Seneca Lake

Seneca Lake stands as the largest among the glacial Finger Lakes within the state of New York. Renowned for its substantial size and depth, it remains entirely contained within the state’s borders. The lake has earned distinction as the preeminent locale for lake trout angling, exemplified by its role as the host of the esteemed National Lake Trout Derby. Positioned at the northern terminus of Seneca Lake, the city of Geneva, New York, commands attention, serving as the domicile for Hobart and William Smith Colleges, along with housing the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, a constituent entity of Cornell University. Conversely, the village of Watkins Glen, situated at the southern extremity of the lake, boasts a notable reputation due to its association with motorsport, primarily due to the presence of Watkins Glen International racetrack, as well as its picturesque cascades.

Seneca Lake possesses an uncommon macroclimate that has bestowed it with the distinction of nurturing over 50 wineries, predominantly characterized as farm wineries. Its geographical attributes have led to the designation of the Seneca Lake American Viticultural Area (AVA), solidifying its reputation within oenophilic circles.

In terms of dimensions, Seneca Lake stretches across a length of approximately 38 miles, securing its position as the second longest Finger Lake. Remarkably voluminous, it is estimated to contain an impressive 3.81 cubic miles (15.9 kmยณ) of water, accounting for nearly half of the cumulative water volume across all the Finger Lakes. The lake’s profundity is notable, averaging 291 feet, while plunging to a maximum depth of 618 feet. The expansive water body covers a surface area of approximately 66.9 square miles (173 kmยฒ).

July 26, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Five weeks to Labor Day Weekend Begins ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿญ. Mostly sunny and 62 degrees at the Klipnocky State Forest outside of Canasserga in Allegany County. Calm wind. The dew point is 58 degrees. ๐ŸŒป

This is a very good pleasant morning on the Friday before vacation ends, relaxing a bit with some coffee โ˜• and eggs ๐Ÿณ before I take down camp and head down to Allegany State Park. That’s over an hour away, as it’s quite a ways to the west in Cattaraugus County. The far western edge of Allegany County borders Allegany State Park but they’re large counties and Quaker Lake is on the far side of the park, almost in Chautauqua County. ๐ŸŠ

Today will have a chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 83 degrees at 4pm. Typical for today. Maximum dew point of 60 at 10am. South wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1963.

I think today for a little while I will shun the blue highway ๐Ÿš™ in favor of the Southern Tier Expressway as the part I’m planning to go on basically bypasses a lot of small towns and the local road parallels it. Plus it will save a lot of time and I’ll have plenty of time to drive through little hick towns in Pennsylvania. ๐Ÿšœ I’m going to continue snapping pictures with my dash cam and will be posting even more pictures with my big camera later on. ๐Ÿ“ท

The sun will set at 8:37 pm with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 59 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for partly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 63 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 39 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 57 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 60 degrees at 6am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 14th. Maximum dew point of 63 at 8pm. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight. 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.

Letchworth State Park was fun โ›ฒ as was seeing many of the small Western NY farm towns. ๐Ÿšœ I forgot about the unique smell of the Genesee Valley – the faint but constant smell of dairy land ๐Ÿฎ – the fermented grasses and silage, the spread manure. ๐Ÿ’ฉ Some farms where on their second cutting of hay at this point so they were fertilizing for the autumn cut. ๐ŸŒพ I didn’t care much for the Harvey Pool at Letchworth ๐ŸŠ – it was only four feet deep and the facilities were old and run down. The central lounge was pretty but the outdoor changing rooms were strange and lacked privacy. It was still nice to poke around the park for about four hours.

Didn’t see any hairy women ๐Ÿšบ camping up in the Klipnocky Woods but it was a pleasant night in a good, very quiet campsite. Lower Gas Springs Road is very rough but Klipnocky Road isn’t too bad. โ›บ The campsite was quite nice but not a lot of trees to hang stuff but I did find a location for my hammock and the stars โœจ were nice.

On this day in 2007, Shambo, a black cow in Wales that had been adopted by the local Hindu community, is slaughtered due to a bovine tuberculosis infection, causing widespread controversy. ๐ŸƒPreventing the spread of bovine TB is probably much more important then some religious tradition. ๐Ÿ‘นAnd in 1948, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military of the United States. It would be one step in many in protecting the rights of minorities in our country.๐Ÿ‘

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒฆ, with a high of 84 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 11am. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. 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.

Looking ahead to Sunday, a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. West wind 9 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 66 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

One month ๐Ÿ“… from now will be National Dog Day ๐Ÿฉ when the sun will be setting at 7:54 pm with dusk at 8:24 pm. The sun will set even earlier back in Albany compared to the Klipnocky Wilds.

 Wet Firewood

July 25, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Well within the second half of vacation. Next Thursday is August ๐ŸŒป. Next weekend after vacation if it’s hot I might go up to Piesco Powley Road as summer is rapidly running low. Mostly sunny and 63 degrees at the Finger Lakes National Forest. Light breeze. The dew point is 51 degrees. Beautiful morning up here at Burnt Hill on the highest point between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. Cows are mooing in the distance. ๐Ÿฎ I’m going to miss the Finger Lakes but it’s time to move on.

Today will have a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 75 degrees at 4pm. Eight degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around September 8th. Maximum dew point of 57 at 6pm. Should be a real nice day. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was very sticky. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1963.

The first step for today is to visit the Sugar Hill Firetower ๐Ÿ—ผ then head out west to maybe Letchworth State Park or maybe directly to camp in Allegany County. โ›บ I’m not really sure, depends on the time. Then Friday I’ll head out to Quaker Lake at Allegany State Park, overnight in the National Forest and then Saturday night camp outside of Wellsboro and explore the Pine Creek Gorge. Sunday I’ll head back home, stopping a few places along the way.

The sun will set at 8:34 pm with dusk around 9:06 pm, which is 58 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for mostly clear skies ๐ŸŒ„ and temperatures around 71 degrees. The dew point will be 59 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 41 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 56 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear ๐ŸŒƒ, with a low of 61 degrees at 4am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 2nd. Maximum dew point of 59 at 8pm. Light and variable wind. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 70 degrees. The record low of 46 occurred back in 1976.

On this day in 1965, Bob Dylan goes electric as he plugs in at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music. ๐ŸŽถ The crowds boo and his. Not very respectful. In 1993, The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa. Liberals use it as an excuse to take away people’s gun rights in Australia, which weren’t protected by an active gun culture or second admendment like in America. Such a common story it seems, the second amendment is important come 2020.

It should be a pretty nice weekend to round out my vacation. ๐Ÿ˜Ž Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Southwest wind 7 to 10 mph. Maximum dew point of 63 at 10am. Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 5pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees.

As previously noted, next Thursday is August ๐ŸŒป when the sun will be setting at 8:26 pm with dusk at 8:58 pm. On that day in 2018, we had rain and temperatures between 80 and 70 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 101 back in 1933.

Sleepy for the fourth