Buffalo New York Outdoors

Firemen use water to extinguish fire. Rarely are the two seen as complimentary. But they can be. For a rare treat, take a hilly, 2-mile round trip walk in Chestnut Ridge Park to watch flames dance behind a wall of water.

Eternal Flame Falls tumbles deep in a gorge, through a layer of Hanover Shale of the Late Devonian Epoch that is 85 to 95-feet thick. This shale is greenish-gray to gray colored with some black bands. The water of Shale Creek slides over the rough shale in two distinct stages to form the waterfall.

The walk to Eternal Flame Falls begins through a pleasant forest of pine, maple and hemlock trees, then heads steeply into the gorge on a well-trodden dirt trail. The final 0.2-mile requires a walk in the creek bed.

Upon entering the gorge at the base of Eternal Flame Falls you'll notice a change in the ambient aroma. What you smell is the natural gas that leaks from between the shale layers. When we visited in late August, two flames were burning at eye level to the right of the waterfall, each in its own little indented area in the shale. We've heard there can be 3 flames visible, sometimes behind the wall of water.

The flame heights vary from 3 to 8 inches depending on the pressure of the escaping gas. Occasionally the flame is extinguished but can easily be relit (unless there are high winds) using a cigarette lighter. You may want to take one in your pocket just in case. Try holding the lighter into the indented areas of rock. If you have trouble locating the gas emission, use your nose to locate the highest intensity smell or look for small bubbles when you splash water into the indents. (Don't worry, it won't explode, flare up, or pose a danger.)

All the details you need to visit this waterfall and over 200 others, can be found in "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western New York - A Finders' Guide" by Rich & Sue Freeman. Visit www.footprintpresss.com to order.

The Serengeti Desert, the Everglades, and the Galapagos Islands were each named a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) because of their unique ecosystems. Ontario, Canada's Niagara Escarpment belongs to this prestigious group.

The Niagara Escarpment is a ledge of limestone, which runs from northern New York State, through Ontario, dips under Lake Huron, and resurfaces in Michigan. It's responsible for Niagara Falls. What makes it truly unique is the flora on the cliff tops and ledges. Over 40 species of ferns grow there, including the rare hart's tongue and wall rue. Stunted, twisted cedars trees have clung to the ledges and been protected for over 500 years, escaping the wrath of forest fires, loggers, and farm ploughs. Although old, these trees are very small due to their hard lives.

The Bruce Trail follows the Niagara Escarpment for 500 miles from Niagara Falls to the tip of Georgian Bay and is an excellent way to learn about this unique environment first hand. Read about this special area in the book Bruce Trail - An Adventure along the Niagara Escarpment and you'll learn why we have a World Biosphere Reserve right in our own northeast.

"Bruce Trail - An Adventure along the Niagara Escarpment," by Rich & Sue Freeman, Footprint Press,r can be ordered at web site www.footprintpress.com.

Building with cobblestones was a folk art that flourished for 35 years, from 1825 until the Civil War, in western New York State, and no where else in the world. At least 47 cobblestone buildings were built in Niagara County. Many still exist and are in use today.

The cobblestones, brought south by glaciers, and rounded by Lake Ontario wave action, were an impediment to the early settlers who tried to farm the land until they hit upon the idea of using them as an inexpensive building material. It evolved into an art form with each mason developing his artistic creativity over time.

Cobblestone homeowner Margaret Deans counted the stones in her home and estimated that it took 14,402 cobblestones to build her circa-1860 farmhouse. Houses were not the only buildings erected with cobblestone construction. The same method was used to build churches, schools, mills, barns, stores, shops, factories, carriage houses, garden houses, gate and toll houses, smokehouses, pumphouses, hophouses, privies, stables, turniphouses, piggeries, decorative walls along roadways, and even cemetery markers and cemetery receiving vaults. In all, over 700 cobblestone buildings were built.

The cobblestone buildings are clustered in a region that begs a driving tour. Well, maybe not just one, but 17 different driving tours. "Cobblestone Quest - Road Tours of New York's Historic Buildings" (Footprint Press, www.footprintpress.com, 1-800-431-1579) is a new guidebook that inspires cobblestone discovery tours and explains the history behind these unusual buildings. Among the cobblestone buildings are churches, museums, bed and breakfasts, and restaurants where explorers can touch the cobblestone buildings and even go inside.

Here are ten ideas to feed your adventurous spirit. Make getting exercise fun by having a goal in mind. You can hike, bicycle or paddle to these great discoveries without traveling far from home.

1. See the waters of Murder Creek spill over the Onondaga Escarpment in a spectacular waterfall in Akron.
2. Stay at a lean-to on a multi-day paddle down Cassadaga Creek.
3. Bicycle through a tunnel under a railroad in Letchworth State Park.
4. Experience a living bog where you can get an up-close view of insect-eating pitcher plants at Moss Lake.
5. Walk the ridge of a drumlin overlooking large ponds at Twin Cedars Environmental Area.
6. View one of only 20 oak openings left in the world at Quinn Oak Openings.
7. Bicycle on man-made dikes at Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area.
8. See stately 200-year-old oak trees as you hike the Genesee Valley Greenway.
9. Paddle through a bog ag Hanging Bog Pond.
10. Keep your feet dry while walking through a marsh on a ½ mile boardwalk in Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

Details on these and many other free, fun adventures can be found in the guidebooks from Footprint Press, www.footprintpress.com.

Sardinia Mark is the highest point in Erie County. This high point tops out at 1,950 feet and ranks as the 38th highest out of the 62 county high points in New York State.

Sardinia Mark is off Allen Road near East Concord. The land is accessible from the Conservation Trail. Owner, Jim Kandra calls it the "snowcap of the world" because of the snow it accumulates. Once you've explored the area, you'll be hooked. You'll want to become a '62er.

'62ers hike to the highest point in each of the 62 counties of New York State. There's even a patch to commemorate the feat. And, a guidebook called "Peak Experiences" that shows you how. See excerpts at web site www.footprintpress.com..

Just across the Canadian border near Buffalo, the Welland Canal provides a water connection for ships as they make their way between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The massive locks in this canal allow boats to traverse the change in elevation known as the Niagara Escarpment. This limestone cliff is what creates the spectacular Niagara Falls.

You can visit today's Welland Canal by car. What you'll see is the forth in a series of Welland Canals. Like our Erie/Barge Canal System, this one was widened and deepened over the years. But, by walking a segment of the Bruce Trail, which runs along the escarpment from Niagara Falls to Georgian Bay, you can see the various stages of canals from the early ditch to a rushing waterway, still in place but missing the lock gates. At one point the trail even leads down into an abandoned lock.

A simple day trip from Buffalo with a map and sturdy sneakers on your feet and this discovery can be yours to enjoy. To read about this and other adventures along the Bruce Trail, pick up a copy of "Bruce Trail - An Adventure along the Niagara Escarpment."