Personal

For a long time I’ve been much too fascinated by Ostico Lake Causeway 🛶

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Finally made it there. No public access to the east side of the Causeway, public access only to the shorter western side. It’s pretty much just a boat launch, but I’ve always been interested in the fake Finger Lake, which really is swamp and muck lands drowned by a City of Syracuse water dam after the city’s industrialization had fouled Onondoga Lake, plus they sought out a reliable gravity fed water supply.

Was it anything more than a highly developed lake with relatively few good public access points besides the narrow causeway? Yes, and difference in water color and texture really isn’t as pronounced as aerial photos suggest. Still it was interesting to check out.

It got cold ❄️ much too quickly

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I didn’t expect it to get cold so quickly. It’s not that I don’t have warm gear or are prepared for the cold but it seemingly hit me so hard this year, coming out to camp with the stiff breezes and cloudy skies yesterday and the sun but even colder weather today.

Autumn always is just a twinkle in one’s eye, a few seconds to treasure before it’s done. But this year running those campaigns and the whole data operation, things went by so much quicker. Plus there was always so much I wanted to do yet never enough time to get it done.

Another cool November morning ☀️

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The sun is shining and the breeze not consist though when it picks up it definitely feels a bit chilly. At least not as blustery as yesterday.

I am up and going after eggs, 🥚 and coffee ☕ and some fried apples. 🍏 I walked down to the lake this morning and there is still enough of a breeze to make it feel chilly. Indeed yesterday, I ended up retiring to bed around 8:30 due to rain ☔ showers from the Lake Effect having shifted south.

Rode about 30 miles yesterday 🚴 … Chittenango to Dewitt and the Canalway and some side trails. It was a nice day but cold at times with the wind. 🌬️ The trail became a lot busier as I got into Dewitt and closer to Syracuse, though the portions east of Green Lakes I had virtually to myself. A lot cloudier for most of the day then I had expected.

I am thinking of heading out to Otsico Lake 🏞️ to check out the Causeway and maybe the Ripley Hill Preserve. I was originally thinking of doing some riding around Cazenovia today but I’m thinking maybe not this trip. Tomorrow I could depending on how nice the weather is but I might instead poke around Hamilton before overnighting in the rain at the Brookfield Horse 🐴 camp and then driving 🚘 home relatively early, although a lot depends on how cold and wet Veterans Day ultimately becomes.

Alma Pond

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Alma Pond

Alma Pond is a 36-acre reservior east of Bolivar just north of the Pennsylvania border on the Honeoye Creek. Public access is provided from the north shore on Four Mile Road. There is a hand launch for small boats such as canoes and kayaks. Largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, pumpkin seed, yellow perch, carp, brown bulhead and nothern pike can be found in this lake. The eastern half of lake is UTM 17, the western side UTM 18 so be careful with a GPS.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/26975.html

Cool and cloudy with a strong breeze here at Stoney Pond 🌬️

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Feels very November like. I am glad the ground is quite damp if not muddy and there wasn’t much wind last night when I had a good rip roaring camp but so far I’m not impressed with the weather today – it’s cold at 48 degrees and are taking it slow.

That said, I’ve been gathering firewood 🪵and organizing camp as I still think today I’ll head to Chittenago to explore. Having some coffee ☕ and corn meal pancakes 🥞. It was a surprisingly dark morning but I’m quite a ways west of Albany here – nearly most of the way out to Syracuse – that it’s to be expected the sun rise is later. Plus it’s November – second weekend of the month. Or will be tomorrow.

Breezewood, Penna.

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The oft-photographed and written about interchange on Interstate 70 between the free section, US 30 Lincoln Highway and the very much not-free-section of Pennsylvania Turnpike. Interesting to zoom in and explore the various businesses along the way.

Getting packed 🏕️

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Things aren’t going quite as smoothly as I had hoped but I’m really dragging my ass this morning.

Last night was the after Election Night party 🎉 with two hours of open bar and food 🍲 at the Hollow so I over endolged until they brought out the dessert 🍰 and shut down the bar.