Day: April 28, 2025

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Bridges Maintained by NYS DEC

While the State Parks Department no longer maintains any highway bridges, with NYS DOT taking over maintenance of the parkways in 1978, the NYS DEC operates division of Operations which among maintaining roads also maintains several bridges on truck trails and other forest roads.

Goats Raised

Goat farming is a niche thing in America, there are only about 18,000 goats in New York State compared to 1.4 million cattle.  Texas is much bigger into goat (and cattle) production, they have 740,000 goats and 13.1 million cattle.

Goats Raised

The first days are the hardest days 🏒

It was nice to get away for four days, restoring my sleep and my santity. You know watching all that crap go up into flames, smoking weed and drinking beer, wandering around the wilderness and getting through 4 audio books plus a few other e-books was great!

I had such a big grin 😁 on my face driving 🚘 home after the weekend in the wilderness. It was amazing or maybe it just was the THC remaining on my brain 🧠 enhancing the colors of the world for the first time since January. So great to be back home in the wilderness. 🌲 Someday I’ll move to the woods, a ways from a small town not unlike Amsterdam and the other towns I rode my mountain bike through after my trip to the wilderness. 🌈

So I’m back from the East Branch of the Scandaga River, which like usual is my first trip of the year. πŸ•οΈ Well, I mean first summer trip of the year. No black flies yet, and it was remarkably mild, which usually brings out the black flies, and I’m sure they’ll be out by next weekend. But I have the Pine Bush Hike I’m leading then so I’m sticking back in town.

Got home at 8:45 PM after doing a three a half hour ride along the Erie Canalway Trail 🚲 from the Rotterdam Park and Ride on Van Burean Lane at the end of Interstate 890 all the way west to Yankee Hill Lock which is between Fort Hunter and South Amsterdam. Checked out the new Amsterdam Pedestrian Bridge – it’s really nice. Earlier in the day, I walked around the Sacandaga River Campground, not some place I’d stay but was fun to explore.  🚢 🐦 Earlier in the day I hiked around Auger Falls, then rode up along NY 8 & 30 to Old Route 18B past Austin Falls then Robbs Creek – nice new bridge there – and then up to Campsite 17 which is all torn up after recent logging but I’m sure by the end of summer will grow back up to wildflowers. 🌸

I’m up and going, with carrot πŸ₯• pancakes πŸ₯ž, made my lunch up and are going to ride in on this most beautiful spring morning.  🚴 Then it’s off to work, I have a pile of things that came in on Friday to look over πŸ“Ž. Then back home. Then I probably need to get to the laundromat though I could wait until tomorrow, when the weather is crappier. Should be a great day even if I wish I still was up in the wilderness. Hopefully my vest doesn’t stink too much like cannabis and wood smoke or burnt garbage for wearing it into work today, lol. πŸ˜‚