Good morning! Average High is 60. Three weeks to Daylight Savings Time Ends. Cloudy with fog and 65 degrees in Williamsport. There is a east-southeast breeze at 8 mph. The dew point is 57 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around noontime.
Today will be cloudy, with a high of 74 degrees at 4pm. 15 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 2pm. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies with more clouds in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 1897. There was a dusting of snow in 1939.
The sun will set at 6:26 pm with dusk around 6:53 pm, which is one minute and 32 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy conditions and 71 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 14 mph with gusts up to 20mph. Today will have 11 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low of 52 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal. Southwest wind around 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2016, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1978.
As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Daylight Savings Time Ends when the sun will be setting at 4:57 pm with dusk at 5:26 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 57 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 1994.
Day one of the Great Autumn Trip wasn’t particularly sunny but it was mild and in many parts the colors were pretty good. I know today we are supposed to get showers by evening, but I’m hoping that the skies will be clear for the bulk of the day. We did have a few sprinkles in the evening when I was camping at County Bridge but it wasn’t a big deal.
I didn’t get a real early start on my trip because I wanted to make sure everything was packed that I needed. I think I succeeded at that goal, as I used a check list and I left my apartment pretty darn clear.
US Route 6 hasn’t changed much. I have driven that route too many times, but it’s still a hell of a lot more scenic and interesting to drive then the Southern Tier Expressway. It’s interesting to see the industrial small towns, the paper mills, slaughterhouses, and all the industry that supports the natural gas industry. Unlike New York, rural Pennsylvania has a lot more heavy industry it seems. I think they have different tax laws and are generally friendlier to smoke stack industries. Whether or not that is a good thing is a debate point, but once can saw at least the land is being put to work. I like the gritty nature of Pennsylvania backcountry. Just like I like West Virginia and Virigina. I kind of like the landscape, it reminds me of what America had to have been like during the 1950s. Backwards maybe, but charming at the same time.
I often find myself needing to take a piss while driving. I stopped twice at rest areas and then ended up stopping at the McDonald’s and getting a milk shake so I could use their bathroom and take a piss. I think the milkshake was like $3.50 — for that price, I think I would have been better off to go to ice cream parlor or if I was in New York State, Stewarts.
I was going to stop at Stewarts and buy some firewood but I passed the last Stewarts on my way down to Pennsylvania. So I ended up skipping that and was able to find some firewood around the campground, but the wood I found was pretty damp and punky, but after a good smoke show, some paper and plastic from he campground trash cans, I had a decent fire going by around 7:30 PM. Once the whole mess got started it, wasn’t that bad. I didn’t need the fire for the warmth — it was well in the mid-60s until after in later in the evening, when I put my beloved orange hoodie. I expect I will be wearing that for most of the rest of the week, especially after the front comes through.
First time camping at County Bridge Campground, which is four miles from Morris Run, which like many Northern Pennsylvania villages is little more then a grouping of old houses and hunting camps from some historical era. Blossburg is the next village of any size, but it’s just an exit on US 15 aka future Interstate 99. It’s a fifteen campsite campground, well spread out. There was somebody camping on the other side of the campground in an RV, but they were a good ways away. It was pretty under the maple trees when the sun was open. Lots of nice color. The Morris Run made a nice background for sleeping at night even if it made me kept thinking about taking a piss.
So far the trip has been going well bar the firewood issue I’m ready for the rain showers, especially if I camp at Ohiopyle State Park, where they have hot showers. I was surprised that the none of the Park Service Campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway have showers, even though they charge $20 a night. Well then I probably just overnight at North Creek Campground which is half the price, usually empty on weekdays and doesn’t have showers. Maybe on my trip back home, I should find out if there is a “Modern” campground in Pennsylvania that I can stay at for $20 that includes showers. Maybe I could come farther east and camp on the way back. I’ll figure out at the week progresses. Heck, it tempts me to do Shenandoah National Park, as they have coin showers at one of the campground. But I don’t know I’ve done that before, and I’m not that interested in revisiting much of my 2015 trip. I want to see new things on this trip, and the problem with Skyline Drive is it kind of locks you away from seeing things down in the valley. But on the other hand, it had so many nice views and the road was well maintained.
Discovered last night that I left my card reader home with the second microSD card. Not a big deal but I want to get another microSD card so I can save my trip and pull stuff off it each night. Sometimes the adapter that comes with the SD card can ean be tempermental, but hopefully it will work or I will have to buy another SD card reader. Not expensive but I am annoyed because I thought about this before leaving but did not act. Walmart should save my ass though with this. I plan to stop this morning.
Today I plan to drive down through Mid-State Pennsylvania along I-99 and US 15/US 220 to Ohiopyle State Park, stopping at the Flight 92 Memorial, which is located off the old Lincoln Highway. Ohiopyle looks quite scenic, at least for the overlook. I know we are getting some rain this evening, but I’m hoping it won’t be too bad.
The Appalachian Throughway is absolutely beautiful between Blossburg. I will be posting more photos and videos later on from that part of the trip.
