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Looking Tough in the Eastern Grand Canyon with Peanut Butter Cup Pie

Most people don't know there's another Grand Canyon.

Letchworth Park, New York claims the title of the Grand Canyon of the East, which makes it a perfect destination for Ontario motorcyclists. Only 45 miles south of Rochester, NY, it is an easy ride for a weekend away.

At the entrance to the park, the scenery turns dramatic. The road snakes through the canyon endlessly. On the day we traveled, the motorcycles outnumbered the cars. The park stretches for 17 miles north to south and has a series of three stunning waterfalls at the southern end. The highest waterfall tumbles more than 30 metres (about 100 feet) into the gorge. Gray-green canyon walls stretch upwards more than 180 metres (close to 600 feet.) What I saw from the rim was majestic. If I could have overcome my fear of heights the hot air balloon rides would have been an amazing diversion.

Park literature claims the location draws a million visitors annually for hiking, picnicking, camping and sight seeing. For camping enthusiasts there are 247 sites available and for the less-adventurous, the Glen Iris Inn offers overnight accommodation.

But the destination is only part of the trip. Coming from Kitchener, Ontario, you need to first pass through Hamilton before heading toward the Canada-US border crossing at Fort Erie. For autumn and spring riding, I recommend a balaclava. It keeps your face warm and you have the opportunity to look tough. (More on that to come.)

Leaving early in the morning, around 7:30, will allow you to travel down the 401 toward Buffalo and arrive at the destination by late afternoon. From your starting point, it's not far until you reach a justifiable stop: the Harley Davidson dealer at Warsaw, where you can buy "the t- shirt." (Buying t-shirts representative of locations visited is a must. How else would we remember where we have been?)

A great lunch stop along the route is in Perry, at John and Sarah's Family Restaurant. Perry is known for Silver Lake and the serpent that inhabits this body of water, or so our waitress bragged. We chowed down on Buffalo burgers, great fries, turkey wraps and upon recommendation of the wait staff " the best Peanut Butter Cup Pie ever made"! (I have since Googled Peanut Butter Cup Pie recipes. She was absolutely correct. It was the absolute best thing I have ever eaten! Since taking the trip, I have made a large number of Peanut Butter Cup Pies and so far have been unable to duplicate the recipe. Next step, write the restaurant and beg!)

By the time you leave the park, most visitors will be getting anxious for a shower and a change of clothes. Oh, and a libation. In our case, we arrived in nearby Ellicottville about 4:30 in the afternoon and after registering at the hotel, the guys quickly rode to the local liquor store. The girls relaxed with a warm shower and met out on the wrap-around balcony to gab about the day and the peanut butter cup pie. Soon the men returned with coolers, beer, and rum. Yes, this is how it goes.

Meanwhile, the owners of the lodge came up to speak to us at 6:30 reminding us that quiet time is 11:00 pm. " Should we tell him that none of us will be awake at 11?" one of the fellows laughed. That wouldn't have looked very tough. After assuring him that that was not going to be a problem, he left us to unwind.

Note to other motorcyclists: We never mention when booking rooms that we will be on bikes. That stereotypical notion that we are going to tear the place apart is always present in people's minds. "Those darn gray hairs! I mean, bikers."

Our Elliotville evening started with dinner at The Brew Pub, walking distance from the Edelweiss hotel. After our meal, we walked down street only to see that one of our crew had gone into a local club and was dancing up a storm. Joy and her husband had a seventeen-month-old baby and had not been away since giving birth. For many of us, this was our first ride with them. We watched Joy through the window and she shocked us by "mooning" the group. Her husband exclaimed "That's my girl!" Once we composed ourselves we joined her on the dance floor. Chris, the general, performed a mean air guitar routine. After midnight, we limped back to the rooms and crashed. Sure enough every other room housed a snoring husband and all the women suffered for it. All the women, since we could hear them through the walls!

Sunday morning, while we were packing up the bikes, an elderly woman (more elderly than us) stopped us in the parking lot. She said that when she arrived the night before, and had seen all the bikes in the parking lot, she feared she would not get any sleep! Noisy bikers and all. But to her surprise she heard nothing. She continued to say that when she spotted all of us, and saw we were couples, she had to come and speak to us. "You look so cute, I feel kinda silly now. " Yeah, we are tough! A group of police officers and a bunch of middle-aged businessmen all with their wives. I guess she didn't hear the snoring.

The past couple of years we have been assisting the local constabulary with their "Ride for Dad" fundraising program for Prostate Cancer. In doing so we have met and starting riding with a group of police officers and their significant others. Last year in the spring, my husband, Wayne and twelve fellow riders rode through the New York State and Pennsylvania for a week. They got to know each other and The Annual Bubba and Sweet Pea ride was born.

This year at their ride, the boys decided perhaps "the girls" would also enjoy a weekend away in the fall. This sets up approval for them to do Bubba and Sweet Pea again next spring. (What did they think: we were born yesterday?) Anyway the women loved the idea. That's the history behind the Letchworth Park ride.

The next day, returning to Canada was quick. We decided that the day should not be wasted. Once across the border, we chose scenic Highway 3 as our route home. The road meanders along the Grand River towards Cambridge and further to Kitchener.