Good evening! Partly cloudy and 67 degrees in Warren for my final night of summer vacation camping in the Allegheny National Forest. Calm wind. The dew point is 64 degrees.

How did your  National Cheesecake  Day go? Mine was pretty good, although a pretty quiet and relaxing final full day of vacation. No cheesecake for me though. After the rain this morning, I spent most of day reading, then I organized my camping gear, consolidated the remaining food down to one cooler, and went for a short walk. Topped off my firewood supply, cooked and ate dinner, locked up the stove, lit the lantern on low and went to Jake’s Rocks then Rim Rock to watch the sunset and make sure I had a solid charge on the batteries before night. The sunset was kind of a bust because clouds were in the wrong place at the wrong time but it still was beautiful to see the Allegheny Reservoir at dusk. The beauty of the Allegheny National Forest is often overlooked, especially by people in the eastern part of New York State. 

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Areas of fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low of 65 degrees at 3am. Two degrees above normal. Light southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 65 at 2am. The record low of 49 occurred back in 1978. Waning Crescent Moon tonight with 20% illuminated. The moon will rise around 3:33 am. The New Moon is on Tuesday with mostly clear skies expected. The Full “Strugeon” Moon is on Thursday, August 18th.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high of 75 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal. South wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 68 at 11am. The record high of 98 was set in 1917. The sun will rise at 6:09 am with the first light at 5:37 am, which is 1 minute later then yesterday.

0.3 inch of rain expected between Saturday 11pm and Sunday 7pm. 

Looking ahead, First Day with Average High Below 80 is in 3 weeks, Last Day of At Least 13 Hours of Daylight is in 5 weeks, Citizenship Day is in 7 weeks, First Day with Average High Below 70 is in 8 weeks, October 1st is in 9 weeks, Make a Difference Day is in 12 weeks, National Candy Corn Day Day is in 3 months, First Day with Temperatures Recorded Below Zero is in 4 months and New Years Eve is in 22 weeks.

I really should have gotten gas for my truck yesterday but I didn’t. I usually keep my tank full on vacation but that didn’t happen because I was running late last night and was tired.  I have about a quarter tank or about 115 miles remaining, which should be enough to get to Smethport tomorrow (40 miles)  and Google maps ensures me I have options there, even on a Sunday morning. I can probably make Port Allegany (60 miles roughly with detour) , but that’s pushing it, especially with the heat and risk of a vapor lock. One concern I have is a lot of gas stations lately in Pennsylvania have closed recently, hit by the double whammy of low gas prices and increased taxes that make Pennsylvania gas pricey compared to surrounding states like NY. Many are closed on Sunday in PA too. I’ll be fine I’m sure but I’ll should limit idling the truck to recharge batteries – which lately hasn’t been necessary since I’ve upgraded to more efficient lighting and started using my smartphone and Bluetooth speaker as a radio, alarm clock, and music / podcasts. Also the fix I had to the dual battery system in my truck has ensured both batteries get a better charge. The inverter and lighting system in the truck cap, along with my new waterproof Bluetooth speaker have worked flawlessly all week. 

I’m also out of propane, but that’s fine. I left the lantern running on low when I went to Rim Rock for an hour, and it seemed like it was dim when I got back. I thought the splitter could be acting up, so I removed that. I hooked up the lantern directly. Nope. Lifted the tank up, and it was  really light. It’s empty. I got 26 nights camping on this tank full – 20 nights with the lantern and campstove running and six nights with the heater and those other two appliances running. For $16 of propane the last fill up, that ain’t bad. Some places will even fill your 20 lb tank for less, like that gun shop on the way to the Adirondacks that advertises fill ups for only $10. I’m sure he figures people will buy propane and end up leaving with a new deer hunting rifle. A 20 lb propane tank holds something like 4 1/2 gallons of $1.50 a gallon propane when full, so most of the cost of refilling the tank is labor and equipment at the filling station. Legitimate deals exist in getting a propane tank filled.

It has been a great vacation. Sure, today and Monday’s weather could have been better. But neither days were washouts. I kind of was glad to have a quiet, uneventful day for my last full day of vacation before I have to drive home. Next year, I need to find a place closer to Erie to spend the night, so I can get a full day swimming and exploring the park, and see the sunset,  the  lighthouse illuminated, and city lights from the park. The park remains open for driving to see the city lights until 11 pm.  It would be awesome to do it next year during Presque Isle Festival to also see those amazingly colorful beach kites illuminated by lighting I’m the night sky. 

I expect to get a fairly early start tomorrow,  but won’t set an alarm clock. Ideally I’m in Wellsboro by noon so I can stop at the Pine Creek Gorge for a quick lunch and scenic overlook, then be back to I-81 and the New York State border by 2 pm to make Albany by 4:30 or 5 pm. It’s a long but scenic drive back, and all good things must come to an end. 

I’m sad that summer vacation is near the end, and it was a special one. But all good things must end. Tonight marks 28 nights camping since April 25th and 33 nights since New Years Day. This is probably the last time I’ll be in the Finger Lakes or Allegheny National Forest until Summer 2017, but I expect to camp another 15 or so nights including in the  Adirondacks, some hunting trips in late fall, and  a big mid November trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina. One chapter is done for the  year another starts in a week or two. Good night!