Crows in Fields Above the Onondaga Valley

If post-glacial circumstances had been different, there might have been a Finger Lake in this valley such as do exist in many major valleys to the west.

Route 20: Horses

Route 20: Cobblestone Detail

Route 20: Cobblestone House and Detail

Route 20: Lightning Rod

Route 20 South of Rochester: Whitewashed Barn

Route 20 - Cherry Valley Turnpike

  

A day in Cooperstown always includes cruising Route 20, the old pike that runs from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania and finally all the way to Oregon. It runs parallel to the NYS Thruway and Route 5, south of them by 20 miles along this stretch we used from Cazenovia to Richfield Springs. 

Those other two highways run in the Mohawk River valley and along the southern edge of the lakebed of post-glacial Lake Iroquois. Route 20 is inland and hilly. Further west it drops into deep valleys between Cazenovia and Skaneateles, and then crosses the outlets of the Finger Lakes.

The topography makes for an interesting ride.

Route 20 Cabins

Before the NYS Thruway, there were routes 5 and 20. Vacationing motorists stayed in cabins that adults above a certain age remember with fondness.