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Bramley Mountain Fire Tower Restored and Open to Hikers

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Bramley Mountain Fire Tower Restored and Open to Hikers

The Catskills have welcomed back a historic landmark with the restoration of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower in the Delaware County hamlet of Bloomville, which officially opened to the public on January 4. The first public visitors braved icy winds and freezing temperatures to ascend the tower, marking a triumphant return for this iconic structure after more than 50 years. Visitors included locals from Andes and Roxbury as well as adventurers from as far as Lake George and Utica. Among them were members of the Clark family, whose donation of the tower made the project possible.

The fire tower, originally constructed in 1950 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), played a pivotal role in fire detection. For two decades, fire observers worked alongside counterparts on Mount Utsayantha and Balsam Lake Mountain to safeguard the surrounding forests and communities. Decommissioned in 1970, the tower was sold to local farmer Pete Clark and removed from its perch. Decades later, the Catskill Mountain Club seized the opportunity to restore it to its original location, recognizing its potential to enhance recreation, education, and tourism.

 

Talking About A World on Fire

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Talking About A World on Fire

Last week, well over 100 million people across the United States and Canada were forced to breathe dangerously unhealthy air, as smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada blanketed much of North America.

Climate change has made wildfires both more frequent and more severe, and they’re expected to continue to intensify as the world hurtles into ever-warmer global temperatures. A 2023 United Nations report projects a 14 percent global increase in the number of extreme fires within this decade, doubling by the end of the century.

Entire states like Minnesota and Wisconsin experienced their worst air quality in recorded history, as did several major cities including Chicago, Milwaukee, Columbus, and Detroit. Twenty million people in the New York City metropolitan area suffered their second-worst smoke event, a record broken only by June 2023’s Canadian wildfire smoke.

We Who Drive Big Super Duty Trucks Are Kinda Dumb

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Maneuverability is definitely an issue with big trucks. It is one reason I considered a Taco truck before getting the SuperDuty. And I'm glad I didn't get a long-bed truck, even if more space would be better for camping.

Map: Frank E. Jadwin State Forest

A Golden Dedication for I-90 / Minnesota Agriculture Historical Marker

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A Golden Dedication for I-90 / Minnesota Agriculture Historical Marker

The nation celebrated completion of Interstate 90 after contractors paved the last four-miles of freeway near Blue Earth in 1978. Reminiscent of the "Golden Spike" that symbolized completion of the nation's first transcontinental railroad in 1869, officials arranged to tint a small section of I-90's pavement gold. Also, like the two locomotives that met at the juncture of the transcontinental railroad to represent east meeting west, two Minnesota National Guard trucks met at the union of I-90, a National Interstate Defense Highway. Officials praised the new highway, citing its promise of safer and faster travel linking the nation.

Going back to my blog feed a year ago …

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It seems hard to believe it was a year ago I took a drive out to Grandma Moses Country – you know along the Batten Kill and NY 40 – Buskirk, etc looking at land that way to potentially buy and build my homestead out there. I still can’t believe a year came and went, and while I looked at houses and explored my options so little happened. Still just a dream, as I put away more money, boosted my savings and investments.

It’s now a bit tough when I look back at what seems like a wasted year, when I could have had land. I could be getting chickens at this point, planning a garden. Doing on my own composting, heating with wood not freezing in my dumpy apartment. My net worth has gone a touch since the market declines, and it’s painful as I could have baked in some of that by buying something.

But as I’ve said time and time and again, In my mind, a rural suburban subdivision that smells like cow shit is really no better than living in the city. So many of the options I looked at were essentially that, a lot of money, not a lot of land, a long commute without much of a value proposition.

If heaven wasn’t so far away … I keep telling myself.

Another View Of The Hills

It’s fine, and I know it will be fine for now. But I feel like I’m wasting time, though I think when you run the numbers, it actually come out ahead staying where I am even with higher rent. Small apartments are cheap to heat and light, and bicycling to work saves a lot of money. I can put off replacing my pickup truck for a while.