trails by Protecting Our Trees
Snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking through Chautauqua County’s trails is an experience like none other. The area features beautiful rolling hills, deep valleys, wide open fields and thick forested tracts, tickling anyone’s sense of adventure. One such feature that is especially captivating is the large stands of thick conifers that darken the forest floor and create a cathedral effect for anyone blitzing beneath them. Of these trees, the Eastern Hemlock forms dense patches around streams and along steep slopes while nearly touching the trails with their long, snow...
Read MoreNature Will Soon Be at Your Fingertips!
For me, it’s exciting to see those little snow clouds pop up on your weather app as well as the banner associated with lake effect snow warnings, like what we have right now for Chautauqua County. After a long year under the influence of a strong El Nino, it will be a welcomed relief to see its effects diminish while the influence of a forecasted La Nina is expected to move in. The area’s local businesses, organizations and outdoor enthusiasts could certainly benefit from some augmented snowfall this upcoming winter season. If you stop and think about it, its rather amazing that...
Read MoreStormy Skies
This late astronomical fall and early meteorological winter has felt a little different than last year’s El Niño conditions to say the least. We are seeing and feeling far more typical weather rather than the much above average temperatures the previous season yielded. Here is a picture of Stratford Point from my archives showing a very stormy sky near sunset in the middle of winter with a fair amount of snow on the ground. How much snow are you looking for this season? We may get plenty across the Northeast and Great Lakes, and that is good news for our “Nature at Your Fingertips”...
Read MoreWinter Tour Wrap Up
This past winter certainly was an interesting one! With swinging temperatures and sporadic snow storms, much of the area was pretty barren for a majority of the winter season. However, when snow came it was often just enough to get trails prepared and open for snowmobile, ski, snowshoe and foot traffic to pass through. During these short spurts of activity, RTPI’s “Nature at Your Fingertips” winter trails cell phone tour got quite a bit of attention as riders and the like explored the area and it’s many fascinating stories. Below you can find a full summary of this...
Read MoreWinter Tour Planning Begins
While we still have a few months before our landscape looks like this, we are beginning preparations for our winter trails cell phone tour once again. This winter we look forward to working with each of Chautauqua county’s snowmobile clubs as well as local skiers and snowshoers to promote the natural and historical beauty of our area. We are also excited to announce that this cell phone tour, along with our In the Footsteps of Roger Tory Peterson tour, will be moved to a new platform and we will be working with Fredonia’s Nick Gunner using his Orbitist software! This year’s...
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