Mays Point Bridge Dam
No, Mays Point Road never used the Mays Point Bridge Dam to cross the river. [1]
While the structure strongly resembles a standard overhead truss highway bridge, it was built strictly as a piece of canal engineering rather than a public crossing. [1, 2]
The reasons behind this layout highlight the unique engineering of the area:
1. Built Exclusively for Equipment
The overhead bridge structure was never meant to hold vehicular traffic. Its only purpose is to support the heavy electric winches, walkways, and machinery that canal workers use to raise and lower the heavy steel gates (Boulรฉ gates) into the Seneca River. [1, 3]
2. A Rare Exclusion on the Canal System
When New York built these movable bridge dams between 1906 and 1918, engineers initially thought about dual-purposing some of them for vehicle traffic. However, doing so was highly impractical for most locations. Across the entire state canal system, only two movable bridge dams were ever actually configured to carry public roads (the bridge dam at Tribe Hill and the one at Scotia/Lock 8 on the Mohawk River). The single-span dam at Mays Point was not one of them. [1, 4]
3. The Actual Road Crossings
Historically, vehicles on Mays Point Road (County Road 105A) crossed the nearby Clyde River waterway via a distinct wooden timber stringer bridge built in 1929 (which was later replaced in 2003). For traveling north-south over the main Seneca River arm, traffic has traditionally relied on the nearby Route 89 Bridge. [5, 6]
The Bridge Dam remains entirely closed to the public and is restricted solely to New York State Canal Corporation personnel. [7]
Tuesday, Tuesday. ๐ตโโ๏ธ
I should be able to ride my bike in today, which is good as I have meeting downtown later. It was good I bussed it in yesterday though, as it started raining. That said, I missed the earlier local home, which actually was running on time as construction is once again winding down on Delaware Avenue.
My gawd Delaware Avenue is still rough ๐ฆฎ, as I drove my F-350 SuperDuty down to Hannaford to get my weekly share of groceries wrapped in plastic and soon enough to be poop and black smoke, but don’t tell a liberal. I’m already ready to get out of the city, indeed I am half seriously thinking about heading out to Schoharie for the weekend after work on Friday, though it depends if anybody wants to look at Big Red. ๐ป Hoping for a quieter day today at work today, so maybe I can stratagize with the Google Artificial Insemination service and post Big Red on a few more sites.
Carrot pancakes ๐ฅ ๐ฅ with a bunch of frozen fruit ๐ซ this morning, because that’s good and I got it at the store. Also cooking down some kidney beans ๐ซ for meals this week, in part to mix with the rice I had yesterday. Trying to more of the healthy thing, not that it was that bad on vacation but I was kind of lazy at times ๐ฅฑ and drank more beer and smoked more weed then I probably should have. And the SQL selections at work yesterday were crazy, made me had to think, my brain ๐ง still a bit foggy from vacation. ๐ธ And all I can think about listening to Karen Dalton, wandering through a field a wildflowers. At least I get to ride in this morning, ๐ตโ๏ธ assuming the bike works good, and then it’s off to the meeting downtown at 2 PM.
So three weekends left before Labor Day Weekend. ๐๏ธ That’s why I am thinking Schoharie is a good choice for this weekend, and then maybe next or week after for the Potholers one last time this summer. ๐ป I just got such a late start this summer building the SuperDuty but now for the most part things are working good with the solar and all that good stuff. ๐ก It’s not to say I won’t have many adventures come autumn ๐ – I’m planning to do several long weekends working remote plus that trip to Ohio/Pennsylvania/West VIrigina ๐ฆ in November – but swim season usually ends Labor Day Weekend, at least in the developed swimming areas plus the days rapidly start getting cooler and much shorter as we get into September. Labor Day is as late as it gets this year, falling on September 7th. ๐ Already sunsets are coming much earlier.
Well kids, I need to drain my beans, ๐ซ and finish putting up the clothes, shower ๐ฟ and get on Blackie the Mountain bike and ride to work. Trying to do the healthy thing, which reminds me to add to my list, calling the doctor about the yearly physical, as they changed affllations and did not schedule the one for this year when I did mine last September. Plus, I need to add to my list ๐ things like figuring out where I should get my truck oil under coated and plan to have an oil change done at the dealership. It’s going to cost more then my local mechanic or certainly doing it myself, but the way I look at it is the SuperDuty warranty is like 5 years, and based on amount of miles I drive if I do an oil change every 5,000 miles that might be 5-7 over priced oil changes, when it costs $150 to fill the gas tank of the SuperDuty. ๐ข๏ธ And then they can preform recalls and everything is documented in the Ford app, no paperwork to hold on in case the engine does blow up not that Godzilla or Minizillas Gen 2 do that very often. That said, come 2031, I will be changing my own oil, it’s super easy to do on the SuperDuty though I’ll want a long funnel as the engine is low under the hood. Then I get the used motor oil to start fires, ๐ฅ but also don’t tell a liberal that.
More bus service cuts ๐
I learned today that they are cutting my bus service once again ๐and this time it will mean I’ll have to catch yet an earlier bus on those days I don’t ride in, I’ll have to catch and even earlier bus in, though it does mean I can get the earlier shuttle in and be in the office earlier, which means more comp time and less rush, which is good because catching that 5 PM shuttle back from office downtown, ๐means I’m always rushing out of the office to catch it. The one good thing is that the evening bus now leaves at 5:20 and 5:50 PM which means it will work much better with transfer. Still I wasn’t happy about that, though coming home, I realized how under priced the bus is statistically when you figure the last fare increase was in 2009. The $1.30 smart card fare today, would have been $0.85 back in 2009, and if they raised the fare to match inflation, the smart card would be $2 to board the bus, and $2.50 cash boarding.
Down at the laundromat tonight. ๐Just doing the dirtiest camp wash to get through the week, anything I skipped I’ll do when I go out to see the folks on Sunday. But you could own a house, and have your own laundry machine. I guess that’s true, that said, it’s not a big deal to go to laundromat, even if my big truck is big to drive around there. Forgot to put up my tailgate after unloading the kayak, but fortunately nothing fell out or was damaged. Getting caught up with the messages on cars.com, AutoTrader, and Facebook Marketplace but just nibbles. ๐ค Maybe I got to reconsider the price a bit. I just kind of want to get rid of the truck at this point. I would have done some going through the sales when I was on vacation, but I was just kind of busy, had poor reception and I just kind of lost track of it all. Worse part of being at the laundromat is how tight the parking is and worrying somebody is going to hit me.
Sometimes riding the bus makes me question my life choices, ๐ตโ๏ธ but tomorrow I’ll be back to biking it to work. I choose the bus and bike as I don’t love driving, even if I had one of those 25-year old Hondas and a plastic house with a 3-yard recycling bin, and lawn which everybody insists is the best way to live rather then spending your weekends in the wilderness smoking dope and burning shit. I still spend too much time analyzing state payroll records, comparing my income to those of others, ๐ฐ bitching over every little expense. I am unhappy with other bus service cuts, and it just seems werid to be sitting in my big ass 2026 F-350 SuperDuty when I am in the laundromat doing wash. And my apartment shows light to the outdoors with holes from the cracked walls, it’s so dumpy. But I do love my days in wilderness, even if my camping set up is simpler then others. I didn’t want a fancy slide in camper, the shell serves me well. Maybe I am just wishing to get back up to woods. ๐บ Maybe this weekend, but all depends on whether people want to look at the truck.
Doesn’t smell much like grain, cow shit, or burnt plastic ๐ฎ ๐ข๏ธ
That was my first reaction stumbling out of bed, running down to Stewart’s to get another bottle of milk in plastic soon enough to be drunk and turned in plastic smoke, but don’t tell a liberal, I think to myself after those wilder days in the Finger Lakes and Pennsylvania where it’s normal to do all those things.
1,007 miles later at 14.1 mpg works out to be roughly the $300 I had budgeted for summer vacation gas. โฝ Time goes by so dang quickly but the trips to Pennsylvania and around the Finger Lakes were fun, ๐ฎ got my share of cows and stinky black smoke from burn barrels, mountain vistas and nights and sometimes days drinking beer and smoking weed. ๐ถ๐ซ๏ธ ๐ป How fast those days come and go, it seems like it was just pouring out as I was packing my bags to head out to the Finger Lakes, we’ll yesterday. But as they say, 11 days in space, but when you return, it’s the same damn place. The plastic houses and 25 year old Honda Civics which are so reliable, the lawns and plastics recycling bins. ๐ Honestly, I am actually quite happy with the gas mileage I got on the SuperDuty figuring all those hills, rough dirt roads and hardly being easy on the peddle as I wanted to enjoy my new SuperDuty. โ๏ธWasn’t that much junk mail awaiting me after a week and a half to toss in the white garbage bag with the wrappers soon enough to be sent up in smoke.
Back to the dirty ol’ apartment, ๐ things were about as clean as I left it. Unpacked the major things last night, but there is still much to be done. After my evening hike at Robert V. Riddell on the way back to the Albany, I was on track to get home around 9 PM but then there was a lane closure on the Thruway, that forced 3 lanes of traffic into one and stop and go right before the Schenectady Exit due paving. ๐ท Completely obnoxious when you are trying to get home. ๐ก But whatever, I guess the road needed to be paved, and that is a lower traffic time to do it. ๐ ๐ I guess though it’s good, I needed to wash up my gear, and the thing is summer vacation was going to end eventually.
That said, I definately got the most value possible out of my last day of summer vacation. ๐ Hiked through the Buttermilk Falls State Park Gorge, swam at Buttermilk Falls State Park, spent a few hours exploring Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, drove up through Danby State Forest along that rough Burnt Hill Road in my SuperDuty and did the Abbot Overlook Trail, checked out Jennings Pond Swimming Area and fishing pond, then drove home, visiting Robert V. Riddell for a half hour mostly to stretch my legs. ๐ฃ And I also took down camp, ๐ trying to carefully pack things up, so things are somewhat clean and organized.
I don’t know the next time I’ll spend a night in the wilderness, ๐บ maybe as soon as Friday, but I do need to work on selling Big Red, and a lot of other things, but the weekend is starting to look nice. I have really gotten to like how nice the SuperDuty drives, especially once I got that steering wheel cover. And it’s nice being up in wilderness, makes me kind of wild, hanging out with all those cows in the hick towns. ๐ฉ๐พ But it needed to take a break, as I drunk too much beer and felt like was hacking it up after all that weed and cigs ๐ฌ I might have smoked over the weekend, though I don’t recall. Actually, it was far less then I would like to imagine, I don’t even drink that much beer ๐บor burn that much plastic these days. I did polish off the maybe a bit over 30-rack and had 3 ice creams sundaes ๐จbut it was over 11 days. And a lot of cornmeal pancakes and fried zucchini in the interim. ๐
Tonight though I need to go to the laundromat, ๐ get more groceries, some packaged in more plastic garbage, continue to clean things up. ๐ซง I should wash the SuperDuty, though I guess that’s silly if I’m heading back out for shit dirt roads for camping by the weekend. ๐ Don’t think I’ll have time today, and then tomorrow going out for Happy Hour ๐ฅ and I don’t drink and drive. I just drink, and only up a camp and those rare Happy Hour things that I do.
