When the station wagon– the leader in our two-car
caravan– turned onto the gravel driveway leading to the Farm
Sanctuary’s 175-acre shelter, I was amused to see the bright red
building on the hill, with the words, “People Barn,” spelled out in
white lettering across its façade. Later on, I was ecstatic to see that
the “People Barn,” had toilets and running water.  

    Last weekend, 12 friends and I traveled
approximately nine hours both ways to Watkins Glen, New York for a
weekend getaway that even now seems completely random.  The main
reason for traveling to this rural town, located at the southern end of
Lake Seneca in New York’s Finger Lakes region was to attend “ZOOP! A
Benefit for Farm Sanctuary.” Named after Zoop, a goat rescued by the
shelter in 2003, the event was a two-night music and camping
extravaganza, headlined by the lead singer of a band called The
Mountain Goats.

    I knew nothing about the band, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a road trip.

    With a shelter in New York and California, Farm
Sanctuary is a national organization that rescues animals from
industrialized farms and educates the public about the abusive
treatment of the animals that are kept there. While staying at the
farm, visitors are asked to do their best to live the vegan lifestyle
and abstain from animal products of any kind. When we left the shelter
to explore the town, however, the meat eaters in the group had an
opportunity to get their cheeseburger fixes.

    We set up our tent village near a field where pigs
with goofy, closed eye smiles rolled in mud puddles and ran about–
surprisingly fast given their enormous size. Among the other animals on
the farm were cows, sheep, goats, chickens and turkeys. Despite our
proximity to all of these animals, there was absolutely no smell to
speak of.  I can’t speak on behalf of the animals, however, who
had to share their farm with 200 people with no access to a shower over
the course of two 90-degree days. We found out that the “People Barn”
does have a shower, but understandably they didn’t open it up to the
crowd.   

    While exploring the area for a good swimming spot, a
local directed us to a waterfall in the next town over, Montour Falls.
Although we had been in search of a lake and sandy beach, what we found
proved to be the highlight of the trip.

    For the admission price of one dollar per car, we
made a short hike to the base of a waterfall that looked like a
tropical oasis. Dipping our toes into the pool’s chilly water and
listening to the thunder of the massive waterfall, some of us were
apprehensive about going in any further, but we eventually all went in,
grimacing against the cold and gasping as the spray from the falls
seemed to take our breath away.  

    One of my friends, who goes to college in Hawaii and
is no stranger to waterfalls, retrieved a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s
all-in-one organic soap and we all began shampooing our hair. A family
with two small children watched with amusement and perhaps considered
calling the police, but the father agreed to take a picture of all of
us. Later on he told us that ten years ago, the water was so deep,
people could actually jump into the water from the ledge at the top of
the falls. Looking at the great distance between where we were standing
and the ledge, I couldn’t imagine such a sight.

    Needless to say, the trip was a back-to-nature
retreat, which is something I haven’t done since I was a kid. For much
of the trip, we felt as though we were back in time and not just
because– as one of my friend’s pointed out– the pigs sound like
dinosaurs.

    It is great to have around the clock access to
computers and showers, but nothing beats bathing in a waterfall.