Green Lakes State Park beautiful and unique state park featuring mineral rich waters, meromictic ecosystems, and old growth forest outside of Syracuse, NY. I went out for a 1.5 hour walk along these lakes on a beautiful fall morning around 7 AM.
It is a three mile walk around both Green Lakes and Round Lake, and is very popular for crazy suburbanite joggers, which will try to run you over when you go for an early morning walk. In the day time in the fall it’s even more crowed, though there is no entry charge after Labor Day Weekend
Watching the sun rise across the lake.
The colors along the trail as the sun rose where spectacular.
As I walk along the very colorful tree line along the lake.
As the fog rises on Green Lake and over green lake.
Walking over to Round Lake and watching the colors of the trees reflect on the lake’s surface.
On a brightly lit trail around Round Lake as the sun filters through the colors of fall.
And dozens of color reflect upon Round Lake.
Then I walk over to Green Lake with the colors at peak on a very beautiful fall morning.
From the southern edge of Green Lake, there is this pretty little point jetting out into the Lake.
I proceeded to walk along to the western Edge Of Green Lake to see the bright colors across the lake. This is from the point shown in the previous photo.
One last view of the colors, as I return back to my truck.
The Old Administration Building at Green Lakes (taken the previous afternoon).
The New Administration Building at Green Lakes.
Note: The best time for peak folliage at Green Lakes State Park is during the Columbus Day Weekend in October. This is when I was out hiking here. If you want to visit it during the most pretty part of the day, make sure to get here right at the crack of dawn, which occurs about 15 minutes later then surrounding areas, due to the low elevation of the lakes.
Here is a map of the walk around Green Lake and Round Lake. If you are doing it in the morning, it’s best to walk around the Eastern Shores first for the sunrise, and the Western Shores second to see the colors on the leaves.
It’s obvious that the summer is too short. Despite the fact that Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress, the White House, and the state legislature, they have failed to extend the summer months into the fall.
It’s not like it’s impossible to extend summer. All they would have to do is pass a law stating the summer extended past the fall eqiunox, and maybe change the days that school starts along with changing the date of elections.
To counter the shorter colder days, the Democrats could have created a second daylight savings time, that would kick in for the first three weeks of fall, along with offering tax breaks for the purchase of warmer clothing, such as insulated swim suits.
This could be of great economic benefit. It could create jobs and extend summer fun. But of course, the Democrats despite being in power chose not to extended summer another month or two.
I was wondering about how expensive it is to generate electricity with my pickup truck to power my accessories in the evening compared to the 16 cents a killowatt hour electricity I have at home from National Grid (including the 1.8 cent a killowatt hour surcharge for wind-hydro power).
Figuring…
The inverter and wiring has a maximum output of 800 watts. In an hour, it can produce up to 0.8 a kilowatt hours of electricty.
The truck battery has a reserve capacity of 120 minutes at 50 amps draw at 12 volts.
Gas is $2.75 a gallon. A Ford Ranger uses approximently 1/2 oz of gasoline per minute idle, and it takes 256 minutes or 4 hours, sixteen minutes idling per gallon.
Idle the truck 20 minutes an hour to keep the battery charged. That means each hour it uses 10 oz of gasoline, or 1/12 a gallon of gasoline.
Adds up to…
About $1.50 a kWh for electricity. While it takes more then hour to produce that killowatt hour energy, that’s what the net cost is. It’s 10 times the cost of utility plant, but that’s to be expected.
A pickup truck’s engine and alternator is not designed as a dynamo to efficently generate electricity. The primary goal of the alternator is keep the battery charged up, and the battery is designed mostly to provide a high amperage output to the starter, to quickly spin a cold engine with significant resistance from congealed oil in the winter.
Alternators are at best 50-60% efficent at converting engine power to electricity, and that’s on top of an engine that is probably about 20% efficent at putting power to drive line. That means the entire system is about 10% efficent, far below the 30-40% that most utilities can create electricity at.
Anybody who has read this blog for a little while knows I am at least a little bit of a pyromanic. I like starting campfires, watching them burn, and I really like watching trash burn. While I’m against destruction of valuable or useful property, burning waste material and campfires under controlled conditions is so much fun.
People say burning trash is bad, it pollutes and it smells pretty nasty, especially if you have a smoldering fire with lots of plastic. It’s hard to disagree, although after ones burns trash for a while, you hardly even notice the smell of trash smoke. Indeed, in our vast rural areas, the impact is pretty low.
And I still think it’s a lot of fun.
I love watching paper burn, the faces, the pictures, the text blacken up and burn with flashy yellow flames.
I love watching plastic deform in the fire, drip, melt, and burn, with bright and colorful flames. The color varies on the plastic, vinyl chlorides burn blue and green.
I love watching as the flames rip through the trash bags and chew their insides. Watching the destruction of waste, converted into soot and into smoke.
Hell, I’m such a pyromaniac. It gives me such an increadible high!
Burning wood and campfires is fun. The flicker of the flames and coals can mesmerise one. Yet, it lacks the drama and the fun of burning trash. Their simply aren’t the neat compounds and materials in wood, that make trash burning so interesting to watch. Their isn’t the statification of watching your waste material disappear before your eyes.
I really like watching trash burn. While no longer legal anywheres in NY State, I still burn trash when I’m camping in hot campfires. I also keep my “burnable” trash in summer, and burn it when camping. It’s destroyed almost instantly, but with all the beauty of a trash fire. I don’t litter, I carefully seperate unburnables and makes sure not leave any trace behind.
Some day I am going to own a place out in the country, and probably not in New York State. As a real country boy, I’m going to have my burn barrels, I will burn all of my burnable trash, far away from the neighbors who might otherwise complain about the smell that I actually kind of like. I’m not against recycling, and indeed I will seperate out cans and glass, but I sure love to watch and see my garbage burn.
They allow voters real choice in electing officials.
They allow for primaries to help select both party’s candidates.
You create a wall between lobbyists and elected officials.
They unprofessionalize legislative bodies.
Fresh Blood. When you prevent a person from spending a life time in office, it allows new people to serve in the office. New people have fresh ideas.
Real Choice in Elected Officials. People say that term limits prohibit people from choosing who they want to vote for. Yet, we know elections with incumbents are rarely a series of fair choices. Incumbents use their official duties to curry support with special interests, ensuring that they almost always win.
Legitmate Primaries to Select Both Parties Officials. There are rarely legitimate or even competitive primaries against incumbents. Incumbents enjoy so much financial support from the special interests and political parties, that most challengers can not unseat them.
Create a Wall Between Special Interests and Elected Officials. With long-term incumbents, they have much more time to get to know and trust special interests. With long-term incumbents, they are much more likely to have served in office the same time as the people who are trying to lobby them.
Unprofessionalize Legislative Bodies. While you probably want your denist or automobile repair shop technician to a professional, you don’t really want your politician to a be professional. You want people not to be stuck in their ways, and to try innovative things. Leave it to the professional and non-political bureaucracy to implement things.
Mallet Pond State Forest is a smaller state forest (2,584 acres) across the valley from the Burnt-Rossman Hills. While smaller, it is still rugged and remote, with rough dirt roads, two ponds, camping sites, and public lands to explore. Many of the roads around it are poorly marked and heavily posted, however if you follow the below map, and drive up to Summit on NY 10, and take Sawyer Hollow Road to Rossman Fly Road, it’s not as bad to locate.
Rossman Fly Road. This is from the intersection, as it head down into the valley where Rossman Pond and Mallet Pond are located.
Rossman Pond. There are a series of hunting campings and private houses located along the other shore. The state only owns about 1000 feet of frontage along the lake, basically enough for a campsite and a parking area.
Campsite at Rossman Pond. This is one of the many informal campsites in the area. None of them have designated markers, and don’t comply with state set backs, but as witnessed by the wear and tear on the grass, and mention in the Unit Management Plan, they are well used and recognized as such.
I drove down to Mallet Pond Parking Area. Unlike Rossman Pond, Mallet Pond actually has a sign showing where it is. There are no other signs for Mallet Pond from here on down, but the road is easy to follow to the pond.
Gate at Mallet Pond. There is a gate 1/2 mile from Mallet Pond. Normally I don’t like gates and keeping the public from driving down to their lands, but Mallet Pond is kind of nice being so remote for camping, fishing, or wild life observation. Rossman Pond, which you can drive right up to, has no such gate.
Path Down to Mallet Pond. It’s handicap accessible and if their wasn’t the gate, you could drive all the way down to the pond.
Mallet Pond. It certainly is a beautiful little pristine pond, a ways off the beaten track.
Campsite. For being the “party” lake for SUNY Cobelskill students, it was remarkably clean and well upkept. Maybe those farm kids actually take care of the land. Actually, most of the lands around here are well upkept, in part thanks to Ranger Tom Edmons too.
Pond from Campsite. It certainly was a pretty little campsite up on the bank.
Cattle Skull. This cattle skull was hung up at the campsite on a tree. Cool! It appears to be from a dehorned cow, and the lower jaw is missing. I’m guessing it was brought on up by a SUNY Cobelskill Ag Student.
Butterfly. Pollinating a wildflower along Mallet Pond.
Mallet Pond. Standing up on the embankment of the dam.
Mallet Pond Dam. The earthen dam that makes up Mallet Pond is about 30 feet high. You wouldn’t know it unless you look at it from a top the dam.
Goldrod. Walking along the eastern side of Mallet Pond.
Edge of Mallet Pond’s embankment is made up these large flat shale rocks, and lined with them to discourage erosion over it’s massive earthern dam.
The upper pond is Rossman Pond, with the campsite right by the parking area. The lower pond is Mallet Pond, which you have to hike down to. Both ponds have undesignated but popular campsites.
Big Pond is one of the two larger ponds in the Catskills accessible to the public. Located in the Western Catskills, near Alder Pond, it has eight paddle in or hike in tent sites, and some pretty views. I spent the night camping up there on August 27.
Night is Creeping Up on Me. I didn’t realize how quickly it got late at Big Pond, and I had even started dinner. To make matters worst, my white-gas lantern wouldn’t start, so I had to do everything by flash light.
Dark Night Before the Moonrose. All you can see is by the light of the campfire. I didn’t have a lantern, because it refused to start.
Waking Up at Big Pond. Looking out the window of tent prior to dawn, with a little smoke from the fire still smoldering, and lots of fog.
Pond Prior to Sunrise. The fog rises above the pond. It looks perfect for taking photos, so I decide to hop in the kayak, and go for a paddle.
Campsite. Yes, the beer cans are empty, and I am using that pot to boil water for coffee, because I left the coffee pot in the truck. I doesn’t matter much because I use a coffee press to make the actual coffee.
Firepit. This is while I’m making coffee and getting ready for the day.
Paddling Gear Back. With all the camping gear in the kayak, or most of it, including the stove and pot top on the deck. The kayak rode well with all the gear.
Big Pond from Parking Area. It certainly was quite pretty out there, and a great unguarded swimming beach that was packed with people.
Bear Bag. Actually it was a peanut can, with cookies and other things. And despite the bear coming through, he left my site alone, and didn’t even try to get the bear bag that was about 12-13 feet off the ground, suspended from a limb, and 10 feet plus from the tree where it hung.
Tent. Yes, occasionally I will sleep in a tent. This actually is the second time I’ve slept in a tent this year. One other time I slept in a lean-to and the rest has been truck camping.
Designated Campsite. This is one of eight designated campsites around Big Pond. They are free to use, but are limited to 6 people, and you can only stay at one site for 3 nights without a permit.
Looking Up at the Ash Trees. I was looking up at all the ash trees around the lake, and realizing that within 20-30 years they will all be gone. The maples will most likely replace them, but they also risk the Asian Longhorn Beetle.
Parked at Campsite. It was a pretty blue lake in the morning.
Finally Put That Smoldering Log Out. Remind me again, never to use a big punky old log like that in a campfire. It took a ton of water and rubbing the coals to get them to snuff out.
Blue and Green. I just liked this view from the campsite.
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