NY 206 in Coventry.
Rolling farm country and hills, as I was driving from Bainbridge to Coventry in rural Chenango County.
Chenango County
Geese
Burdocks
Breakfast yesterday
Ran out of propane.
Taken on Friday November 12, 2021 at Long Pond State Forest.Good Morning – November 13, 2021
Good morning! Exploring the Robert Riddell State Park outside of Oneonta before heading home.
Kind of a cold and damp day to end the autumn vacation. I could have stayed another day at Long Pond but with rain and snow coming and being out of propane, I decided now was the best time to head home after exploring the state park.
Clouds, drizzle and 46 degrees at the Robert V. Riddell State Park. ☔ There is a south breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 10 pm. ☃️ That’s to be expected, as each night on average now is below freezing.
Not the nicest day ever, 🌧 but so far the rain has held off. I do expect it to pick up later, so I don’t plan to dwell at the park too long, but I do want to get out and enjoy things before my vacation is over and I’m back home. I’m almost done doing the loop trail on the northern parcel, and will soon hike back to the waterfalls, maybe Mud Pond and some of the scenic vistas supposedly on the top of the hillside. I am hoping for some nice overlooks. Then back home.
Without much propane, it was kind of a cool night as the firewood supply is pretty limited at Long Pond. 🌟 I did sit down by the lake for a while before retiring for the night 😴 then I got to bed after taking down the tarp. Nothing was wet this morning, which was a relief as it means a lot less taking down and drying out of things when I get home.
It’s the final night of vacation ⛺
It’s the final night of vacation ⛺
There are so many stories to be told but I think it’s been quite an adventure – visited five states, camped in three states. To be fair, I only hiked a quarter mile into Virginia hiking over Shenandoah Mountain.
The wheel bearing failed and that was a set back but mostly it was $361 plus two hours lost time as it got repaired and the stress of recognizing I might have a problem a few days earlier in West Virginia. But I did get to hike Shenandoah Mountain, camp at Camp Run, drive to the top of Spruce Knob and hike Seneca Rocks.
Today was very wet in the morning but my truck cap was dry. The tornado warning passed me by but it rained hard for a while. I am camping not under a big tree so I was less worried. Despite the campsite being fairly well drained everything is a muddy mess after an inch of rain today.
Ran out of propane last night so I’ve been doing all my cooking and warming over the fire. Had enough pressure on the tank to run the lantern tonight but I’m sure that won’t last too long. Battery bank is low as I haven’t turned on the truck since yesterday but I’ll have enough for tonight.
My original plans had called for going to Madison County and then to the Finger Lakes but ultimately I settled on West Virginia. Why did I go to West Virginia? Well, I needed a lantern globe and neither Walmart or Dicks Sporting Goods had one. I knew they stocked them at the Oneonta Walmart. They didn’t have the globe – I ended up buying another lantern as I needed the reliable light with the long late autumn nights.
I also got in my mind that I really wanted to go to West Virginia the previous night, and the weather looked good. I wanted to camp and explore Dolly Sods and the Otter Creek Wilderness more too. Plus Cumberland Maryland which I did. Ultimately I decided not to get off at Sidney exit and proceeded to Binghamton and ultimately to Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
I admit the Finger Lakes would have been a hell of a lot closer. Saved a shit ton on gasoline. Probably the wheel bearing would have survived that trip with fewer miles and hairpin turns. It would have failed eventually though, hopefully much closer to home. I would have gotten propane had I gone to the Finger Lakes – I knew the tank was low, it was filled 13 camping nights ago – which is fine in the summer but not when the nights are long and cold and I’m using the lantern and especially the propane heater so much – although the second half of the week was quite mild.
Tonight I will take down the tarp and will probably leave fairly early tomorrow morning, hoping to beat the snow and rain midday tomorrow. I’ll have to stop for coffee on the way home as no way to easily make it without propane – no fire tomorrow. I could stay another night, but I’m tired, I am muddy and dirty a week without a shower and I want to get home, unpacked and ready to reflect and move on with my life post the great autumn trip of 2021.
Good Morning – November 12, 2021
Good morning! Final full day on my autumn vacation. ⛺
Rainy morning, I’m not really minding taking things a bit slow. Not going to get up and going until the rain stops because I have nothing but planned for today.
Rain and 55 degrees at the Long Pond in Central NY. 🌧 Breezy, ️17 mph breeze from the south-southeast 🌬 . Pretty good front coming through but I’m expecting more blue skies later. 😎
I thought about heading home 🏡 last night but I decided to camp for a few more days before heading home. I know it’s wet this morning but it should clear out later on. I doubt I’ll stay past Saturday though, because I kind of want to get things unpacked and reset for the following week, which is a more ordinary five day work-week downtown. 🏕 I hate to think such things, but eventually vacation has to end. But I do look forward to a nice shower in the morning.
I am feeling pretty tired and dirty 🚿 looking forward to a good shower when I get home. Plus I feel like everything is wearing thin, my patience included. I got a few more supplies yesterday in Binghamton, but I really should have gotten propane as I’m all but completely out. Not enough pressure in tank to run either the stove or heater, although the lantern continues to work. 🏮 I checked alternative hoses, and I’m sure it’s just the tank is close to empty and it’s cold so pressure is too low. I will cook over the fire today, and when I get home get more propane before camping again.