Pennsylvania

Good morning! Vacation has come around Monday’s come back around again. Wednesday morning I get my teeth cleaned. Next Monday is Work Like a Dog Day 🐩. Although because I’ve been gone for a week I wouldn’t be surprised if this week will be a work like a dog day. 🐶 Partly sunny ☀ and 72 degrees at the Valero. Calm wind. The dew point is 67 degrees. We have a big stretch of hot and humid weather coming up this week. The muggy weather ends Thursday around 11 am. 😓

So it’s back to work today, 💼 which is good because work buys beer, guns, ammunition and all things fun including eventually owning my own where I can have fires 🔥 ride four wheelers, shoot guns 🔫 and drink beer every night. 🍻 They sure like their fires in Western Pennsylvania redneck country. It’s a good life. I do wish I spent more time in Allegany County NY and Pennsylvania on vacation. Oil country has a distinctive smell from the crude oil to the cow manure and silage to good old fashioned smoldering trash burn barrels.

Today will have isolated showers and thunderstorms after 1pm as it’s going to be hot and humid. ⚡ Otherwise sunny 🌞, with a high of 89 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 11am. Southwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1894.

This evening it’s back to the routine – of working on the Save the Pine Bush project 🌲and then Thursday night its over to John Wolcott house. 📰📑🔎. I also have to go shopping for supplies, especially toilet paper 🚽 and maybe some food. I might also have to replace my headphones 🎧which are finally starting to fall apart after like eight months of heavy use. I’m tough on shit like that.

The sun will set at 8:18 pm with dusk around 8:50 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, watch out for thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 80 degrees. The dew point will be 69 degrees. There will be a southwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 33 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 6 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have isolated showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 70 degrees at 3am. Eight degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 8pm. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 60 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1968.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 66 at 4pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Maximum dew point of 64 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

I am leaning towards going up to the Potholers and Piseco Powley Road this weekend. ⛺ Suprisingly enough I haven’t been up there yet this year. It looks like it will be a hot and sunny summer weekend and there is no guarantee that there are an unlimited amount of them left before autumn rolls around. I mean in a month, the sun will be setting at around 7:30 and the average high will be in the upper 70s.

As previously noted, next Monday is Work Like a Dog Day 🐩 when the sun will be setting at 8:10 pm with dusk at 8:41 pm. On that day in 2018, we had hot, humid, sunny, patches of fog and temperatures between 90 and 63 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1955.

Good evening! Mostly clear and 66 degrees at the Allegheny National Forest. Calm wind. The dew point is 60 degrees. It’s a bit sticky earlier this evening but certainly not oppressive. Now comfortable.

It’s been quite a day but I survived unharmed and saw some beautiful country. I like taking the blue highways but twice this day I got cut off and had to slam on the brakes.💥I also almost got hit in the parking lot at Quaker Lake but fortunately not. I was parked at the time with my engine off so it wouldn’t have been my fault but it could have required a police report 👮 and body work had it happened. Stupid other kid backing out. I was reminded by Waze that Sugar Run Road was closed so I ended up dwtouring by taking a scenic drive through Allegany State Park – I was going to say I’ve never been through it in the summer – but that’s not true I drove that way in 2017 due to another Penna DOT detour on US 6 and making a wrong turn. But that’s fine I wanted to buy some food for dinner – Then I got lost in Bradford Penna – first looking for a grocery store and then later looking for the road back to the Kinzua Overlook – PA 59. Oh, and I had to back track a bit on Cuba, NY when I realized the old road that I was using to Shunpiking the Southern Tier Expressway was a dead end.

It was a good day though, first starting out at Klipnocky Road in Gas Springs State Forest then taking down the hammock and alternating between the Southern Tier Expressway and other routes that I could find for Shunpiking. 🚙 It’s so easy to wile away the hours in the hammock. But I have to admit having phone access most of my trip I’ve not necessarily used my time for productive uses, e.g. reading 📖. It’s so easy to scroll through Facebook and look at stupid memes. Some neat little historic towns I passed through. I snapped a few quick pictures on the dash cam but I admit I probably should have stopped a bit more and took in the streetscape 📹 before it’s gone or visited more of the local businesses like the Cuba Cheese Store. 🍕

I was running a little bit early so I drove up to Little Rock City. 📷 Not much has changed since I was there in 2013 during my autumn trip out there. 🍁The past two off year trips I’ve shunned Western NY for West Virginia.

I also drove down to Allegany State Park to swim, 🏊 and the new bath house 🛀 was a dank and smelly as it was last time. The ventilation and drainage of the new bath house had never been right and I miss the vines and natural woods of the old one – the new one looks like standard suburban McMansion crap and the bathrooms while new are gross. The water was cold and not as clear in Quaker Lake as I remembered but that’s probably comparing it to Lake Erie whose water is particularly bad this year with severe blue green algea. 🐸 But the country driving out there was so beautiful.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 57 degrees at 5am. Five degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 31st. That said, I expect it’s always a bit cooler here up in the Allegheny Mountains. Maximum dew point of 60 at 9pm. Calm wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 68 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1977.

I’m fairly happy with the campsite I have here at the Allegheny National Forest. The Allegheny woods with the mountain laurel and broad canopy above is so much different than the Adirondacks. It’s really unfortunate it’s such a long trip from Albany 🗻 because it’s such beautiful country. I guess for folks who live in Buffalo, it’s just a weekend trip and hardly special but I guess the same can be said about me and the Adirondacks, especially Piseco Powley Road.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon 🌘 with 20% illuminated. The moon will rise at 1:28 am. I’m not staying up for it tomorrow. The New Moon is on Tuesday night with a chance of t-storms. The Strugeon Moon 🌝 is on Wednesday, August 14th. The sun will rise at 6:03 am with the first light at 5:31 am, which is 58 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 9 hours and 25 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 55 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 81 degrees at 4pm. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 10th. So be it, August is just around the corner. Maximum dew point of 60 at 5pm. Southwest wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 86 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1955.

Tomorrow I’m heading back east to outside of Wellsboro where I have a camping permit for the night. ⛺ I want to stop at a few places on the way east, then explore the Pine Creek Gorge. 🚶 I’m considering visiting the lumber museum, 🌲🌳🌲 which is right on the way back and may also check out the completed block glass plaza in the little town whose name escapes me but used to a manufacturing hub for most of glass blocks used in buildings across the country. Maybe Port Allegheny? I’m glad at any rate I’ll be able to break up the long drive home into multiple days as I like to poke around on the back roads and not go too far in any one day🚙 . At any rate, tomorrow is the last full day of vacation, Sunday by mid morning the focus will be on heading east on Route 6 then making a bee line for Albany on Interstate 88, so I can get home and unpacked and ready for a certain busy week at work. But I’m fine, it’s been a long time away from home and I’m starting grow tired of the travel.

In four weeks on August 23 the sun will be setting at 8:02 pm,🌄 which is 36 minutes and 40 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2018 on that day, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 78 and 58 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 80 and 59 degrees. The record high of 94 degrees was set back in 1947.

Looking ahead, National Dog Day 🐩 is a month away, Labor Day Weekend Begins 👨‍🏭 is in 5 weeks and Friday the 13th 👿 is in 7 weeks.