October 1, 2020
On October 1 – Oct. 27 we left Phoenix, AZ on a 5900 mile round trip to Western New York to visit relatives and photograph the fall foliage. We traveled in a Mercedes Sprinter Roadtrek Van to safely travel in a self contained unit. We did not have to interact with people and had all our own food. We were able to get into NY during a short period when Arizona people did not have to quarantine for 14 days.
We had a bit of bit of bad luck from the very first night in Albuquerque, NM, when the heating unit did not work. We had sleeping bags and by the third night had a space heater to warm things up with low temperatures in the 40s and even the last night at 30. We stayed with relatives about half of the time. We entered the west end of NY and traveled south beside Lake Chautauqua.
We continued and followed some roads in Amish country near Randolph, NY.
The funniest encounter was with a young man coming down the road and then pulling up next to what looks like an outhouse, but look closely at the little blue sign on the pole above the roof – it’s a phone booth!
For more photos of fall foliage please click below.
Our route than took us to Allegheny State Park. We found a covered bridge with some bright red leaves.
By this time it was getting late so we overnighted in an RV park near Ellicottville. The following morning we followed route 219 and 240 north and found quite a bit of color.
We found a waterfall in Colden, NY and Tannery Falls south of East Aurora right alongside of a bridge.
Ophardt Photos 
So enjoy these beautiful pictures, glad you got to experience the great fall colors n small town America.
WOW! Your pictures are absolutely beautiful! You sure have a talent to find the right perspective of taking pictures. I loved each picture, especially the waterfall ones…your pictures showed how clear the water was even as it cascaded to the very bottom into the stream. And the first picture of your motor home was great! How clever of you to have included the van in the midst of the fallen leaves. And the Amish man and horse and buggy…appeared at just the right time for you! Great Job, Charles, as usual. Now we have got to find time to look at all the photos in your gallery! 🙂
The preceding comments were made by Paulie…this is what Jerry says,”The pictures were pretty darn nice. I liked them a lot!”
Thank you for sharing them with us.
Hi Charles – Truly amazing – once again you have captured pictures of wonderful views. I’m very jealous of your trip (minus, of course, the heater issue). The phone booth was priceless, but my favorite was the waterfall picture. Those type always make me want to jump in.
Today Jerry and I looked at these beautiful pictures on the computer. We posted comments on his yahoo email.
Charles, your pictures are spectacular and each one brought oooo’s and ahhhhh’s from us. Our country is exquisite and you have a special way of showing God’s masterpieces to all who take time to enjoy this beauty. Thank you!
We received the thank you card from Joann and you. We did not have enough time to visit and reminisce and spend quality time with you but we are so thankful you made it to our home and spent a little time with us. We send our love and hugs to each of you and look forward to seeing you in the spring.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING 🦃!! No matter how your Thanksgiving day goes we will be very thankful for your love and friendship.
Sent from my iPhone
>
Charles,
Found your pictures beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Sad to have heard that Oberammergau was cancelled this year. Was wonderful meeting the Ophardts there 10 years ago.
Thought I would add a little info about your phone booth encounter. We live amongst numerous Amish and Old Order Mennonites, so that phone booth is very familiar to us. Thought I’d pass on just a bit color to the experience. Generally, the phone booth is located just over the property line on an “English” neighbors property. That way, even though the Amish own and pay for the phone, they don’t get in trouble with their Bishop, because it’s not on their own land.
I don’t know what time of day you found the horse at the booth, but the most common time for them to make calls is around 6:30 am in the summer, and shortly after daybreak rest of year. When my phone rings before 7 am, it’s almost always Amish. Not that I do that much business with them, but they do a lot of construction and small engine work in this area, so have those contacts.
Due to the extremely small confines of the booth, and cheap handsets not designed for close quarters, every single Amish call I’ve ever received sounds like you are talking to someone in the bottom of a pickle barrel due to echos and acoustics. Quite an experience.
Thanks again for the pictures, Clayton and Elizabeth Swartz
Sent from my iPad
>
Excellent pictures! Too bad we couldn’t have seen more waterfalls in the finger lakes.
As always you have captured the beauty of your travels. 5900 miles is a lot of territory. So glad you were able to make that journey. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
Charles
You have lots of courage and guts. I am glad you are getting out with your van. As you know we have not done any trips with Bill for a long time. I do miss being with Bill and you.
The photos you included are super. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to seeing Part 2.
Mel
U.C.,
These are really great! Thanks for sharing them. I’ll show them to Alicia. We were both happy to get your note about visiting us. We had such a great visit with you and A.J. We will do our best to come to visit you. I hope you and Aunt Jo are well and getting into lots of trouble.
God Bless you both, Paul-Joseph
Music – The one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827.
As usual, you have taken some very beautiful pictures – thanks for sharing. Hope the two of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving
Rich
Great photos! Sorry to hear of your heater problem. Question: Was the horse making the call?