Getting Packed for Camping

Getting packed. Kayak is on roof of my truck. Forgot how high 9 1/2 feet is to lift. Mostly just pots and pans along with food left to go. Green Mountains for the long weekend. Other places in June.

May 25, 2017 Evening

Good evening! That Thursday before Memorial Day Weekend.  Light rain and 57 degrees in City of Albany. There is a east-northeast breeze at 8 mph. The dew point is 51 degrees. 0.19 inches of rain is expected before it ends tomorrow around 1 am. 

Going to be a fairly wet evening. Hopefully it will drier tomorrow and traffic won’t be such a slog. Things really aren’t moving well tonight traffic wise with the rain. I guess that is to be expected. I’m hoping the rain will lighten up later on, so I can put the kayak on the roof of my truck. 

The sun will set at 8:21 pm with dusk around 8:54 pm, which is 54 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for rain and 57 degrees. The dew point will be 51 degrees. There will be a east breeze at 10 mph.

This afternoon will have showers likely, mainly before 5pm. Cloudy, with a high of 57 degrees at 4pm. Nine degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 51 at 4pm. East wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 88 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 2010. There was a dusting of snow in 1953.

New Moon tonight. The First Quarter Moon is next Thursday. The Full โ€œStrawberryโ€ Moon is on Friday, June 9th. The sun will rise at 5:23 am with the first light at 4:49 am, which is 42 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 9 hours and one minute of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 34 seconds over last night.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 11pm. Low of 52 degrees at 4am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 51 at 8pm. East wind 6 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 58 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1972.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the afternoon. Maximum dew point of 55 at 8pm. Sunday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Maximum dew point of 57 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 73 degrees.

In four weeks on June 22 the sun will be setting at 8:36 pm, which is 15 minutes and 47 seconds later then today. In 2016 on that day, we had rain, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 77 and 52 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 59 degrees. The record high of 95 degrees was set back in 1954.

Looking ahead, June 1st is Next Thursday, Average High is 80 is in 4 weeks, National Fried Chicken Day is in 6 weeks, Hottest Day of Year (83 Average) is in 7 weeks, Ugly Truck Day is in 8 weeks, State Fair Opens is in 13 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset is in 14 weeks, Average High is 70 is in 17 weeks, More Night Then Day in Albany is in 4 months, Hunter’s Moon is in 19 weeks, Thanksgiving is in 26 weeks and Christmas is in 7 months.

Pitch Pine

Another unique part of the Albany Pine Bush ecosystem.

Buoyed by State Aid, U.S. Nuclear Plant Still Fails at Auction

Buoyed by State Aid, U.S. Nuclear Plant Still Fails at Auction

Apparently in states where they don't hand out subsidies to nuclear plant operators like their Halloween candy, they aren't doing so hot.

"Exelonโ€™s Three Mile Island station, scene of the worst accident in the history of U.S. commercial nuclear energy, may not be so lucky. After failing to clear at the past three PJM auctions, the plant is at risk of early retirement. It hasnโ€™t made a profit in five years and remains โ€œeconomically challengedโ€ given the lack of federal or Pennsylvania energy policies that value zero-emissions nuclear power, the company said."

Avoiding Hoosick Street Traffic

One of my least favorite parts of going to Vermont is the traffic on NY 7 and Hoosick Street. This is how I get around taking NY 7 -- it's not the most direct route but usually has very little traffic and fewer speed zones then that awful NY 7.

May 25, 2017 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Next Thursday is June 1st.ย Rain showers and 56 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a east breeze at 13 mph. The dew point is 48 degrees. The skies will clear Saturday around 2 pm.

I am once again the proud Mayor of the CDTA Elm Avenue Park and Ride. Us suburbanites have quite a competition going on. I would always be number one but I often take the local to work.ย No rain walking down there, and it’s nice taking the express to work. Tomorrow I will drive in, as I’m heading out camping in Vermont right after work. I’ll probably stay until 5 pm to avoid the worse of the traffic.

Today will rain, mainly after 10am. Cloudy, with a high of 57 degrees at 11am. 15 degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 50 at 5pm. Northeast wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Rather cool and wet but not as bad as earlier forecasts. A year ago, we had rain, shallow fog, patches of fog, mist, partly cloudy skies and a high of 88 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1981.

The sun will set at 8:21 pm with dusk around 8:54 pm, which is 54 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for rain showersย and 57 degrees. The dew point will be 49 degrees. There will be a east breeze at 14 mph with gusts up to 24mph. Today will have 14 hours and 57 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 36 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 11pm. Low of 52 degrees at 3am. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 50 at 2am. East wind 6 to 14 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 58 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The record low of 38 occurred back in 1972.

As previously noted, next Thursday is June 1st when the sun will be setting at 8:27 pm with dusk at 9:01 pm. On that day in 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 85 and 57 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 74 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1918.

I am hoping I’m not getting the cold that was going around the office. I think I will be fine but I do feel a bit congested this morning. Oh well, I’m still going camping this weekend unless I’m dead sick.

Still have to finish packing, do some cleaning, and get some milk. I thought I was good on supplies but I guess I drunk more of that delicious cow beverage then expected. But other than that I should be well set. Spent more than I wanted to on supplies but so be it. Most of the left overs will provide food for next week and many of the supplies will last well into next year.

I did get some new lights for camp, including a 4.8 watt 100-bulb, 31-foot party light string and a laser light show.ย Each was about $20 which didn’t help my budget much, but I think I will get a lot of use out of both. The green laser light show in the woods looks like lighting bugs all over the trees in the woods. It was good out back, but I’m sure it will look a million times better in the very dark wilderness. The laser light show supposedly uses 9 watts, but I think most of that is the somewhat noisy motor that can be shut-off if you don’t want to have the lights shimmering.

Replaced that propane line that I think was leaking last fall.ย That was damn scary to have propane condensate and gas spraying out of that line, so I’m not willing to even play with that line to see if it was a just a lose connection. I still have the damaged hose, and I guess I could test it in the woods away from spark or flame with soap, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it.

I still have to get the kayak on the roof of my truck and tied down, and the final boxes,ย but then I will be ready to head out on my Memorial Day Weekend Trip. The oil and fluids are good, although I did add some windshield washer fluid, and I do need to do or have done an oil change in early June. It’s been 9 months but only about 3,000 miles since the last change, but I figure after this time, an oil change is due — and indeed the monitor is at 25% oil left — I don’t like to get it below 20%.

I might leave early if Sunday is too rainy, but it looks like the rain will come late enoughย that I might not pack up until Memorial Day, and just hang out under the tarp on Sunday night next to the campfire.ย Packed my heater because it might be useful on Sunday into Monday, as the rain comes in. I’m not that worried about being cold.

Have a great Thursday. Memorial Day Weekend will be here before you know it…