Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Camping at FairHaven State Park, June 2010



Putt-Putt arrives; view from the chase car. I think we brought the case car because we expected it to be hot,& we could use it as s "cooling chamber" There's much to be said for AC.


























Setting up camp is EXHAUSTING!

























Kind of a grey day, but still nice for a walk on the beach.















No, I am NOT sleeping again!







































Bus, tent, & canopy all in a row (rain configuration)












Jackson, with Scott's prized folding bike.





















Jackson again, hitting up Aunt Patti for a snack!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Trenton Falls, April 2010



Trenton Falls was a resort area during the 1800's and the site of a historic conference during the Civil War:



http://www.oneidacountyhistory.org/Spotlight/TrentonFalls/TrentonFalls.htm


The area is now a hydroelectric site that is opened by the local power company for one weekend each spring.

We got to walk the pipeline, & hunt for fossils. The water levels were low due to an early snow melt, but the falls were still awesome.


We camped at the nearby West Canada Creek Campground in Poland, NY, a really nice place, & highly recommended:

http://www.westcanadacreekcampsites.com



The Site
















The Pipeline

































A Long Way Down!



















Remnants of a previous (Wooden) pipeline


















Falls


















A huge surge tank, part of the pipeline



















Fossils!


















Nap Time.



















More Falls
































Sunday, January 30, 2011

WHAM!!!

I am a lucky person. February 26, 2010, brought us a Category 3 spring snowstorm, with 18 inches of wet snow followed by 2 inches of rain, & it proved too much for the old barn I'd used for a shop these last 16 years. I had to get the snowthrower out of the barn to clear the end of the driveway to get to work (see the path in the pics) and then I put it away in the barn. We figure it came down about 2 hours later. Sherrie called me at work to tell me the news just about the time we were all sent home due to the weather. If the day had worked out a little bit differently, I could easily have been killed. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Not only lucky to not have been crushed, and to have a wonderful wife who loves the Bus just as much as I do, but also lucky to have good friends like Andy & Sue, who came over to help us rescue my tools & equipment. It took about 3 weeks to get everything moved into a new space in the barn next door, & get a tarp hung over my new shop. Incredibly, nothing I really needed was permanently damaged, & the snowthrower came through without a scratch. Also, I had a space nearby to move into. To review: No livestock were involved, no one was hurt, the Bus wasn't in there, & I was able to rescue my tools. My son & his friends helped us move huge piles of debris & junk. Everybody pitched in; one of our cats provided comic relief that day by getting stuck in a milk bottle carrier (Yes, I got her out). I continue to salvage wood & peck away at the debris. We're about to order our 3rd dumpster. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Any day you're not crushed by a barn is a good one...