This past year I spent 37 nights camping in the wilderness 🏕

While this was less then the 63 nights I did in 2020, with remote work winding down and more in-person meetings and events happening in Albany, I ended up not getting out as much as I did the previous year. Still 37 nights camping is still a lot of time in wilderness.

It was a lot rainier then some summers, so that also made it harder to get out of town for long weekends. When I did go camping, and I wasn’t remote working, I tried to make it a priority to find more-remote areas without cell service, so I could get solitude without the constant buzz of the phone. Plus I tended to stay in one campsite for two or three days, to avoid the hassles of taking down and setting up camp.

Saturday/Sunday April 24-25: Two Nights on East Branch

I started out my travels in late April on the East Branch Sacandaga River along NY 8, near Fox Lair. On Saturday, before arriving to camp, I hiked along Hope Falls Road and back to lower and upper Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday, I hiked around Fox Lair, sat down by the river for a while, did some fishing. Had a big ol’ fire. It was cold but also kind of spring-like.

Monday April 26: One Night on Sacandaga River/Speculator Tree Farm

Monday I drove up to Speculator to do remote work at the library and the town park/beach with my laptop. I set up camp at Campsite 17 and in the evening after work, I hiked along Old NY Route 8B, spending some time along Austin Falls and heading back to camp before it got too dark. Tuesday I worked up in Speculator, before heading home. Things were still very brown and gray in the Adirondacks, although I ended up stopping along the Mohawk River in Rotterdam and hiking on the bike trail before dark, and it was much greener down there.

Thursday to Saturday May 13-15: Three Nights on Sacandaga River/Speculator Tree Farm

Thursday morning I got up early and drove up to Speculator before 9 AM to work remotely. I worked until lunch time in Spectulator when I drove down to Campsite 17 and set up camp and worked from there. Worked all day on Friday from camp, mostly sending emails from the hammock although I also edited a report I was working on with my laptop at the table, and grabbed some files a colleague needed off the server over the VPN. Knocked over the lantern, smashing the glass and breaking the the neck on it. On Saturday I hiked back along Robb Mill Road and some of the side trails in the Conservation Easement. Sunday, I drove up to Watch Hill on Indian Lake, hiked that, while there was a constant threat of thunderstorms, so I did it fairly quickly.

Sunday May 16: One Night Camping Near Mason Lake

After hiking Watch Hill I ended up camping at Mason Lake. I also spent some time walking around the Indian Lake/Lewey Campground, just seeing what was there I was hoping being a Sunday I could get a campsite near Mason Lakke, but no such luck. Ended up camping at Campsite 5, a ways from the lake, although in the evening I did walk down to the lake. I did have cell service where I was camping, but it was spotty, so come Monday morning, I headed back to Speculator for work. The black flies were bad camping there, until well after dark I spent most of the afternoon hiding under the screen tent. In the morning, once the sun was up and the tent was down, I was booking out there because the black flies were intense.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday June 17-19: Three nights Camping at House Pond Campsite

Junteenth Weekend, a new state holiday. Piseco-Powley Road was rebuilt, and I spent a lot of time down at the swimming hole there. I was working remote on Thursday, but I left home after work and drove north before dusk. Spent a lot of time cooling off in East Branch by the campsite, laying in the hammock and relaxing. Saturday I spent kayaking at Lily Lake, but none of the lilies were out. Sunday I spent the balance of the day the potholers.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday July 8-10: Three nights camping on Hope Falls Road

After quite a run of rainy weather, we had part of weekend that wasn’t super wet. Also, many weeks in the summer, I preferred to just stay close to home, and catch the Nature Bus and spend Saturdays exploring Thacher Park for free. Friday was a personal day – I had a eye doctors appointment. Then I went north and set up camp at Hope Falls Road. Saturday, I hiked back to Ferris Lake and Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday, partially in the rain, I hiked back to both lower and upper Tenant Creek Falls. Sunday evening back at camp, it absolutely poured. I was originally planning to work remote on Monday and maybe Tuesday in Speculator but the weather was so wet, I decided against that.

Friday July 23: Overnight at Cherry Ridge

Heading out to the Finger Lakes, I overnighted at Cherry Ridge at Charles Baker State Forest in Madison County. It was a stop over after leaving home after work. Noticed how much sway there was in front end of the truck, and the tires were getting loud as they were warn and cupped, grew concerned that I might have issues later on. Eventually in December I replaced the tires, the worn rear shock bushing. and bad sway links. I was dealing with some real anxiety issues at that point. But I had a little fire, then retired early to bed and then took camp down early in the morning and headed west to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and the state Audubon Preserve.

Saturday July 24: One night Tent Camping Along Backbone Horse Trail at Finger Lakes National Forest

I knew arriving at the Finger Lakes National Forest on a Saturday would mean many campsites would be taken, including the site I wanted. I ended up tent camping at one of the primitive sites off Potomac Road. It was a one night deal as I prefer camping in the truck shell and I saw the people in the campsite I wanted leave, so I quickly grabbed that campsite in the morning. Ended up breaking one of the elastic straps in one of the tent poles, I still need to repair it.

Sunday-Saturday July 25-31: Six Nights Truck Cap Camping Along Backbone Horse Trail at Finger Lakes National Forest

My summer vacation was the Finger Lakes National Forest. I decided to stick close to camp for much summer vacation, not rushing too much from place to place, spending a lot of afternoons at the Watkins Glen Pool, doing some paddling in Seneca Lake and Cayuta Lake, hiking in Texas Hollow and Sugar Hill State Forests. Did a lot of reading and laying back in the hammock. The campsite I stayed at didn’t have cell service, so it gave me a much needed to respite from the internet for a few days. Had some nice fires, drank some beer, and got away from it all.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday August 12-15: Three nights at House Pond Campsite with Clams and Sweet Corn

After summer vacation, I decided to take a long weekend — four days — up to Potholers, namely the House Pond campsite with lots of sweet corn, clams and beer. I can still taste the clams and beer, and I had plenty of them to eat over the weekend — they were breakfast, lunch and diner. But it was nice laying back in the hammock and swimming in the swimming hole by that campsite. I also hiked along old Edick Road and to Edick Road Campsite 1, which is way off from the main road, and then down to the ledge. Hiked back to House Pond, which was difficult as there was a lot of blow down from a storm earlier in the summer. Spent much of Sunday at the Potholers and then watched the sun set from the Kane Mountain Firetower. Didn’t bring the kayak this time.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 26-28: Three nights (again) at House Pond Campsite

With another warm week ahead, I decided to take off Friday and Monday off for one more week up at House Pond. This time I spent more time at Potholers, walking up there each afternoon, besides spending a lot of time at the swimming hole near this campsite. Did some fishing up House Pond, and a lot of drinking and reading from the hammock. Read yet another book about writing code in Python and Kristen Kimbell’s Dirty Life about farm life. I bought a large truck intertube for floating, but once I got to camp and started to setting up I realized I didn’t have an air pump with me, so I couldn’t use it while camping.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday September 3-5: Three nights at Hardwood Hill at Perkins Clearing

Friday, September 3rd was the final day of remote work – Labor Day Weekend. I got up early, drove to Speculator before 9 AM. I started working from Speculator Library but with my phone having hotspot service and cell service, mid-day I drove up to Hardwood Hill. This time I made sure to inflate my intertube before heading up north, and I spent Saturday evening until well after dusk floating in the Jessup River off of Jessup River. Then I drove to Sled Harbor after dark, hoping to catch a glimpse the illuminated Wakely Hill Firetower, but I could not see it as it I couldn’t find the good views of the tower from the road after dark.

Saturday September 11: One night at Betty Brook

Decided to do a weekend trip out to Schoharie County to hike the Catskill Scenic Trail south of Grand Gorge through the deep notch where NY 30 runs. Hiked down to Hubbell’s Corners from Grand Gorge then went for a very cold swim at Mine Kill State Park. Mine Kill pool was open late this year due to opening late at the beginning of summer. Water temperature was 58 degrees. Sunday I also went for a quick swim at Mine Kill Pool again. Still very cold.

Saturday September 18: One Night at House Pond

On September 18th, I drove up to Piseco-Powley Road to camp for three nights, four days. Spent one night at the House Pond Campsite, which I set up in the pouring rain, and spent time floating in the my new rubber intertube. It was a nice day once he rain stopped but the water was very cold. But it was nice laying back in the hammock that evening, although prior to dusk there was a lot of deer flies around and biting.

Sunday/Monday September 19 & 20: Two Nights at Powley Place

On Sunday afternoon I drove further up Piseco-Powley Road to Powley Place to do some camping and paddling on the East Canada Creek. Monday I hiked back to Goldstream Falls then carried my kayak down to the East Canada Creek and paddled down to the first rapids, portaged past that to the second main rapids. The beaver dams were relatively low this time, due to water levels being higher then other times when I’ve paddled the East Canada Creek. Laid back in the hammock, did some reading and looking out over the campsite on these mild, starry nights. Also did some floating down the East Canada Creek

Friday, Saturday, Sunday October 8-10: Three nights camping at Betty Brook

I took off the Friday before Columbus Day Weekend to hike Bear Pen Mountain in the Western Catskills. It was the start to a very colorful weekend. Betty Brook was nice, but it was good I got there relatively early — around 4 PM on Friday as the other campsites were quickly taken. On Saturday, I drove down to Stamford and hiked more of the Catskill Scenic Trail from Stamford for Bloomville then visited a friend in Summit. Sunday I hiked along Betty Brook Road to the snowmobile trail up Burnt Hill, then hiked over the dirt roads on Burnt and Rossman Hills, enjoying the leaves and wildlife. Hiked back to camp and laid back into the hammock well into the evening, which was quite mild. Sunday I hiked from Grand Gorge to Stamford on the Catskill Scenic Trail.

Saturday, November 6: Camping at County Bridge Campground Pennsylvania

Originally I was planning to get new tires put on my truck prior to going to West Virginia, trip that was postponed multiple times. Ultimately I decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just wear out the tires and go for the trip. I hadn’t decided on where I was going to go until I was on the road, and ended up going to Binghamton, then down to Pennsylvania for my first night camping. It was a cold first night — got down to 14 degrees.

Sunday/Monday November 7-8: Camp Run West Virginia

The first two nights I spent at Camp Run Primitive Campground at Miles, West Virginia which is located in a wash on the backside of Shenandoah Mountain. On Monday of that week I hiked up over Shenandoah Mountain, and watched the sun rise over Camp Run Lake. Tuesday morning I drove over through Judy Gap then up Spruce Mountain and hiked up that. In the afternoon I hiked up Seneca Rocks, something that had long been on my bucket list to do.

Tuesday, November 9: Camping at Canaan Heights

On Tuesday night I camped up in Canaan Heights / Table Rock outside of Thomas WV. I was going to stay multiple days but hearing a lot of wheel bearing noise in my truck, I decided it best to head north on Wednesday and see if I could either make it home or get the truck fixed. The wheel bearing burned up by the time I got up to Lock Haven but was able to get it fixed that day and head north to County Bridge.

Wednesday, November 10: Camping at County Bridge Pennsylvania

The second time camping at County Bridge it wasn’t as cold. I had a fire and retired to bed fairly early. But come the morning, neither the camp stove or the heater was working. I thought I might have have run out of propane. Then packed up in the morning on Veterans Day and headed north to Chenango Forks State Park, which I wanted to explore. I then stopped at Price Chopper, got some groceries and headed up to Long Pond State Forest for two kind of cold and chilly, damp nights.

Thursday/Friday, November 11-12: Camping at Long Pond State Forest

After spending the balance of Veterans Day, Thursday at Chenango Forks State Park, I camped for two nights at Long Pond State Forest. I was still having problems with my camp stove and heater, so it was kind of cold but I was able to find enough firewood to make do, and had some quiet evenings listening to the radio and just hanging out. Friday was pretty rainy, but I made due — beat having going back home. The fires were smokey but they were warm enough. And it beat being home.

Monday/Tuesday December 20-21: Camping at Stoney Pond State Forest

I thought about getting out of town after Thanksgiving but the weather did not cooperate. Then my truck’s repairs and tires got dragged out to mid-December. I decided to take he week off before Christmas to go camping. I was thinking about Central New York and then the Finger Lakes, but ultimately made it no farther then the Finger Lakes. Saturday was pouring rain, and then Sunday was bitterly cold. And my camp heater and stove were malfunctioning. But ultimately I was able to get it working, after much fiddling at camp. I camped two nights at Stoney Pond, spending Tuesday poking around Cazenovia. Tuesday was very gray, and Wednesday was snowy. Wednesday I drove to Hamilton and hiked part of the Chenango Canal Trail.

Wednesday, December 22: Camping at Moscow Hill Assembly Area

My final night camping in 2021 was the Moscow Hill Assembly Area at the Charles Baker State Forest. I decided to camp there as it was more sheltered from the wind and snow, and in case we got more snow, I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about the snow, as the county highway isn’t that far away. They were expecting high winds and low windchills, but it turned out not to be too bad. I thought about staying another night on Thursday, but the weather for Thursday looked sunny, and wanted to do some hiking, plus I wanted to be home for Christmas Eve for a family Christmas Party.

Good Morning – October 9, 2021

Good morning! Happy Columbus Day Weekend 🍂 !

Partly cloudy and 54 degrees at the Catskill Scenic Trail. 🌥 There is a east-southeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 49 degrees. Beautiful autumn day. The skies will clear Monday around 5 pm.

Yesterday, I hiked Bearpen Mountain for the first time. I had been there previously tried a few back but I missed the driveway to the parking area as I lacked a good map of the area. 🗺 The track on All Trails was pretty good and that got me started. Ironically, once you find the trailhead, the trail is a gated gravel road, in pretty good maintenence – looks like part of it was rebuilt and rerouted after Hurricane Irene. 🅿 The best views are to the north and west, definitely don’t stop after the first view, take the trail north across the summit to additional views. 🏞

I wanted to also do North Bearpen but time was tight and the trail across the col was soggy unlike the gated road up Bearpen. 🍂 Good color on Bearpen but some of the views were less colorful. Autumn is late this year, we’ve yet to have a good frost. 📸 Photos to be posted Monday or Tuesday.

I got to Betty Brook fairly early last night as I wanted to have time to get a campsite should the first one I wanted be taken. ⛺ I got set up – it was a beautiful night – the kind of night you don’t even need a long shirt for. Something more akin to August then October but the sun still set early. Despite the threat of clouds it actually was a very starry night. ✨ I would have liked to have laid back in the hammock but I dropped one of the straps in the dark and couldn’t find it until morning. I thought I had left the strap home. Maybe tonight will also be good for laying in the hammock.

There was some litter 🚮 on the other side of Betty Brook from the summer when somebody had set up targets for blasting. Just some cans and paper targets 🎯 but I didn’t want to look at the garbage all weekend so I put on my muck boots 👢 and crossed the creek. Picked up the litter and proceeded to slip on a log 🍁and get completely soaked from head to toe and had to change. Fortunately it was a very mild evening so I just toweled off and changed.

Today I’m hiking the Catskill Scenic Trail south of Stamford. It’s a nice day with more sun ☀ than I expected. There was a slight delay getting down here due to a detour from an auto crash on NY 10 but I still got an early start. 📸 I misplaced the battery 🔋 for the camera but was able to find another one so I’ll be able to get pictures today. One thing I’m is I’m a bit disappointed with the scenery here compared to the other part of the rail trail but I think it will be better father south I go. I’ll drive up Utsaythana later and through the township valley which is always beautiful in the autumn.

I Can Help You Make a Map

Geographic Information Services (GIS) – Maps – Cartography

I am an amateur cartographer who designs maps and does a wide variety geospatial analysis using free and open-source geographic information software (GIS) and public sources of data to design quality maps, graphs, charts and datasets. I am looking for new and interesting projects to improve my skills, make connections and expand my portfolio.

Are you looking for my personal blog with it’s hiking, camping and outdoor recreation maps, along with a variety of charts, photos, and stories? Please visit andyarthur.org.

Mapping Avaliable

Tax/Property Mapping
High Resolution Aerial Photography
Recreational Maps – Hunting, Camping, Hiking
Georeference addresses using State Address Mapping service, plot them on a map
Wetlands, Topographic Contours, Land Cover
Compare historical aerial photos or maps to current photography
Web mapping using leaflet (HTML/Javascript file to embed on a website or use at home)

Example maps can found below.

Services Available

A list of property owners within 1,000 feet of a proposed development
How many cars per day pass a business?
How many people who live within 5 miles of a business or park?
How many African Americans and Hispanics live within 10 miles of Albany Pine Bush?
What are wealthiest election districts?
How many people ride public transit in a neighborhood?
How much of an area is wetland or farm field?
How big an interchange?
What is the average slope and elevation of an area or trail?

Example data can found below.

Pricing and Cost

For most projects, there is no fee. I am looking for experience, references, mentors and connections in the geospatial community.

If you have a large project, let’s talk about it. I might be willing to do it for free, if it’s something really interesting
or important like fighting suburban sprawl and pollution. I don’t a business or taxes set up, so I can’t really charge at this point.

How to get started?

Please send me an email describing the mapping or data project in as much detail as possible.

My email is andy@andyarthur.org

Data Avaliable

US Census – 2019 American Community Survey, 2020 US Census
NYS Tax and Assessment Rolls (2020)
NYSDOT Traffic Counts and Road Data
Historical Aerial Photography (primarily 1952, but earlier and later exist)
ArcGIS REST/Services and WMS Services from state and local agencies
LiDAR Elevation Profiles
USGS Topographic Maps, historic and modern – with overlays if requested
Data Repositories like CUGIR, DataNY.gov and NYSGIS
Recreation data from NYSDEC

Software Used

Quantum GIS (QGIS) including 3D Mapping
Geodata Abstraction Library (GDAL, ogr2ogr)
Python, including the data-science libraries PANDAS and GeoPANDAS
LeafletJS Web Mapping Services

Geographies Avaliable

Primary Capital Region and also much of New York State, also some for Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia
State, county, municipal, school districts – Most data sets
Parks, highways, buffer (distance to) – Most data sets
Election districts – Roughly 75% of NYS counties
Census Tract or Blockgroup – 2019 American Community Survey
Tabulation Block – 2020 US Census

Are printed maps avaliable at this time?

Not currently. I can send you a file based on your specifications to print at your local print shop.

How long do mapping projects take?

Depends on complexity of the project. Many projects only take minutes, however if a project requires georeferencing, data cleaning, or custom shapes or layouts, it might take significantly longer. More revisions lead to better quality output.

Do you make maps professionally?

No! This is just a hobby. But I’m interested in expanding my skills. I do a lot of mapping for my blog and in support of community organizations like Save the Pine Bush.

Are my maps of good quality?

Thats for you to decide. I don’t have formal education in map making, and I don’t have professional tools. But do take a look at the work I’ve done below.

Examples of Maps

This shows a 3D rendering of the Buckville Canal north of Hamilton

This map shows the use of 2020 PL 94-171 data to calculate population density in City of Albany.

This 1985 aerial photo shows Crossgates Mall prior to it’s expansion.

This GIF image shows the change in unemployment during Coronavirus panademic.

This image shows hiking trails near Brooktrout, Falls Pond and Deep Lake.

Peebles Island, a Comparison 1952

3D Interactive of campsites at Moose River Plains.

Sample tax map in Albany.

Election results – 2020 Presidential Election, Onondoga County.

Map showing where sparklers are legally sold in New York.

Downtown Plattsburgh 1866 Beers (1866 Beers vs. 2020 OSM)

3D Rendering of Canandaigua Lake

Map showing Buffalo Mayoral Primary results and campaign donors.

Overlay of Proposed Retail Core in 1963 Plan for the Capital City.

Map showing Local Area Unemployment Statistics – April 2020.

Interactive tax map in Delmar

State Land in Stockholm, NY – Buckton State Forest.

Empire State Plaza take area, 1952

3D Rendering of the 1898 Watkins Glen Topographic Map

Examples of Data and Code

Properties in Albany Pine Bush Study Area,Excel Files: Various Tax Rolls,Find coordinates and political districts,Look Up State Tax Records and aScript for Processing RPTL 1520 PDFs.

Querying state property database, political enrollments, PL 94-171 Census files, calcula t ing population statistics, what address is a district in, converting old districts to new districts.

Miles from Albany	millions population
50	1.002
100	1.750
150	3.511
200	17.102
250	17.725
300	18.699
350	19.411
400	20.187
450	20.201

import pandas as pd
import geopandas as gpd
 
# path to overlay shapefile
overlayshp = r'/tmp/dis_to_albany.gpkg'
 
# summary level -- 750 is tabulation block, 150 is blockgroup
# large areas over about 50 miles much faster to use bg
summaryLevel = 150
#summaryLevel = 750
 
# path to block or blockgroup file
if summaryLevel == 150:
    blockshp = r'/home/andy/Documents/GIS.Data/census.tiger/36_New_York/tl_2020_36_bg20.shp.gpkg'
else:
    blockshp = r'/home/andy/Documents/GIS.Data/census.tiger/36_New_York/tl_2020_36_tabblock20.shp.gpkg'
 
# path to PL 94-171 redistricting geoheader file
pl94171File = '/home/andy/Desktop/nygeo2020.pl'
 
# field to categorize on (such as Ward -- required!)
catField = 'Name'
 
# geo header contains 2020 census population in column 90 
# per PL 94-171 documentation, low memory chunking disabled 
# as it causes issues with the geoid column being mixed types
df=pd.read_csv(pl94171File,delimiter='|',header=None, low_memory=False )
 
# column 2 is summary level 
population=df[(df.iloc[:,2] == summaryLevel)][[9,90]]
 
# load overlay
overlay = gpd.read_file(overlayshp).to_crs(epsg='3857')
 
# shapefile of nys 2020 blocks, IMPORTANT (!) mask by output file for speed
blocks = gpd.read_file(blockshp,mask=overlay).to_crs(epsg='3857')
 
# geoid for linking to shapefile is column 9
joinedBlocks=blocks.set_index('GEOID20').join(population.set_index(9))
 
# store the size of unbroken blocks
# in case overlay lines break blocks into two
joinedBlocks['area']=joinedBlocks.area
 
# run union
unionBlocks=gpd.overlay(overlay, joinedBlocks, how='union')
 
# drop blocks outside of overlay
unionBlocks=unionBlocks.dropna(subset=[catField])
 
# create population projection when a block crosses
# an overlay line -- avoid double counting -- this isn't perfect
# as we loose a 0.15 percent due to floating point errors
unionBlocks['sublock']=unionBlocks[90]*(unionBlocks.area/unionBlocks['area'])
 
# sum blocks in category
unionBlocks=pd.DataFrame(unionBlocks.groupby(catField).sum()['sublock'])
 
# rename columns
unionBlocks=unionBlocks.rename({'sublock': '2020 Census Population'},axis=1)
 
# calculate cumulative sum as you go out each ring
unionBlocks['millions']=unionBlocks.cumsum(axis=0)['2020 Census Population']/1000000
 
# each ring is 50 miles
unionBlocks['miles']=unionBlocks.index*50
 
# output
unionBlocks

Land use in town of Berne (from 2016 National Land Cover Dataset)

Most highly assessed properties in Albany County …

from arcgis.features import FeatureLayer
lyr_url = 'https://gisservices.its.ny.gov/arcgis/rest/services/NYS_Tax_Parcel_Centroid_Points/MapServer/0'
layer = FeatureLayer(lyr_url)
query_result1 = layer.query(where="COUNTY_NAME='Albany' AND FULL_MARKET_VAL > 100000000", 
                                    out_fields='PARCEL_ADDR,CITYTOWN_NAME,FULL_MARKET_VAL,OWNER_TYPE', out_sr='4326')

df=query_result1.sdf.sort_values(by='FULL_MARKET_VAL', ascending=False)
df['Full Market Value'] = df['FULL_MARKET_VAL'].map('${:,.0f}'.format)

df

	OBJECTID	PARCEL_ADDR	CITYTOWN_NAME	FULL_MARKET_VAL	OWNER_TYPE	SHAPE	Full Market Value
11	26652	64 Eagle St	Albany	1204254925	2	{“x”: -73.75980312511581, “y”: 42.650469918250…	$1,204,254,925
3	9150	1200 Washington Ave	Albany	886298715	2	{“x”: -73.81092293494828, “y”: 42.679257168282…	$886,298,715
4	10208	1400 Washington Ave	Albany	642398287	2	{“x”: -73.82369286130952, “y”: 42.685845700657…	$642,398,287
0	885	251 Fuller Rd	Albany	440042827	2	{“x”: -73.83559002316825, “y”: 42.690208093507…	$440,042,827
5	18164	632 New Scotland Ave	Albany	377568201	8	{“x”: -73.80381341626146, “y”: 42.655758957669…	$377,568,201
1	906	141 Fuller Rd	Albany	321199143	2	{“x”: -73.83323986150171, “y”: 42.693189748928…	$321,199,143
19	108087	See Card 1067	Watervliet	280898876	1	{“x”: -73.70670724174552, “y”: 42.719628647232…	$280,898,876
15	65380	737 Alb Shaker Rd	Colonie	263916100	3	{“x”: -73.80365248218001, “y”: 42.747956678125…	$263,916,100
9	21923	304 Madison Ave	Albany	234265418	2	{“x”: -73.76227373289564, “y”: 42.648000674457…	$234,265,418
2	907	201 Fuller Rd	Albany	203426124	2	{“x”: -73.83362605353057, “y”: 42.692609131686…	$203,426,124
16	69999	515 Loudon Rd	Colonie	166065600	8	{“x”: -73.74958475282632, “y”: 42.719321807666…	$166,065,600
7	20592	47 New Scotland Ave	Albany	162276338	8	{“x”: -73.77597163421673, “y”: 42.653565689693…	$162,276,338
6	20574	132 S Lake Ave	Albany	146296360	2	{“x”: -73.77970918544908, “y”: 42.654390366929…	$146,296,360
8	20597	113 Holland Ave	Albany	143498501	2	{“x”: -73.77306688593143, “y”: 42.650762742870…	$143,498,501
17	78203	Mannsville	Colonie	142570400	1	{“x”: -73.71245452369443, “y”: 42.718124477080…	$142,570,400
18	95509	1 Crossgates Mall Rd	Guilderland	130554700	8	{“x”: -73.84702700595471, “y”: 42.687699053797…	$130,554,700
10	24521	86 S Swan St	Albany	128436403	2	{“x”: -73.75980563770365, “y”: 42.653931892804…	$128,436,403
13	46883	1916 US 9W	Coeymans	110000000	8	{“x”: -73.83388475575597, “y”: 42.488730743021…	$110,000,000
12	35152	380 River Rd	Bethlehem	105263158	8	{“x”: -73.76445503554325, “y”: 42.595925419330…	$105,263,158
14	65097	15 Wolf Rd	Colonie	101967213	8	{“x”: -73.81423716588279, “y”: 42.709939498581…	$101,967,213

July 7, 2021 Morning

Good morning! What day is it? Hump Day, of course. 🐪 Or maybe not because it’s the dog 🐶 days of summer and Monday was a holiday and I’m off Friday. Next Wednesday is National Nude Day 👱. Summer after all is a much better time for skinny dipping than winter. Partly sunny and 69 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 65 degrees. The muggy weather ends Sunday around noontime. 😓

Today is going to be another hot ol summer day, 🏖 although the thunderstorms ⛈ should provide some relief later. I didn’t think it was that warm out so far but I can find the warmth walking in the sun ☀. I didn’t do my evening or for that matter morning walk 🚶🏻 yesterday, mainly because it was hot. Actually I didn’t do the morning walk yesterday because I stayed over at my parents house 🏡 and had breakfast there before work.

I didn’t catch the earlier bus 🚍 in but that’s fine, as I am not expecting a busy morning and usually I stay a bit late in the office 🏢 as the evening bus without the express or rush hour service. I just dropped something in the kitchen and I had to clean it up. Also I’m having occasional issues with the toilet 🚽 always flushing perfectly. It’s always one issue or another with my apartment. It’s inexpensive, under 10% of my pre-tax income so I can’t complain much. Going to be another hot ol summer day but the air conditioning is nice.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 87 degrees at 5pm. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 72 at 4pm. Light and variable wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with more sun in the afternoon. It was humid. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1988.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 69.9° from the due south horizon (-0.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:54 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (302°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:36 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 9:09 pm, which is 22 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:55 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 79 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 3 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 61 degrees at 5am. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around July 2nd. Maximum dew point of 69 at 6pm. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies. It became very sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 73 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1969.

On this day in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. 🥪 That’s almost as cool as sliced bread, which is sold for the first time by the Chillico the Baking Company in 1921. As long as it’s not all moldy like that sandwich I bit into yesterday.

Looks like a great weekend up north. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Maximum dew point of 63 at 7am. Sunday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

Maybe some thunderstorms ⛈ on Friday, but after my eye appointment is done 👀 I’m heading to Piseco-Powley Road. 🏊🏻‍♂️ I have the day off.. Probably spend much of the weekend at the Potholers. Monday and Tuesday probably work from Spectulator and Lake Pleasant. Got to take advantage of remote work 💻 as it’s quickly winding down.

After this weekend there is one more weekend before summer vacation. 🏖 I might go to Schoharie Valley for a long weekend if it’s nice and the Mine Kill Pool is open. I have quite a bit of time to use, although I will need a week for my summer vacation and then a week for an autumn trip to West Virginia or maybe somewhere else.

I also need to decide if I need work on my truck before vacation. 👨‍🔧 As the tires wear down, they are getting progressively louder. I still think I need new struts and tires on the truck, but I’m putting that off until the fall. I guess for now I could rotate the tires, but I’m a bit hesitant when I’m planning to replace them come the fall. I do need to decide if It’s time for an oil change, as I don’t think the shop used synthetic last time, although I haven’t gone that many miles since the last change. But it would be kind of nice get both the tires rotated and oil changed before vacation to be safe. I’ll have to think about it more, as neither is essential but might be good. The tires are annoying, but I want to wear them down more before replacing this autumn. Also want to sand down the rust and slap on a coating of rust-resistance paint at some point.

As previously noted, next Wednesday is National Nude Day 👱 when the sun will be setting at 8:31 pm with dusk at 9:05 pm. On that day in 2020, we had mostly sunny with a thunderstorm and temperatures between 84 and 67 degrees. Good day for skinny dipping maybe in the House Pond Campsite swimming hole. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1995.

Site Map

🌲🌲 Our Public Lands 🌳🌲

Interactive maps with backcountry and roadside camping: New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia & Vermont.
List of NYS DEC Lean-Tos with map coordinates. List of NYS DEC Firetowers with map coordinates and more information.
Google Spreadsheet with Roadside, Primitive and Pay Campsites

Explore the Finger Lakes Trail, Long Path, Northville-Placid Trail and Long Trail/Appalachian in Vermont.
Catskill Park Mountain Peaks, Hudson Valley & Long Island Peaks, Peaks Over 3000 ft Elevation, Highest Peaks in Adirondacks, Interactive Map of All Named Summits in NYS, Blaze Colors in Catskill Park, Trailhead Parking Coordinates and Addresses in the Catskills.

Browse USGS Topo Quads as PDF 🆕 by State Lands or County. You can Bulk Download New & Old USGS Topograpic Maps.

Links to various NY State Land Websites 🆕. Get latest GIS Data from state Web Services.

⛺🌲 Camp 🌲🏕

Moose River Plains – Campsite Listing, Maps and photos of state’s largest free camping area.
Piseco-Powley Road – Campsite Listing, Maps and photos of 15 mile dirt road with camping.
Catskill Park Primitive Campsites – An overview of free camping locations in Catskill Park.
Burnt-Rossman Forest, Cattaraugus County, East Branch Sacandaga River, Finger Lakes National Forest, Madison County, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virigina.

Campsite Coordinates for Bog River Flow / Lows Lake, Hudson River SMA (Buttermilk Falls), Lake Lila, Oswegathie River, Nine-Corner Lake, Pharaoh Lake Wilderness, Saranac River Campsites, Stillwater Lake, Schoharie County, and Sugar Hill State Forest.

Overview of Camping Areas in the Catskills, Green Mountains, Southern Adirondacks, Central Adirondacks, Northern Adirondacks, Allegheny National Forest and Penna. DCNR Motorized Campsites and the Monongahela National Forest West Virginia.

Free Campsite Overview Maps: Adirondack – North Country, Catskills, Central NY, Finger Lakes, Western NY. Interactive Map.

Places I camped in 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Bicycle Trails and “Blackie” My Mountain Bike

Finally bought a mountain bike, after chewing over a mountain vs commuter bike. Really enjoying riding my bike to work and when it rains there is always a bike rack to safely take it back home. One way to get to adventures at Thacher Park is the Nature Bus.

Empire Trail – KMZ and Interactive Map. Parking along it.

More Trailways with KMZ files including the Albany County Rail Trail, Black Diamond Trail, Catharine Valley Trail, Catskill Scenic Trail, Fonda, Johnstown & Gloversville Rail Trail, Genesee Valley Trail, Link Trail.

🦌🌲 Hunt 🦃🐿

Wildlife Management Units (Deer) – KMZ Map shows the WMU boundaries.

Summer 2019 Aerial Photographs of WMUs

KMZ Maps of Deer Harvest Density by Town: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. By WMU 2017, 2016, 2015.

KMZ Maps of Buck Harvest Density by Town: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. By WMU 2017, 2016

2016 -2019 Deer and Buck Harvest by Town – KMZ Spreadsheet with FIPS codes for making your own calculations.

🎣🐡 Fish 🐟🐠

Parking and Access to Trout Streams – An interactive, downloadable KMZ Map.
Lakes with DEC Contour Maps – A KMZ Map links to Contour Maps for Fishing.

🌨🏔 Sled & Wheel 🚙❄

State Truck Trails Over A Half Mile – Dirt roads to explore in the backcountry.
NYS Statewide Snowmobile Trail System – State trails on public and private lands.

📉📊 Learn 💵📈

Interactive Maps of NY Census – Explore and download KML files.
Charts and Interactive Diagrams – From population to pollution control.
Andy Arthur GitHub – Git my R and Python scripts used to make maps and diagrams.
Use ArcPullR to Get Geospatial Data – Super easy way to connect to get GIS data in R from government servers.
GDAL Opens E00 Files – Most open source programs nowadays can open common geospatial formats.
NY Building Footprints – Where to find on the internet for making maps.
WMS and ArcMap Services – Downloadable CSV file listing services used on the blog.
2022 US Census Population Estimates – Red states, south continue to gain population.
2020 Cartogram of State Population

💳 🏛 Property Taxes 🏠💸

Properties in Albany Pine Bush Study Area, Excel Files: Various Tax Rolls, Find coordinates and political districts, Look Up State Tax Records and a Script for Processing RPTL 1520 PDFs. Match NY SWIS Codes to FIPS Codes and GEOID. How to Find MapServer Data and Load Into QGIS.

🚗🚗 Big Red 🚗🚗

Big Red – Photos and Videos of my lifted truck with its camper shell. Big Red’s Dual Battery Setup for Camp Power, Video Tour and Diagram. Big Red is getting old. What is next? I’ve thought about going carless for a while to save money and reduce pollution. Or maybe going bigger? Or smaller? Five dollar gas sucks.

🔥🌲 Off-Grid Living 🏠🤠

I am seriously thinking about building an off-grid house. I have a first draft. I need to learn CAD! I have a road map towards buying land and building. I concede might have to live with long commute and give up traveling and camping. I need to be strong.

Why off grid? Well, I’m not into contemporary society. I want to own land, but not be called a landowner, and a cabin, not hooked to electrical grid, farm, raise pigs for food and burn my own trash. I’m saving for a better tomorrow, hoping to make the leap to another freer state. Having acreage is important. Cornfields aren’t bad neighbors. Maybe though my vision has grown smaller and more local. More on off-grid living.

I am 16 years into my career and have made some significant progress in my life. I love my job. But I do wonder on all the things I’m missing out but saving sure makes me high. Maybe it will be different when I own my own land — the end of goal of all this saving.

2020 into 2021 during the pandemic was a year of remote work. It was a struggle not having internet at home, worked a lot out of my truck. But I worked remotely from Horseshoe Lake which was super cool.

Generally I like the idea of owning land in a red state, particularly Idaho, Iowa, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin — and Midwest more generally. But I may settle for New York – it’s all about the f-ing money!

Learn to code for free modern HTML, Javascript, Python and SQL at freeCodeCamp and web development at the Odin Project.

Politics

Crunched Election Results with Turnout for Albany County: November 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and Primaries June 2019, Pres/June 2020, June 2021, June 2022, Aug 2022, June 2023.

Albany County Races converted to the new 2023 EDs using Super EDs and Code: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and Primaries June 2019, Pres/June 2020, June 2021, June 2022, Aug 2022.

Above Election Results as zipped Excel files.

Albany County Legi slature Districts 2024 Maps –

Maps Comparing 2017 and 2023 Albany County Election Districts and a Crosswalk Table Showing the Proposition of Voting Age Population in New and Old EDs

Maps of 2022 NYC Assembly Races, NYS Assembly Races, NY Senate Races, Governor’s Race in Erie County and Statewide. Partisan shift in governor race between 2010 and 2018.

A comparison of Democratic Performance 2022 Assembly Districts to those proposed in 2023 by the IRC. Here is latest 4/20/23 IRC Maps, showing ADP and how they change from existing Assembly districts. Most towns upstate, outside of cities, are quite red. Using LATFOR data with R to calculate Average Democratic Performance.

You can scrape employee salary data from SeeThroughNY using R. Other useful investigative resources.

I often think politics is for losers. I’m into the politics of statistical analysis and reading history books.

I believe strongly in the first amendment, second amendment, oppose gun restrictions and I support de-funding the police in favor of lower-cost technology and civilian employees. Maybe use red flag laws for voting to stop dangerous voters? And the media should stop promoting mass-shootings, even if it’s super profitable for all involved. They should tax the media when it promotes violence. I think some people are much too paranoid in politics. How elections are rigged under law to benefit incumbents. But vote, it’s the best option and inexpensive.

Yeah for the third parties! I voted for Larry Sharpe for Governor and Jo Jergenson for President but my views are complicated and often vote for Democrats, after voting Jill Stein Green Party in 2016.

Some thoughts on Joe Biden not seeking re-election. Times change, but Biden was been a good change over DJT and glad the Trump era is over and are glad prosecutors and grand jurors are holding him responsible by indicting him for many serious felonies. I don’t think Trump can win in 2024, as nothing has changed politically from 2020.

I think rural people should be left alone and not worship government workers or have parades for them. I am no fan of Donald Trump, his speeches are bad, I don’t like Trump’s embrace of radical environmentalists, but do admire the homemade roadside monuments to DJT.

I don’t toke. But whatever. There are too many transit authorities.

The Earth

Why I oppose wilderness areas and parks. It’s trendy to be green these days, but is eco-marketing good for the planet? I visited the Mount Storm Coal Plant and Corridor H.

I worry about a lot about overly-aggressive Climate Change Action, and Undermining Environment Laws for Climate Action. I think we should all admit we are Addicted to Fossil Fuels. These days, urban recycling has become a joke, when it’s still an option at all. It’s better to just buy less shit and avoid the alure of Costcos. I really don’t like how aging radicals have become industrial solar salespeople.

Big bucks are coming to state-designated disadvantaged communities under the CLCP. Which counties and political districts are in line for the the most pork? Interactive map.

I’m a big of farmers who are essentially Living Off the Earth and think Rednecks are Noble Savages. Dairy Farming are key to our rural landscape. I’d trust a farmer or a hunter in a pile of guts he’s butchered over any ivory-tower scientist.

🌎🔆 Industrial Solar 🌞 🏭

Hundreds of multi-acre industrial solar farms are being built in our state. How bad is solar for the environment? We should ask tough questions. Interactive of recently built solar farms, proposed facilities. List of proposed industrial solar facilities. See how the Greenville Solar Farm changed the landscape.

Saving Money

I am not a fan of ESG Investing as it’s not well diversified. I prefer index-funds and other tax-advantaged ways of saving. Why I am concerned about saving enough for retirement, even though I’m in my late 30s. We as a nation should save more, consume less. I like the idea of carbon tax to replace capital gains taxes to discourage consumption.

Mission Fifty, Smoking Grass & Being Healthier

I am now officially in my 40s! I am building to a better life in my 50s, which means getting up early, walking a lot, saying no to cake and yes to more fruit. In many ways, the forties are an awesome time to be alive.

And eating healthy for less without losing sleep over arsenic. And I don’t think we should subsidize unhealthy habits. How I got started in eating healther. Meals are too focused on meat and carbs due to how we describe them, maybe I eat too many bananas in the office, what to eat while camping, worry more about salt then GMOs, eat more beans. Do spend extra for farmers market peaches, especially doughnut peaches and plums. Consider ethnic supermarkets. Thinking about how to make a healthier macaroni and cheese, spinach-mackeral-pasta salad, quick-cook biscuits and whole-wheat bread. That said, too many recipes are junk food crap. Okay in moderation is not okay. The fact that I’m thinner is not a sign I’m dying.

A few years back I decided to explore my mental illness with therapy, thinking about why I have so much anxiety and how many of my values are rational or just thinking too much rednecks’ burn barrels and how much of a throwaway society we live in. Do I want to change?

I’ve learned to care less about the world, and focus more on myself. Maybe I am happier as I am now, saving and investing a lot towards owning my own land, where I don’t have to deal with all the bullshit of modern life.

And smoke more grass, now that’s legal. Smoking pot is fascinating. Enjoying the rich colors. A map of licensed pot retailers in NYS. Yes, that stuff we used to think of as the smell of crime. Thoughts on Stoner Culture. Not that the blog advertisers like it.

Mission Fifty: Getting to the point where I own my own land.
Healthy Eating / Growing My Wealth
Healthy Thoughts / Enjoying Life

Questions, comments? Feel free to email me at andy@andyarthur.org.

**I smoke pot and drink cheap beer,** up in the wilderness. Yes it’s my right !

I use GNU open source software.
Plus I like buck goats,
because they’re real macho men
spraying their beards with goat urine.

I own guns, but **not nearly enough.** Some day when I live in a pro-2A state …

“I can’t make everybody happy, so I’ll just be myself.” – Andy Arthur

Return to the Top

Laugh a bit and learn how your data is used on this blog: Privacy Policy

May 17, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Happy Pack Rat Day 🐀! It’s hard to argue with Texas ranchers with their burn pits. Pile it up and light a match. 🔥 Backfill the dead pit hole with dirt. 🚜 Kind of like they do in the city without the fancy liners and shit. Remember Texas is nearly six times the size of New York, you can get away with shit out there unthinkable back east. Two weeks to Memorial Day 🇺🇸 . That officially is the kick off to summer. I think I will stay out of the Adirondacks that weekend because I don’t like crowds or black flies. I had my fill this weekend. Mostly sunny and 50 degrees at the Mason Lake. 😎 Calm wind. But so far that black flies 🐜 haven’t awoken but they are coming. 🙄

Yesterday, I hiked Watch Hill (again) 🏃 then walked around Lewey Lake Campground 🐦 studying the birds, and taking some pictures of scenery. 🖼 Still not sure what the hiking trails listed on the signs are from Lewey Lake are — I have some on my map, but I couldn’t find them. But I tell you they pack those campsites in. I drove down to Mason Lake, and while I didn’t get a campsite right on the lake like I had hoped, 🏕 I did find a campsite that I didn’t visit at all last year, and it was nice smaller site. The smaller sites are easier to light. The black flies were super bad all around Perkins Clearing, 🐜 but once I had the screen tent set up and I could hide out in there to dusk, it was bearable. 📗 Did some reading and scrolling through the phone for a while 📱 before doing a brief walk down to Mason Lake, which was about 3/4 mile down from the road where I camped. Virtually nobody up at Watch Hill, I passed a small group hiking up the mountain but after that I didn’t see a single other person. 🗻 I didn’t dilly dally too much on Watch Hill as I heard some thunder and it looked like rain to south 🌩 but it tuned out to be nothing more then a handful of rain dops.

Taking down camp ⛺ and getting ready to head to Spectulator. I have a busy day ahead so I want to be there by nine 🕘. I also want things taken down before the black flies are out in force. Made some eggs 🥚 and laying back in the hammock for a few minutes before I start on south. A pretty nice day, alas a work day so I’ll probably be spending most of the day at the Lake Pleasant Wi-Fi, but at least I won’t have to worry about having enough energy to keep everything charged. 😎 But alas, this evening after work I’m heading back home. I am running a bit low on supplies, and I want to work from home tomorrow so I can get ready for working in office come Wednesday. 👨‍💼 Pretty drive though down to Spectulator this morning.

Today will have a slight chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 69 degrees at 1pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 9th. But then again, we are comparing Speculator weather to Albany climate normals, and that’s not a perfect mix as it’s colder in mountains. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 74 degrees. The record high of 92 was set in 2017.

The agenda today is pretty much work, 💻 although I hope at lunch time to have an hour to go for a walk along the Sacandaga River and maybe sit down by Lake Pleasant. At 5 PM or so I’ll head home and get unpacked. Maybe a make a few stops along away to toss in a fishing line. 🎣 J do like fishing below the dam in Wells, although with the warm weather they probably will have ramped the hydro dam up and the trout are probably hiding in deep due to the heat.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.8° from the due south horizon (-4° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:37 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (291°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (298°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:19 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 20 seconds with dusk around 8:51 pm, which is one minute and 3 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west-southwest (254°) at an altitude of 49° from the horizon, 241,453 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:34 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 60 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 48 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 3 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃 , with a low of 47 degrees at 3am. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 13th. Calm wind. In 2020, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 29 occurred back in 1981.

This weekend will give us a hint of summer. 🏖 But not really muggy. Saturday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Maximum dew point of 57 at 8am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 56 at 8am. Typical average high for the weekend is 73 degrees. I’m considering Madison County, where there won’t be black flies, but two weekend in a row traveling can be a bit tired. I am not sure.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Memorial Day 🇺🇸 when the sun will be setting at 8:31 pm with dusk at 9:06 pm. 🌺 Aren’t you looking forward to the unofficial kick-off for summer, although we get will get a taste of that this week. On that day in 2020, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 65 and 46 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 75 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 2013.

December 31, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Happy New Years Eve 🎆! It’s true, the worse year ever, as the critics like to say is coming to an end. Onward to 2021! It can’t be worse, right? I don’t know, I thought 2020 was a fun year. Just like bad old New York City. Grimy and awful, but fun. 🏕 Tonight will be 63 nights camping this year. Two weeks to Coldest Week of the Year 🌬. But based on the 8-14 day outlook, that seems unlikely. Rain showers and 35 degrees in Delmar, NY. ❄ There is a west breeze at 10 mph. 🍃. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 6 pm. ☃️

Woke up early, excited to be heading north for the NYE. ⬆ Feeling a lot better today, 🤒 the sore throat is gone and maybe the slight congestion on the nose. I am going to stay away from alcohol tonight, and hopefully the cold, dry air won’t trigger the cold to get worse, although I figure if I do feel sicker, I can come home and sleep until January 4th. And then it’s work from home, so if I’m sick as a dog, as long as I don’t sound so sick on the phone, nobody will ever know.

Had a nice breakfast of pancakes and coffee. ☕🥞 I got to take a shower next, and then I want to start loading up the truck. My goal is to be on the road by 9:30-10 AM, stopping in Amsterdam for a few supplies, then north.

Today will have a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 8am. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a high of 39 degrees at 11am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 7th. West wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had light snow in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 39 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1895. 7.9 inches of snow fell back in 2007.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 11:59 am with sun having an altitude of 24.3° from the due south horizon (-46.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 13.3 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 3:47 pm with the sun in the southwest (231°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (239°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 4:32 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 24 seconds with dusk around 5:03 pm, which is 50 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 5:40 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 35 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 10 mph. Tomorrow will have 9 hours and 7 minutes of daytime, an increase of 46 seconds over today.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 23 degrees at 5am. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 12th. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light after midnight. In 2019, we had light rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 34 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1970.

I am getting packed and planning on heading north around 9:30 or 10 AM. 🏔 I am still not convinced that I will stay more then one night, but I’ll bring enough changes of clothes for the weekend. New Years Day is going to be quite nice, but late Saturday into Saturday morning looks like it will be a mix of rain and ice. But I’ll evaluate at this point, and be glad for getting away at least one night. I want to get up there by no later then 12 noon to 1 PM so I have time to drag the gear back from the parking lot to campsite, as I think there will be too much snow to drive to campsite itself, and I certainly don’t want to leave the truck there overnight should it get plowed in.

Not a particularly nice weekend on tap. 😞 Saturday, rain, mainly before noon. High near 43. Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Sunday, a chance of snow after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Typical average high for the weekend is 31 degrees.