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May 7, 2017 Night

Good evening! Cloudy and 41 degrees in Westerlo. There is a west-northwest breeze at 10 mph. The skies will clear Wednesday around 5 am. Kind of a damp evening, but still sleeping in my truck at my parents house, because I like to spend a least one night a week under the truck cap. It will be plenty warm under my covers though.

Finally got the code working to make the primary election maps up in Google Maps. I will post the first one tomorrow. I couldn’t figure out why my colors weren’t displaying right — I forgot colors are backwards in Google Maps, and forgot to reverse their order when setting the colors. Once I swapped the red and blue channels, things worked perfectly. Tomorrow I’m posting a map of the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary. More primary race maps coming soon.

Also, did you see I posted an updated Google Map of all the lean-tos in the state, and tomorrow will be sharing a list of lean-tos. People like that list a lot, and it’s been a long time since I’ve uploaded an newer version. It’s pretty simple export from Quantum GIS, but it does take some manipulation in OpenOffice Calc and some HTML to make it display properly. But that’s one of many new GIS-style content I have for next week.

I had Sunday dinner at my parents house, where they celebrated Cinco de Mayo late this year. Mom made this really good Mexican-style casserole for dinner. Something she found out of a magazine, but it was remarkably good. And now I’m sleeping in the truck.

The new LED reading lamp I got is impressively bright. I plugged it into my USB port I have in my truck cap, and it really lit things up well for reading. Absolutely no problem reading the book, which appeared bright white, even four feet away. I have an 12 volt/USB extension cord which means I can take the light even farther back for reading by the campfire or plug into one of those USB battery packs I have at home. It also will light the tailgate up well when I’m sitting out back and having a cold one or two.

Tonight will have a slight chance of rain showers before 3am, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a low of 35 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees below normal. West wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, it got down to 45 degrees with rain and mist. The record low of 26 occurred back in 1968.

Waxing Gibbous Moon tonight with 83% illuminated. The moon will set around 5:12 am. The Full “Flower” Moon is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies expected. The sun will rise at 5:41 am with the first light at 5:10 am, which is one minute and 13 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 9 hours and 37 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 16 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 7am, then a chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 48 degrees at 3pm. Cold day, essentially 19 degrees below normal. West wind 9 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had mist then mostly sunny skies and a high of 59 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 1936. There was a dusting of snow in 1977.

The long range doesn’t look that great for next weekend. Major bummer! Next Saturday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 46 at 4pm. Maybe Saturday will be okay but chilly. We’ll have to watch it. Next Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 46 at 5pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 69 degrees.

In four weeks on June 4 the sun will be setting at 8:29 pm, which is 26 minutes and 10 seconds later then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had heavy fog, fog, shallow fog, patches of fog, mist, cloudy skies and temperatures between 84 and 61 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 75 and 53 degrees. The record high of 97 degrees was set back in 1919.

If it ever gets that warm, I have the fan up and running in my truck cap. It’s not a real big fan but being oscillating and having fairly well designed blades and speed, it pushes the air around well in the truck cap. The truck cap is relatively small space, so it preforms well. It will be nice when it gets warm. It’s clipped onto the bed rail in the truck, but can be easily moved to clip on the tailgate or table, so when sitting back at camp, and I want to stay cool or keep the bugs off me in the mid-summer.

Looking ahead, Mother’s Day is Next Sunday, Father’s Day is in 6 weeks, Buck Moon is in 9 weeks, National Cheese Cake Day is in 12 weeks, Strugeon Moon is in 3 months, 7 PM Sunset is in 19 weeks, Average High is 60 is in 23 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends is in 26 weeks, Election Day 2017 is in 6 months, Cold Moon is in 30 weeks and New Years Eve is in 34 weeks.

July 30, 2016 Night

Good evening! Partly cloudy and 67 degrees in Warren for my final night of summer vacation camping in the Allegheny National Forest. Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees.

How did your  National Cheesecake  Day go? Mine was pretty good, although a pretty quiet and relaxing final full day of vacation. No cheesecake for me though. After the rain this morning, I spent most of day reading, then I organized my camping gear, consolidated the remaining food down to one cooler, and went for a short walk. Topped off my firewood supply, cooked and ate dinner, locked up the stove, lit the lantern on low and went to Jake’s Rocks then Rim Rock to watch the sunset and make sure I had a solid charge on the batteries before night. The sunset was kind of a bust because clouds were in the wrong place at the wrong time but it still was beautiful to see the Allegheny Reservoir at dusk. The beauty of the Allegheny National Forest is often overlooked, especially by people in the eastern part of New York State. 

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Areas of fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low of 65 degrees at 3am. Two degrees above normal. Light southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 65 at 2am. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1978. Waning Crescent Moon tonight with 20% illuminated. The moon will rise around 3:33 am. The New Moon is on Tuesday with mostly clear skies expected. The Full “Strugeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high of 75 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal. South wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 68 at 11am. The record high of 98 was set in 1917. The sun will rise at 6:09 am with the first light at 5:37 am, which is 1 minute later then yesterday.

0.3 inch of rain expected between Saturday 11pm and Sunday 7pm. 

Looking ahead, First Day with Average High Below 80 is in 3 weeks, Last Day of At Least 13 Hours of Daylight is in 5 weeks, Citizenship Day is in 7 weeks, First Day with Average High Below 70 is in 8 weeks, October 1st is in 9 weeks, Make a Difference Day is in 12 weeks, National Candy Corn Day Day is in 3 months, First Day with Temperatures Recorded Below Zero is in 4 months and New Years Eve is in 22 weeks.

I really should have gotten gas for my truck yesterday but I didn’t. I usually keep my tank full on vacation but that didn’t happen because I was running late last night and was tired.  I have about a quarter tank or about 115 miles remaining, which should be enough to get to Smethport tomorrow (40 miles)  and Google maps ensures me I have options there, even on a Sunday morning. I can probably make Port Allegany (60 miles roughly with detour) , but that’s pushing it, especially with the heat and risk of a vapor lock. One concern I have is a lot of gas stations lately in Pennsylvania have closed recently, hit by the double whammy of low gas prices and increased taxes that make Pennsylvania gas pricey compared to surrounding states like NY. Many are closed on Sunday in PA too. I’ll be fine I’m sure but I’ll should limit idling the truck to recharge batteries – which lately hasn’t been necessary since I’ve upgraded to more efficient lighting and started using my smartphone and Bluetooth speaker as a radio, alarm clock, and music / podcasts. Also the fix I had to the dual battery system in my truck has ensured both batteries get a better charge. The inverter and lighting system in the truck cap, along with my new waterproof Bluetooth speaker have worked flawlessly all week. 

I’m also out of propane, but that’s fine. I left the lantern running on low when I went to Rim Rock for an hour, and it seemed like it was dim when I got back. I thought the splitter could be acting up, so I removed that. I hooked up the lantern directly. Nope. Lifted the tank up, and it was  really light. It’s empty. I got 26 nights camping on this tank full – 20 nights with the lantern and campstove running and six nights with the heater and those other two appliances running. For $16 of propane the last fill up, that ain’t bad. Some places will even fill your 20 lb tank for less, like that gun shop on the way to the Adirondacks that advertises fill ups for only $10. I’m sure he figures people will buy propane and end up leaving with a new deer hunting rifle. A 20 lb propane tank holds something like 4 1/2 gallons of $1.50 a gallon propane when full, so most of the cost of refilling the tank is labor and equipment at the filling station. Legitimate deals exist in getting a propane tank filled.

It has been a great vacation. Sure, today and Monday’s weather could have been better. But neither days were washouts. I kind of was glad to have a quiet, uneventful day for my last full day of vacation before I have to drive home. Next year, I need to find a place closer to Erie to spend the night, so I can get a full day swimming and exploring the park, and see the sunset,  the  lighthouse illuminated, and city lights from the park. The park remains open for driving to see the city lights until 11 pm.  It would be awesome to do it next year during Presque Isle Festival to also see those amazingly colorful beach kites illuminated by lighting I’m the night sky. 

I expect to get a fairly early start tomorrow,  but won’t set an alarm clock. Ideally I’m in Wellsboro by noon so I can stop at the Pine Creek Gorge for a quick lunch and scenic overlook, then be back to I-81 and the New York State border by 2 pm to make Albany by 4:30 or 5 pm. It’s a long but scenic drive back, and all good things must come to an end. 

I’m sad that summer vacation is near the end, and it was a special one. But all good things must end. Tonight marks 28 nights camping since April 25th and 33 nights since New Years Day. This is probably the last time I’ll be in the Finger Lakes or Allegheny National Forest until Summer 2017, but I expect to camp another 15 or so nights including in the  Adirondacks, some hunting trips in late fall, and  a big mid November trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina. One chapter is done for the  year another starts in a week or two. Good night!