August 7, 2016 Night

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Good evening! Mostly clear and 69 degrees in Westerlo. There is a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. The dew point is 57 degrees. Camping out at my parents house tonight, as it’s a pleasant night, and I don’t feel like unpacking my camping gear and making my bed. So I’m sleeping in my truck tonight, enjoying the fresh air.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 60 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal. Not bad for such a clear night. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Maximum dew point of 57 at 10pm. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1948. Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 30% illuminated. The moon will set around 12:34 am. The First Quarter Moon is on Wednesday with mostly cloudy skies expected. The Full “Sturgeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 83 degrees at 3pm. One degree above normal. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Very pleasant, dry, low humidity conditions tomorrow. Maximum dew point of 59 at 8am. The record high of 95 was set in 1983. The sun will rise at 5:55 am with the first light at 5:24 am, which is 1 minutes and 4 seconds later then yesterday.

Looking ahead, September 11th is in 5 weeks, First Day with More Night then Day in Albany is in 7 weeks, Harvest Moon is in 10 weeks, First Day of Sunset Before 6 PM in Albany is in 11 weeks, National Candy Corn Day Day is in 12 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends is in 13 weeks, Last Day with 10 Hours of Daylight in Albany is in 3 months, First Day on Average with Low of Freezing is in 14 weeks and Christmas is in 20 weeks.

Cloudy periods:
Wednesday 4 am to 9 pm – rain and thunderstorms expected

Rain expected:
Wednesday 2 to 8 am – slight chance of rain
Wednesday 8 am to 6 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms – 0.18 inches expected
Wednesday 6 pm to Fri. 8 am – slight chance of rain and thunderstorms
Friday 8 am to Sun. 6 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms

Here’s your forecast for the rest of the week …
Monday Night. Mostly Clear and 57 degrees, 55 max dew point, 5:57 sunrise.
Tuesday. Sunny and 85 degrees, 59 max dew point, 8:04 sunset.
Tuesday Night. Partly Cloudy then Slight Chance of Showers and 64 degrees, 61 max dew point, 5:58 sunrise.
Wednesday. Chance of T-storms and 82 degrees, 71 max dew point, 8:03 sunset.
Wednesday Night. Mostly Cloudy and 68 degrees, 71 max dew point, 6:00 sunrise.
Thursday. Mostly Sunny and 88 degrees, 70 max dew point, 8:01 sunset.
Thursday Night. Partly Cloudy and 68 degrees, 70 max dew point, 6:01 sunrise.
Friday. Chance of T-storms and 86 degrees, 71 max dew point, 8:00 sunset.
Friday Night. Chance of T-storms and 70 degrees, 71 max dew point, 6:02 sunrise.
Saturday. Chance of T-storms and 84 degrees, 73 max dew point, 7:58 sunset.

Started half seriously looking at dash board cameras. Not for recording accidents but for recording scenery. Apparently they aren’t that great for that. I was hoping to get scenic shots along the highway, but the more I read about that, most of the good views aren’t out the windshield but the side views and the dash board camera really work kind of poorly at that. Scrap that idea. There are just so many scenic vistas I wish I could take but there is no place to safely stop along the highway.

August 7, 2016 Evening

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Good evening! Partly sunny and 81 degrees in Westerlo. There is a northwest breeze at 13 mph. The dew point is 58 degrees. Definitely a nice evening.

All and all, today was nice day with some big fluffy clouds. It’s really hard to complain about partly to mostly sunny skies except occasionally when the sun goes behind the clouds. That dew point around 60 is pretty nice.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 60 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light after midnight. Maximum dew point of 58 at 6pm. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1948. The sun will set at 8:07 pm with dusk around 8:38 pm, which is 1 minutes and 19 seconds earlier than yesterday. Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 30% illuminated. The moon will set around 12:34 am. The First Quarter Moon is on Wednesday with mostly cloudy skies expected. The Full “Sturgeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 83 degrees at 3pm. One degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Very low humidity. Maximum dew point of 59 at 8am. The record high of 95 was set in 1983.

In four weeks on September 4 the sun will be setting at 7:23 pm, which is 43 minutes earlier then today. The average high is 77 degrees, and the record for that date is 97 degrees was set back in 1929.

I’m sad the weekend is coming to an end. I like to think of the weekdays as that awful brief pause between the weekends. You got to pay for the toys and gasoline after all. But life is still good.

I finally got everything working well with the truck and the camping gear. The inverter regularly makes it through the night without having to start the truck during the night. The big bulbs Christmas lights stopped working  but the other ones work well. They tend to fail after a while and I’ve had this set for a number of years. Camp use is tough on them.

I got this cheap sunscreen in a big bottle in Pennsylvania on vacation. It’s SPF 50 and works well but is super greasy to apply. It does seem to soak in well work fine after you sweat a bit. But a first you look like a white greasy pig.  But so be it. It does it job.

I’m going to  be very sad when summer comes to an end. I think this weekend will be the last time I swim at Mine Kill before the summer is done. True it will be open for three more weeks but I don’t envision camping in Schoharie again before the end of summer. I still want to hit up the Potholers at least one more time before summer unofficially closes with Labor Day Weekend. The summer season is such a short one.

I’m actually looking forward to the fall. This November, I am going to drive more of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The leaves will be well past peak, but I figure it will be a lot warmer down south, and there will be little to no traffic. I also plan to spend some time hunting and traveling in the Adirondacks this fall, including another North Country trip. With the heater and propane lantern, the long fall nights really aren’t that bad at all. Set up camp and enjoy myself.

August 7, 2016 Afternoon

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Good afternoon! Partly sunny and 77 degrees in North Blenheim at Mine Kill State Park. Back swimming after a delightful night camping. There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. The dew point is 60 degrees.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny, with a high of 80 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees below normal. Northwest wind around 11 mph. Maximum dew point of 60 at 1pm. The record high of 102 was set in 1918. The sun will set at 8:09 pm with dusk around 8:39 pm, which is 1 minutes and 19 seconds earlier than yesterday. Today will have 14 hours and 11 minutes of daylight, a decrease of 2 minutes and 22 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 55 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal. Northwest wind 3 to 8 mph. Maximum dew point of 57 at 6pm. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1948.

Cloudy periods:
Wednesday 5 am to 7 pm – rain and thunderstorms expected

Rain expected:
Wednesday 2 to 8 am – slight chance of rain
Wednesday 8 am to 8 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms – 0.36 inches expected
Wednesday 8 pm to Thu. 8 am – slight chance of rain and thunderstorms
Thursday 8 am to 8 pm – chance of rain and thunderstorms
Thursday 8 pm to Fri. 8 am – slight chance of rain and thunderstorms

Muggy periods:
Wednesday 10 am to Fri. 12 am – Max Temp: 84, Heat Index: 88, Dew Point: 70

There are 5 weeks until September 11th when the sun will be setting at 7:13 pm with dusk at 7:41 pm. The average high temperature is 74 degrees, with a record high of 98 in 1931.

Camped last night along Betty Brook at big campsite along the brook. Last time I camped at the lower Betty Brook site, but I like this big site much better. Betty Brook Road currently has a tree down about two miles north from Creek Road, so there is only access from the north end. I will put in a call tomorrow to the DEC to get it removed. 

I noticed that camping last night, the sun really is setting earlier. Betty Brook hollow always gets dark early but now the sunset is around 8:10 and shadows overtook the valley around 7 pm. 

I got the propane refilled yesterday. It works well, now that I always make sure to get the connections really tight and clean, turn off the connectors before slowly turning on the tank. Then everything works well. I’ve gotten better at working with propane and unique properties. It’s a much different fuel then liquid fuel. 

The stars were quite pretty last night.  Around 10:30, I saw a shooting star. A big one, low in the horizon. This morning I stopped by the Shauls Farm Market and picked up some goodies. So many good things. Good prices. 

Definitely a nice morning after a very pleasant evening. It was nice camping down by the Betty Brook. I had a nice fire and listened to podcasts until midnight. Did some fishing in the Schoharie Creek just south of the dam. That said, I was pretty tired from sitting out in the sun all day. I do like swimming and getting toasty in the sun and retired fairly early last night. 

I need to get some more candles and bags. I am down to the last three candles I have and they are kind of their last legs. I think I could have a lot of fun with candles if I camp down by Powley Place Bridge the next time I’m at Piseco-Powley Road. I want to camp there one more time before August concludes. 

Back at Mine Kill Pool today. Just put on the sunscreen and once it soaks in, I’m heading in for a swim. A very nice day.