2013 comes to a close, much too quickly. But it was a year of many good adventures, looking forward to the many adventures of next year.
Tonight marks the end of holiday and the year that will forever be known in the history books at 2013. In many ways an uneventful year, I did get to see some pretty interesting places and got to drive across the state at least once this year.
This past year I spent a lot of time exploring state parks. Not that I am a big fan of state parks, but I had a $40 Empire Pass, and figured while I had it, I better use it. Went up to the Adirondacks several times, then took a week to explore the Tug Hill Plateau in the rain, the several more weekend trips, a fall trip to Moose Plains, then that blockbuster trip across the state, that involved seeing many gorges in the beauty of the fall.
Fall came much too fast, as did winter. But that’s just a sign of how fast the calendar comes back around.
Winter is a quiet time for me, but I look forward to the spring time. April is like 91 days away, but I expect the next few months to be pretty busy with work. I will probably spend much of the time hiding away from the cold, working on code, writing, and other projects at home. Go snowshoeing a few times, and maybe take some shorter trips, but I really want to continue focusing on saving so I can get my truck jacked up this springtime.
April will come. I am hoping to take my first adventure of the year that first week or two of April, maybe a couple of days in the Finger Lakes. Melted snow means mud, but its still fun if I can avoid getting stuck in the mud. Early April, while not summer, can still be quite delightful, if you watch out for the sunburn.
I am also looking forward to jacking up my truck in April, assuming I meet my savings goals. I will not jack up my truck until I have at least. It will be fun to see the world from 8.5 inches higher, going from a stock lift to 6″ inches of height plus 35s. Those 4.88 gears will be a lot fun, climbing the hills with ease.
Next summer should be one of many good adventures. I am thinking of taking a trip down south next summer, visiting the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, and camping mostly in the backwoods of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Should be a great adventure.
It seems like it was just yesterday, and it was April 5th, the first day on the calender I spend out in the wilderness camping. It was the wilds of Chenango County, camping at Balsam Lake with there still being a fair bit of snow on the ground in parts, and the pond was well frozen. It would be over a month until the leaves returned to the Adirondacks – I would go up to the Adirondacks two times after the 5th, and there would still be no leaves on the trees and ice still around.
Where did the summer of my 30th year go so fast? I guess there was many great adventures as my camera and dwindling checking account would suggest. And there would be another year of trips and places and small towns to see on my 31st year, as soon as the winter relents in April. But in the mean-time there will be be winter. The camping gear has been packed away or is in the process of being packed away, the readily-burnable styrofoam plates and camping cooler have already been locked away in the attic. Christmas lights that kept the campsites cheery over the months, are now hung in the apartment, and inverter in my truck is just doing do light duty, keeping my cellphone charged during shorter road trips.
I thought about getting a snowmobile and spending more time in the back country in the winter, but put it off in favor of doing the lift kit on my truck next April. Winter is cold, and even with a sled, I don’t know how much camping I would do at any rate. Winter nights are long – something I learned on my last camping trip, when there was 15 hours of darkness with the sun setting around 4:15 PM. My snowshoes will work well enough for the occasional winter trip – I think I’d rather save the gasoline for more warm weather trips once the snow melts.
As much as anyone, I am looking forward to April after a few quite, solemn months, where I will spend writing new code for my blog, doing essays, and making up new maps. Winter is a good time to think about the next year’s adventures. Sitting by the warm radiator with a book beats sitting in the cold snow in darkness. April I will get the lift kit and the 35s on my truck, and be out on my first adventure – most likely to the Finger Lakes National Forest. It should be fun.
I have to think it’s a good thing that daylight savings time has finally begun. The fact is that getting up at 7:00 AM in pitch darkness is no fun. The sunset at 5:45 PM isn’t much fun either, and the 4:45 PM sunset will mean the commute home is dark, but so be it. It’s part of the grand cycle known as the seasons.
The net result is long evenings, which haren’t a totally bad thing either. I like having a little more darkness when camping, as it gives more time for a campfire, and cooking dinner at night. Sure the day is rushed, but the evening is more relaxed. I guess I could or should go to bed earlier, but that never happens either – even in the cold of the back country this time of year.
Set your clock back, and let’s get our November on. Christmas and the end of the year is around soon..
Good Morning! Happy Monday. So we go around in the grand circle of things. Next weekend, I will be downstate for work, but the following I am planning to take a trip to somewhere. Moose Plains, or maybe Central NY with a one day jaunt down to Pennsylvania for a visit some of the parks in Endless Mountain Country. A lot depends on weather, and whether or not they already have snow at Moose Plains.
Election Day Next Week. I will probably drive or take a bus up to the Board of Elections and vote by absentee ballot, and get it done. Your supposed to be out of the county during election day if you vote by absentee ballot, but if I happen to be in the county, I can either go and vote on lever machine or risk my ballot getting tossed out if I get hauled into court to testify about my whereabouts. The absentee rules in NY State are kind of dumb – they should allow everybody to participate in early voting if they so choose, by absentee ballot.
Got Really Sick Last Week. It just was a really bad cold. But tell that to somebody who is feels as sick as dog. I slept most of Thursday and Friday, with a sore throat, aches, and dizziness. But so be it. Finally on Saturday, had enough energy to spend some of the day awake, working on some code, and then going down to the library to upload photos, and then finally, for my evening walk. At least it was just a cold, so once the virus let up, I didn’t have to go to doctor or spend money besides getting some soup and buying more nyquil, which will probably last most of the winter.
But A Nice Bright and Sunny Morning Today. It’s a Monday, and good to stay positive. To make sure I wouldn’t get hungry until mid-afternoon, I made a good breakfast up of hash browns from Empire Plaza farmers market potatoes, sweet peppers, and mushrooms, some crappy pre-cooked sausage, scrambled up a couple of eggs, and some cheese. Not to bad. Made the regular bus I normally catch with relative ease, and today the bus is a brand new Gillig Hybrid, a 4112H. Life is good.
Google Maps Added to the Blog. I have for some time been sharing Google Maps on the blog, but I never had a Google Maps of the Day feature. I built in hooks for the Google Maps of Day and full KML integration into the blog. There is still some minor bugs in the code, but I hope to post some many new and interesting maps over the cmoing months.
I have three big autumn trips that I am looking at taking — representing the three months of fall — namely September, October, and November.
September: Moose Plains
It’s no secret that one of my favorite places to see in early fall is Moose River Plains. Peak foliage comes early this time of year up there, so by the week of September 15th, the leaves should be pretty good. I have a family commitment that weekend, so I can’t go up then, but probably will head up sometime before the weekend of September 21-22.
October: Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Northern Tier of Pennsylvania
Two years ago, prior to having trouble with my old truck, I had planned to take a trip to the Twin Tier regions. This year, I hope to actually make the trip. Thinking the week of October 12-20, possibly a little past peak foliage in higher elevations, but it should be really good in the Finger Lakes and Allegheny National Forest.
Thinking probably start out in the Finger Lakes National Forest, spend two days there, visiting the gorges in the state parks like Robert Treman and Taughannock Falls State Park. From there, go west to Letchworth State Park, and then to down to Little Rock State Forest. Spend some time exploring there, then south through Allegany State Park to Allegheny National Forest (PA). From there, take US 6 to Pine Creek Gorge, and then US 6 east until it gets impractical to continue on due to US 6 bending too far south.
November: Madison-Chenango County
Early to mid-November actually is my favorite to go camping. Around Veterans Day, the air is usually quite crisp, and the nights chilly, but the days can be so beautiful and clear. The leaves are mostly off the trees, but that actually is good because you can see much farther in the woods. I just really enjoy the feeling of November.
