July 16, 2017 Night

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Good evening! Partly clear and 72 degrees in Westerlo. Calm wind. The dew point is 63 degrees. Sticky summer weather and I got a bit sunburnt. No updates during the weekend because my new phone on the GSM network doesn’t work in Wells. That sucks. But now I’m starting to post pictures and videos. 

It was a pretty good weekend although more sun would have been nice. Not too much rain and today wasn’t bad. Whitehouse was fun to explore, I’ve not been up there in five years. I sure hope they don’t close down that road. I did get a lot of chance to read and last night was quite pretty under the stars but a freaking barred owl scared the living shit out of me around midnight when it went whooo….whoooooo around midnight. It was still nice to get out of town.

That said I was a little bummed about the noise that my brakes were making so I’m crappy about having to spend more money this week on that. Especially because I’m not totally sure if the noise they’re making is new or just a normal noise as the spring releases, after six years of mud and brake dust. But I’d rather have the brakes checked and if all they need is some lubrication or cleaning at least I won’t have to worry about losing them in the Finger Lakes. I just hate dumping money into fixing Big Red, especially of questionable value but I guess it’s preventive maintaince to fix things as early as possible. 

Tonight will have patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low of 65 degrees at 3am. Typical for tonight. Maximum dew point of 64 at 6am. Light south wind. In 2016, we had partly cloudy skies. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1974.

Tonight will have a Waning Crescent Moon. The New Moon is on Saturday night with partly cloudy skies. I’ll have to hike to Foster Pond to see the stars. Looking forward to my Finger Lakes trip. The Strugeon Moon is on Monday, August 7th. The sun will rise at 5:33 am with the first light at 5:00 am, which is 52 seconds later than yesterday. Tonight will have 9 hours and 4 minutes of darkness, an increase of one minute and 35 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be scattered showers and thunderstorms between noon and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high of 80 degrees at 1pm. One degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 69 at 5pm. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1900.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Maximum dew point of 63 at 8pm. Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 65 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

In four weeks on August 13 the sun will be setting at 7:59 pm, which is 31 minutes and 4 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had thunderstorm, partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 92 and 73 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 61 degrees. The record high of 98 degrees was set back in 1947.

Looking ahead, National Cheese Cake Day is in 2 weeks, Lowville Cream Cheese Festival is in 2 months, 7 PM Sunset is in 9 weeks, Average High is 60 is in 13 weeks, Daylight Savings Time Ends is in 16 weeks, Cold Moon is in 20 weeks and New Years Eve is in 24 weeks.

Our Hike on the Threatened Road to Whitehouse

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Our Hike on the Threatened Road to Whitehouse

"Susan Allen and I decided to travel the route to Whitehouse after witnessing the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s presentation to the Adirondack Park Agency of a management plan for the so-called “Silver Bay Wilderness” in 2005. The environmental agency proposed to eliminate the well-maintained town highway leading to Whitehouse, a ghost town in Wells that is situated at the end of West River Road on the beautiful West Branch of the Sacandaga River in Hamilton County. A popular camping and picnicking spot for visiting campers and hunters, as well as local people, Whitehouse is today distinguished by two old stone chimneys and two suspension footbridges. One of the bridges is a substantial two-span suspension crossing over the West Branch. Under the plan, a historic town cemetery with several gravestones dating from the nineteenth century would be made inaccessible."

"In addition to closing 0.7 miles of the town road, DEC has proposed to eliminate many of the pleasant, spacious camping spots dating from its precursor agency, known as the New York State Conservation Department, at least forty years ago, before the Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1973. The most spacious camping area is even older. The Town of Wells relies heavily on the summer and fall visits by tourists, campers, and hunters to the area. The camping opportunities on the State-owned land along the West River Road to historic Whitehouse and at that historical site are an important factor in the town’s economy."

"By cutting off vehicle access to the campsites, the historic site of Whitehouse, and the cemetery, the DEC would effectively foreclose the use of the camping areas as they have been enjoyed by generations of campers and hunters. In addition, DEC would be promoting the destruction of local cultural heritage and violating the New York State cemetery law by preventing the maintenance of an access road required by law. Finally, DEC would be destroying local historic vernacular architecture and civil engineering works by carrying out its plan to allow the bridges and chimneys to fall to ruin or deliberately demolishing them. These effects of DEC’s gradual, but radical, reworking of its policies within the Adirondack Forest Preserve are typical of the extremist viewpoint that holds sway in the agency."