The sun has been setting into the haze, never making it to the point where you can see it cross the horizon, unless you are in valley and looking up at the sunset before it's real low in sky, like the pictures I posted from Clute Park the other day.
Most people don't think of New York when oil is mentioned, when actually the first recorded discovery of oil in North America was made right here in Allegany county. In 1627 a French missionary was led to the oil spring by local Seneca Indians. The spring is located in what is now Cuba, New York. The Senecas prized the oil for medicinal proposes. The oil spring in Cuba was not the only discovery of oil in New York before the 1881 boom. In 1832 farmers digging for coal in the town of Freedom noted oil seepage into the pit. A well drilled in 1857 near the Seneca Oil Spring, two years before Drake's well didn't produce any significant oil. A well drilled in Rushford in 1860 produces little oil yet substantial natural gas. In 1865 "Job Moses No. 1" located in Limestone becomes New York's first successful oil well at 7 barrels per day. A big strike at Rock City (S.W. of Olean) in 1877 marked the start of New York's first major oil field. The "Triangle No. 1" near Allentown drilled in 1879 causes the town of Petrolia to spring up.
I’m tired of people telling me that as soon as you leave the borders of New York State that you literally fall off the edge of the earth – descending into a deep, darkish hell of religious cults, perfectly flat and boring land where you can see curvature of the earth, dark and dingy cities under clouds of black smoke from outdated factories where everybody lives short and brutish lives.
Somehow I just don’t think that’s true from the various trips I’ve taken in Central and Western Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. Places where you tell about and you get a blank expression on people’s faces. There are likely many fascinating and delightful places in America that aren’t the tourist books, that are charming and unique. Maybe the reason it’s a blank space on the map is not because there is nothing of value there but because the map maker left it off the map intentionally or otherwise.
I should explore some of these places. I feel like my world is too small and the Midwest and Rockies offers a lot too see. I’m tired of everything being just one big suburban subdivision, always hearing just one right view on everything, with everything else being dangerous and wrong. Upstate New York really is very crowded, and while you can get some rural deep country it’s often still tied back into the urban zeitgeist of New York City Metro Area that represents 70% of the state.
Maybe it’s time to board a plane, head for one of the big cities along the Missouri River, rent a car and drive west to the Rockies, heading through Nebraska and South Dakota, taking two lane highways except to bypass the cities. Drive as much as possible each day with a careful eye on the landscape. Visit some parks and national forests, but not make that the sole part of the trip but as an aside. Maybe occasionally stay in motels but also hammock camp or get some shut eye along the road. Maybe find a city of 20,000 to 40,000 that I like the countryside around that is affordable and has low unemployment that I like the vibe. Not for next week but to keep in the back pocket for my future.
I think a lot about eventually settling in a place like Missouri that is cheap with taxes low, few government regulations out in the country, less harsh winters but lots of public lands, forests and natural resources to explore. I’ve always been fascinated by that state and people’s love of the land and conservation out there – from the farmers and grazers to the hunters and trappers.
Missouri seems to be a mecha for outdoorsman and homesteaders off griders and those who just be left alone and not have neighbors nearby or pay a lot of taxes on your land. For people who will never apologize for being country boys or having a love of the land.
I don’t like the idea of riding an air plane or renting a car. But I probably could camp there as an alternative to motels. I would really want to see what the back country is like, the dirt roads, the mountains, and the rough, raggy run down farms and homesteads rather than any city or tourist destination. Sure I might stop at a famous vista or park but I can’t imagine spending more than five minutes in any populated area except to get gas or groceries. I like being in the rough country and I wouldn’t go to Missouri to see anything touristy but to see if it’s all its cracked up to be on the YouTube.
