The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.
The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.
The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.
The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.
A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.
I haven’t heard any of their records in years, though driving down through Pennsylvania on Bud Sushter’s highway, surfing the radio outside of Altoona I heard Walking on the Sun. I haven’t heard that record I swear in a quarter century.
It’s kind of a shitty pop song, but the lyrics struck me:
Twenty-five years ago, they spoke out and they broke out
Of recession and oppression and together they toked
And they folked out with guitars around a bonfire
Just singin’ and clappin’, man, what the hell happened?
Then some were spellbound, some were hellbound
Some, they fell down and some got back up
And fought back against the meltdown
And their kids were hippie chicks, all hypocrites
Because fashion is smashing the true meaning of it
Twenty five years before 1997 would have been 1972. To think we are as far away from 1997 as I was from 1972 when I was in High School makes me feel so old!
Morning started out cold and so was the evening but tons of sunshine by midday and beautiful deep blue skies with temperatures in the low sixties by afternoon.
Good evening! Clear and 45 degrees in Canaan Heights, WV. Calm wind. The skies are full of stars. ✨
It was a nice day though it started out cold ❄ with a hard frost. As the previous night it was cold and I got here late, spent the morning pitching the tent and setting up camp for the week, gathered firewood 🔥 , then a nice lunch of salmon 🐠 , broccoli 🥦 and onions. 🧅 Dinner was rice and lentils with too much garlic and some beer. But I enjoyed most of all was the many cups of coffee ☕ ☕ ☕ and eggs and vegetables. 🍳 I mean the hard boiled eggs and banana 🍌 limited piss breaks on the way down but I was all for having a real breakfast this morning.
I spent a lot of time getting camp set up for the week, ⛺ organizing gear and food. Laid back in the hammock for a while. It’s vacation, and this year I’m determined not to spend every waking hour rushing from point A to Point B. It’s not like I’m planning fewer adventures but I’m trying to explore more what is close to camp but have previously overlooked then the crowded tourist trap kind of places like Spruce Knob, Dolly Sods and Seneca Rocks. I’ve been to all those places many times before, no reason to go back. Truth is though I kind of want to go back to the Dolly Sods 🌾🌲🌳 but I don’t like the crowds or the rough steep road up there and it’s a bit out of the way. I guess I’ll decide later in the week.
Did a leisurely bike 🚲 ride along a portion of upper Canaan Loop Road and then hiked down to Blackwater Falls State Park 🏞 spending some time at the scenic overlooks before hiking back through the mountain and giant laurel lined trail. With the giant laurel so tightly growing in Canaan Heights there wasn’t much of a chance of loosing the trail.
Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 30 degrees at 5am. South wind 5 to 7 mph. Colder then Albany but also tomorrow will be warmer than back home. Lots of sun too. In 2022, we had mist in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 58 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1981.
I’m starting to upload photos 📸 but with spotty cell service I’m having trouble. You might have to wait until next week to see more photos of my adventures, though I might upload some to Facebook in the meantime. Plus I’d rather be out doing fun things then messing around with social media on vacation.
Tonight will have a Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon with 76% illuminated. The moon will set at 4:17 pm. The Hunter 🏹 Moon is on Sunday, October 29. The darkest hour is at 12:40 am, followed by dawn at 7:01 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:33 am in the east-southeast (105°) and last for 3 minutes and 1 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 8:09 am with sun in the east-southeast (112°). Tonight will have 13 hours and 17 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 69 degrees at 3pm. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 75 was set in 2017. There was a dusting of snow in 1962.❄
The plan for tomorrow is to drive down to Davis 🛻 then to Blackwater Falls State Park and hike out to Lindey Point. Then poke around the village, 🏘️ and then ride Camp Seventy Road along the Black River to Canaan Wildlife Refuge. Then get milk, ice, coffee grounds and paper towels at the Stop and Shop Express or Dollar General, the only real choices you have here.
Today in 1973, President Richard M. Nixon agrees to turn over subpoenaed audio tapes of his Oval Office conversations. 📼 Nowadays politicians rarely tape themselves in preparation for writing books in retirement 📝 though apparently George Romney’s son is a profilic journal writer.
While so far every night I’ve camped has been below freezing in the High Country, there are 3 weeks until Average Night Below Freezing back in Albany 🌌 when the sun will be setting at 5:06 pm with dusk at 5:33 pm (Standard Time) here in West Virginia. On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 49 and 36 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 50 degrees. We hit a record high of 69 back in 1964.
Good day but a busy one with all that driving down from County Bridge Campground in Blossburg Penna to Cumberland Maryland, riding bike for 23 miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Trail along with part of the Great Allegheny Passage then finally heading down to Canaan Heights WV. What a day, and there was still some daylight to set up camp too though
Good evening from West Virginia! Mostly clear and 43 degrees in Canaan Heights, WV. 🌠 Breezy, ️16 mph breeze from the northwest 🌬 .
Got to camp around 6:30 pm in West Virginia, was a bit worried as the first few campsites I drove by where taken and I noticed a new sign on the way in that said camping at Designated Sites Only. ⛺ That said all of the old sites are still in service and have been improved a bit by the forest service and new sites added. It was a cold Sunday night, I had plenty of choices in the other eight or nine unoccupied sites. The nearest campsite to where I am id more than a third of a mile away.
Totally my fault, lol, 😂 I wanted to maximize my time riding bike 🚲 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Trail and the Great Allegheny Passage Trails before heading down to Keyser to get supplies and ultimately head to camp. Didn’t help though that Waze had the wrong address programmed into it for Tractor Supply. 🚜 I wanted to make sure I had a full propane tank for the next six nights as especially tonight I’m working the heater hard to stay warm – too late to find wood for camp, plus I’m dog 🐶 tired. Probably will retire to bed shortly in my truck though honestly I don’t want to sleep too soon as it’s going to be a long night and the sun rises late in West Virginia this time of year. 7:30 am tomorrow.
Tonight will be clear with a low of 27 degrees at 4 am. 🌉 Winds will die down as the night progreses. In 2022, we had partly cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 39 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1969.
Tonight will have a First Quarter 🌓 Moon with 61% illuminated. At 8 PM, the moon was in the south (181°) at an altitude of 25° from the horizon, some 226,951 miles away from where you are looking up from the earth. 🚀 At the state speed limit of 55 mph, you’ll make it there by April 11th. Buckle up for safety! 💺 The Hunter 🏹 Moon is on Saturday, October 28. The darkest hour is at 12:41 am, followed by dawn at 6:59 am, and sun starting to rise at 7:30 am in the east-southeast (104°) and last for 2 minutes and 59 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 12 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 The golden hour ends at 7:56 am with sun in the east-southeast (111°).Tonight will have 13 hours and 12 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 44 seconds over last night.
Tomorrow will be sunny ☀ with a high of 59 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 1st. Northwest wind 9 to 11 mph. A year ago, we had sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1947. 0.5 inches of snow fell back in 2002.❄
Looks like I picked an excellent week for vacation. ⛺ The director was jokingly giving me a hard time for once again canceling a vacation day and then taking another one off, but it was worth it looking at the forecast. I just kind of wished I had packed more then three or four t-shirts as they may be what I’m wearing with the warm weather. Almost bought a West Virginia t-shirt at Walmart earlier today.
It wasn’t perfect on Saturday though. Day one, the drive down to Pennsylvania was rainy the first part of the trip, ☔ maybe more misty and drizzle not difficult driving, lots of color along many parts of Interstate 88, Warren Anderson’s expressway. 🍂 Some places were past peak but others had excellent color.
Got Cider Doughnuts 🍩 🍏, apple cider and apples at Aunnoto’s in Oneonta. The doughnuts while not quite warm where still very fresh and exceptionally good, especially the first one I had fresh in the parking lot. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to all that sugar and fats in doughnuts but I felt like it had an out of this world taste. 😋 The cider was decent but more tart than I had imagined. Probably the breed of apples pressed. The apples I got where quite good I’ll be enjoying them throughout the trip.
Came much closer to runnung out of gas then I want to admit on the way down to o Binghamton ultimately getting gas in Harpursville. ⛽ Put in over 25 gallons of gas in a truck with a 26 gallons tank. 🤯 Hoping to get gas as close to the Pennsylvania to avoid higher prices with the high Pennsylvania gas tax but it turns out gas was more expensive in the Binghamton area then the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. $4 a gallon gas, added $100 to the vacation bill. The good news is filling up there I avoided getting gas until I reach the Mason Dixon line, actually south of Cumberland for $3.35 a gallon. ☺ Vacation costs money 💵 and my vacation is quite frugal so I shouldn’t bitch about gas prices too much.
The County Bridge Campground is still only $10 a night through New Years Eve 💰💸 whenthe PA DNCR is doing away with self registration honor pay in favor of online reservations with the out of state fee, reservation fee and whatever the rustic campground fee works out to be. Not such a great deal then for one night but whatever it’s not like I stay there much. Still ten dollars a night is a steal these days with inflation, especially as that’s what it cost I believe back in 2010. Obviously subsidized by all those fracking leases, though the fracking money is drying up for the commonwealth now.
In four weeks on November 19 the sun will be setting in the west-southwest (244°) at 4:31 pm (Standard Time),🌄 which is one hour, 32 minutes and 59 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2022 on that day, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 39 and 21 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 48 and 31 degrees. The record high of 71 degrees was set back in 1921.
Looking ahead, 7:15 AM Sunrise ⌛️ is in 7 weeks, Days are Getting Longer ☀️ is in 2 months and Christmas Eve 🎅 is in 9 weeks.
I still feel kind of sick this morning but I’m mostly packed and my goal is to be on the road by around 9 o’clock so I can get cash at the bank when it opens and down to Oneonta mid morning to get apples and doughnuts, gas up and head down to Pennsylvania by the afternoon.
Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! Rain and 55 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a north-northeast breeze at 8 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 53 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around noontime.
Getting packed and having a light breakfast of hard boiled eggs 🥚, whole wheat bread 🍞 and bananas 🍌 with a single cup of coffee ☕. Maybe I snuck in a walnut and a slice of Butternut Squash while packing but I’m trying to limit watery foods prior to the road trip. That said I should be careful about dehydration more than excessive water because I’ve had diarrhea along with my upset stomach and burning throat and general sickness the past day. But I think I’m recovering.
My aunt on Facebook suggested boiling hard boiled eggs 🥚 in baking soda with the water for the shells coming off easily and I was surprised how well that worked. That’s a controversial thing but I didn’t notice an after taste and especially pealing while shocking with cold water after boiling the shells literally slipped off.
Today will rain. The rain could be heavy at times. 🌧 High of 58 degrees at 12pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 24th. Maximum dew point of 54 at 10am. 🏖️ Northeast wind 6 to 14 mph becoming northwest in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 61 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1979. 0.2 inches of snow fell back in 1926.❄
First order of business today is the bank 🏦 then maybe For the Love of Bacon 🥓 and then down to Oneonta for apple cider doughnuts, apples 🍏 and maybe some food and supplies though I might wait until Keyser WV to get most of the fresh vegetables so they last longer at camp ⛺. Today isn’t going to be a real nice day so I want to get to camp before dark but I plan to hit the hay early so I can rise early and get to Cumberland Maryland by mid morning and ride the Chesapeake and Ohio Canalway for a few hours before heading down to West Virginia. 🚲
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:41 pm with sun having an altitude of 36.8° from the due south horizon (-34.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:27 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (250°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (256°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:06 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 59 seconds with dusk around 6:33 pm, which is one minute and 32 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south (175°) at an altitude of 21° from the horizon, 228,289 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 7:07 pm. At sunset, look for rain showers 🌧 and temperatures around 55 degrees. The dew point will be 50 degrees. Breezy, 20 mph breeze ⛅ from the west-northwest with gusts up to 30mph. Tomorrow will have 10 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over today.
Tonight will have a chance of showers, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 46 degrees at 6am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around October 3rd. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2022, we had clear skies in the evening, which became clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 40 degrees. The record low of 20 occurred back in 1959.
I might be sick 🤮 and it’s raining ☔ but I expect a great, memorable and relaxing vacation with excellent weather this year. A little past peak color 🍂 but last week’s weather really sucked. I’m feeling better this morning, the protein rich hardboiled eggs and whole wheat fiber helped. Looking forward to those fresh cider doughnuts 🍩 in Oneonta for sure. ⛺ Camp might be cold and wet tonight 🌧️ but it’s going to be a quick overnight.
Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Daylight Savings Time Ends 🌇 when the sun will be setting at 5:46 pm with dusk at 6:14 pm. On that day in 2022, we had sunny and warm weather and temperatures between 71 and 46 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 54 degrees. We hit a record high of 76 back in 1994.
Feeling kind of sick this morning, but I’m doing okay, dragging myself to work. I figure after a good pan of eggs and maybe some grapes, I should be good to go. I think I’m just a bit sleepless looking forward to my vacation, or maybe I’m coming down with a minor cold. But I’m hoping to power through it and leave in about 24 hours to start heading south to Pennsylvania.
Good morning! Happy Friday Before October Vacation! Clouds, fog and 54 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 51 degrees. The skies will clear Monday around 4 am.
Not sure why suddenly this morning I felt so sick 🤢 though I wasn’t feeling great yesterday afternoon either. Started out like a cold with some congestion, achiness, exhaustion and now it’s progressed to more of a stomach bug. A few frequent visits to the toilet it would seem. 🚽 I really shouldn’t be in the office this morning, but it’s hard to call in sick the day before your vacation. I’ll wash my hands well, wear a muzzle and suck it up. Maybe it’s because I was up too late last night kneading bread and up to early to start cooking down the 15-bean soup 🍵, butternut squash 🍆 and two loaves of bread. 🍞 Need to have a lot of bread ready to go as it’s not going to be easy to cook quality bread when I go down to West Virigina.
I got to the store last night an bought another pair of 34″ inch jeans. 👖 I am amazed that I regularly fit into 34×32 inch jeans comfortably when at the beginning of the year I was regularly wearing 40×32 jeans and even they were tight. I don’t feel like I’ve lost a lot of weight but looking at photos I realize I have lost quite a bit of wait. Kind of weird how that sneaks up with you after healthy eating. I also got a bunch of supplies for camping and around the apartment, including flour to make up the bread last night. 🍞
Today will have showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. 🌦 High of 61 degrees at 2pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 16th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 2pm. 🏖️ Southeast wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 57 degrees. The record high of 80 was set in 1965. There was a dusting of snow in 1952.❄
This evening I need to run to the laundromat 👕 to ensure I have sufficient clothing plus a pair of clothes to wear the following Monday to work when I come back from vacation. Then just a lot of packing. I just wasn’t feeling up to that last night, plus I needed to get some groceries, and needed a lot of the spices and supplies for cooking. I’ll do the best I can do tonight, but it might be raining out hard, so I might end up getting everything ready to pack come the morning. I do want to leave around 9 AM tomorrow, which I will go to the bank first, then maybe down to For the Love of Bacon, then Oneonta for Annutto’s Farm Stand then down to PA. Not a rush though as it’s going to be a rainy day.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:41 pm with sun having an altitude of 37.1° from the due south horizon (-33.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.9 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:28 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (250°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (257°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:07 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 59 seconds with dusk around 6:34 pm, which is one minute and 33 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south (189°) at an altitude of 19° from the horizon, 230,138 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 7:09 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 60 degrees. The dew point will be 57 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 54 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 45 seconds over yesterday.
I forgot to get Five Hour Energy Shots yesterday ☕ so I figure I’ll just put a single cup of coffee in my refigerator overnight, and leave it at that. I don’t need that much caffeine, if I’m truly desperate I’ll stop somewhere and get coffee. 🥚 Then hard boiled and bananas to snack on my trip down to Pennsylvania tomorrow. I might get energy shots though for Sunday’s trip to West Virigina, as there is even fewer places to pee on that leg of the trip and I don’t want to do much cooking but instead break camp early so I can go riding as time allows at
Tonight will rain and possibly a thunderstorm. 🌧 Low of 55 degrees at 5am. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 13th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 6pm. 🏖️ Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 31 degrees. The record low of 17 occurred back in 1972.
I am looking forward to participating in some of those Udemy Courses now that the local library is offering them for free. 📚
Tomorrow will rain. 🌧 High of 58 degrees at 12pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 22nd. Maximum dew point of 55 at 6am. 🏖️ Northwest wind 6 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 61 degrees. The record high of 81 was set in 1979. 0.2 inches of snow fell back in 1926.❄
Looking ahead to Sunday, showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. ⛅ West wind 15 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Going to also be windy in West Virginia but more sun. Kind of a cold night to start out my first night at West Virigina but I’ll have my propane tank topped off in Keyser and I might hot tent if necessary. ♨️ Figure going to be down there for nights, so I should pitch a tent, if onylt to store gear. ⛺ Typical average high for the weekend is 60 degrees.
Looking ahead, there are 5 weeks until Buy Nothing Day 🛍️ when the sun will be setting at 4:27 pm with dusk at 4:57 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2022, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 49 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 70 back in 2014.
Today the average high falls to 60 degrees though once we get beyond this weekend it might be a fair bit above average with a lot of sun. Less than two weeks until November, Thanksgiving is in five weeks. But the coming sunshine and warmer weather equals good news for the October road trip! Plus ample sunshine today.
Good morning! Fog 🌫 and 45 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind.The skies will clear around 8 am.
Oatmeal banana 🍌 pancakes this morning 🥞 though I ran low on oatmeal so I ended up adding whole wheat flour to the mix and it was excellent. 😋 I’ve been also adding baking soda and apple cider vinegar for extra browning and fluff (think elementary school volcanoes) and it works great along with shredded carrots for more crunch and fiber. 🥕 Lately I’ve been going through so many carrots, I’m virtually a rabbit 🐰 farmer. Some day maybe, I’ve heard rabbit meat 🥩 is an excellent source of lean protein on the homestead.
Today will have patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 65 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around October 8th. Maximum dew point of 48 at 10am. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 53 degrees. The record high of 79 was set in 1963. There was a dusting of snow in 1992.❄
Should be a good day to ride to work. 🚲 Tomorrow though with the rain coming I’ll be busing 🚍 it seems, first time since that one evening before Columbus Day Weekend. In two and a half weeks after the vacation I’ll be busing it every night due to the time change. 🕒 Sucks but it will make the mornings brighter 🔆. Maybe then I’ll get off my ass and do my morning walk 🚶 again especially as I won’t be doing the evening bike ride. I’ve been enjoying my bicycle commutes, disappointed about tomorrow’s forecast but I’ll trade it for awesome weather on vacation.
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:41 pm with sun having an altitude of 37.5° from the due south horizon (-33.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 7.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 5:30 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (251°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (257°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 6:09 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 58 seconds with dusk around 6:36 pm, which is one minute and 34 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the south-southwest (203°) at an altitude of 15° from the horizon, 232,459 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 7:10 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 61 degrees. The dew point will be 48 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 57 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 45 seconds over yesterday.
Next week I’m going to be in West Virginia 🗻 at least that’s the plan. It should be a great week in the mountain state. Tonight I’m going to Walmart to get supplies for the trip, Maybe get another 34 inch pair of jeans. 👖 I have 15 bean soup mix soaking in my refrigerator today and will enjoy it for lunch 🍲 tomorrow and then dinner at camp ⛺ on Saturday night in the rain. I think I’ll bake up two loaves of bread 🍞 and more Butternut squash 🍆 tonight to bring down to start off my vacation. Friday night I’ll finish up packing and do the laundromat thing.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 52 degrees at 1am. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around September 18th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 2am. South wind 8 to 10 mph. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 36 degrees. The record low of 18 occurred back in 1972.
Rainy weekendahead, especially on Saturday. ☔ Saturday, rain. High near 60. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Sunday, a chance of rain before 11am, then a chance of showers after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 60 degrees.
Looking at the driving 🚘 weather forecast it looks like the morning weather will start out wet on my drive to Pennsylvania ☔ but will stop as I head south or at least moderate. Sunday is looking decent for riding the Chesapeake and Ohio trail in Cumberland then setting up camp before dark. Might not even need a tarp on Sunday.
Looking ahead, there are 5 weeks until Thanksgiving 🦃 when the sun will be setting at 4:28 pm with dusk at 4:57 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2022, we had partly cloudy and temperatures between 49 and 24 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 46 degrees. We hit a record high of 72 back in 1931. As I was noting last night, I’m already thinking about a November trip around Election Day or Veteran’s Day out to Madison County, 🐮 but after that I’ll probably stick closer to home through the end of hunting season, maybe doing some day trips or bike rides along rail trails. 🚂
Kind of a running list of where things stand and what I need to do to make vacation happen.
It looks like it will be a great week down in West Virginia with lots of sun and temperatures warming up to the upper 60s by the end of the week. Maybe some rain for the drive down on Saturday but even that evening doesn’t look like a wash out. Checked the oil over the weekend, and that was good, I could pick up some pre-mix coolant and top that off just to be safe.
Tonight I’m going to run to Walmart to get some initial supplies and things I need around the apartment. Start packing and getting ready. Been thinking a lot about what I want to cook down there, as food shopping options really are limited in Davis and Thomas high country area and I don’t plan to drive to either Oakland or Elkins mid week if I can avoid it. I was hoping to get ice cream in Davis/Thomas but the one ice cream parlor in the region closed before Columbus Day Weekend. Kind of a bummer as it’s going to be warm by the end of the week. Maybe I can get my fix of pumpkin ice cream on the way back home. Doesn’t have to be fancy — I’m all for vanilla soft-ice cream with a pumpkin dip. I’ll bring some cans of pumpkin puree to have pumpkin with non-fat greek yogurt at camp, plus pumpkin-oatmeal pancakes and pumpkin-oatmeal biquits for my pumpkin fix.
Got to transfer $300 from my rainy day bank account to my main account to keep the balance up and then withdraw $200 in small bills for miscellaneous expenses like campground fees and farm stands on the way down. I get paid next Tuesday but my bank balance is currently fairly low and with rent due along with automated investment and retirement there still will be insufficient funds despite the money coming in. At the end of November though my deferred compensation will max out so that should mean a good boost in pay that will help me catch up again on my bank balance.
I need to print up some maps for some of the areas I’m exploring plus make sure I have cached the forest service and topographic maps on my phone. While I should have service at camp, not all locations will and it’s better to be safe then not have the maps I need. I really plan to GPS and share as much of my trip as possible, including posting tracks of drives, bike rides and hikes along the way. Plus get podcasts to listen to up at camp, especially for the first rainy night where it’s unlikely I’ll have much service.
I want to soak 15 bean soup tonight, make hard boiled eggs and knead bread to bake on Friday afternoon so I have things to eat on the way down and Saturday night without much cooking especially if it turns out Saturday evening is wetter then it’s trending. I also want to get some cider doughnuts to enjoy on the way down, maybe in Oneonta. Hit the hay early Saturday night at camp in Penna and get on the road early Sunday around day break to Cumberland, Maryland.
Sunday looks like the rain will pull out fairly early which is good if I want to spend a few hours exploring the Chesapeake and Ohio Trail in Cumberland on Blackie my mountain bike before heading down to Keyser to top off my propane and do one more supply shop at Walmart before heading up the Allegheny Front and setting up camp in the high country.
Monday is going to be a bit cool but sunny and the rest of the week could very well be t-shirt weather at least by the end of the day with lots of sun. Planning many bike rides and hikes through the week to scenic locations. Want to have many good, delicious and healthy meals to cook even though I won’t have my full oven but I’ll bring my camp oven and Dutch oven. Undecided about the food processor, I could bring it or I might just mill up oatmeal for pancakes and baking in advance.
Then just kind of relax. I want to have fun but not be rushed or trying to see and visit as many places as possible at once. Be able to watch many sun rises and sunsets, have some nice fires, listen to music and podcasts. Take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Eat good healthy meals. Maybe do a bit of bike riding under the moon light, get a craft beer from Mountain State Brewery. Make the most of it before heading back north come the following Saturday.
